The year of mindfulness is upon us.
The world is expected to not only surpass pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2024, but also a shift towards intentional and immersive experiences, along with desire, according to the latest United Nations World Tourism Barometer. Growing number of people who want to see and explore more of the world. Ethical substitution in the face of overtourism and climate is on the rise.
“International tourism is on track to consolidate its full recovery from the biggest crisis in the sector’s history,” UN Tourism Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili said. “This recovery also highlights the growing need for tourism planning and managing to cater for its impacts on communities in a way that the immense socio-economic benefits are paired with inclusive and sustainable policies.”
According to a study by the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC), 75% of travelers globally say they want to do so more sustainably by 2025, and the industry is working overtime to answer this call.
Earlier this year, Booking. com began awarding badges and screening hotels with sustainability certifications. “As a travel leader, we have a duty to maintain and build global lifetime value and help promote a more sustainable travel industry; culturally, environmentally and socioeconomically,” Chief Sustainability Officer Danielle D’Silva told Forbes.
According to D’Silva, Booking. com’s sustainability program is helping to tackle issues such as overtourism by encouraging hotels to reduce the use of resources within a given destination. “Many of the certifications we demonstrate on our platform have similar needs on topics ranging from local grid engagement and progress to sustainability practices that can help our partners conserve their resources, such as energy, ‘water, and waste,'” D’Silva said. “If done with respect for the world’s communities, the environment and biodiversity, you can broaden horizons, reduce barriers and bring others together. »
According to Jennifer McClymont, commercial director of Naya Traveler, the conception of a sustainable economy begins by establishing destinations and reports that prioritize the well-being of the environment, the network and the economy. local.
“A great first step is to seek out eco-conscious accommodations including eco-lodges and hotels that incorporate energy-efficient designs, renewable energy sources, or locally sourced building materials,” McClymont said.
As today’s travelers continue to seek meaningful, immersive reporting that contributes to the economies, cultures, communities and wildlife of the places they visit, from a hot springs adventure through the Azores and from a hike from cabin to cabin in Slovenia to a sustainable Bear Camp in Alaska, here are 25 transformative and eco-friendly tactics to see and explore the world in 2025.
Natural Habitat Adventures, the company “Conservation through Exploration,” offers a variety of immersive organizational experiences, from a new rhino conservation safari in Kenya to a new exercise adventure in the rainforest and Rocky Mountains.
If you’re looking for the ultimate adrenaline rush in 2025, Nat Hab’s Alaska Bear Camp is a remote, sustainable, off-grid base camp in one of the wildest places on Earth, according to Court Whelan, the company’s director of sustainable progress. . ” This intimate and inspiring experience has tremendous positive benefits, as it increases the value of tourism for grizzly bears (currently threatened by Alaska’s Proposition 75) and inspires others to become advocates, storytellers, and advocates for those feared,” Whelan told Forbes. Formation
Located along the shores of Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, the expedition team is made up of professional naturalists and photographers. Working in conjunction with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Bear Camp, it offers an intimate and “breathtaking” look at one of the most impressive animals on the planet in one of Australia’s most impressive national parks. Alaska.
Just off the coast of Kyushu, Yakushima Island is one of the greenest and least touristy spaces in southern Japan. This little-known destination, accessible by 30 minutes by plane or ferry from mainland Kyushu in Kagoshima Prefecture, is home to Japan’s only underwater hot spring, a thriving loggerhead turtle nesting site, and a fairytale forest. ancient fairies
On the island’s east coast, the Yakusugi Museum features exhibits about the region’s cedar forests. With 90% of the island covered by dense forests, as well as being one of the greenest and most charming getaways for nature lovers, this attractive destination is a wonderful option for your next visit.
Situated amid 182 acres of forested land near the front of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Under Canvas offers safari-style tents ideal for nature lovers. The company partners with The Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit environmental organization, to bring laughter and awareness to conservation efforts in 82 countries and around the world.
In Tennessee’s Sequatchie Valley, Bolt Farm Treehouse is the adults-only brainchild of husband-wife team Seth and Tori Bolt and offers an array of sustainably built treehouses, geometric domes, and mirror cabins. In partnership with One Tree Planted, a non-profit organization focused on reforestation in the Appalachian region, for every reservation made at Bolt Farm, a tree is planted in order to contribute to reforestation efforts and sustainability.
With the goal of being absolutely carbon neutral by 2035, Helsinki, Finland, is consistently ranked among the most sustainable cities in the world. The first thing you need to do is buy the Helsinki Card, a city pass that offers public transport and museums. adding the Museum of Contemporary Art and the new Oodi Central Library, among other must-see attractions.
Foraging in Finland with a local tour guide named Anna is a sustainable experience not to be missed, as is the Baltic Sea Clean Up via kayak excursion that comes with the option to warm up in a sauna afterwards.
Opening in 2024, the NH Collection Helsinki Grand Hansa hotel has opened its impressive doors in the city center and is situated in two of the city’s Art Nouveau buildings, from a spacious ground-floor spa to a striking cocktail bar in the roof terrace called Kupoli, this Scandinavian style house. The base is ideal for your next sustainable city break. Don’t leave the city without visiting Löyly. Not only is it the most picturesque place in Helsinki to enjoy a classic sauna and cold bath, but its iconic spa now offers a five-course Finnish tasting menu.
Ideal for nature-loving and sustainability minded travelers, Slovenia offers a bounty of hyperlocal experiences and beautiful mountain scenery. For a one of a kind hiking trip you’ll never forget, this five-day hut-to-hut hiking trip will take you through the Julian Alps whose high mountain pastures and Seven lakes Valley along the magnificent Soča River as you stay in local mountain huts along the way.
Pre or post hike, treat yourself to a sumptuous stay at the luxurious new Vila Muhr which opened in September 2024 just above Lake Bohinj in the heart of the Julian Alps.
The nine-day Trafalgar Dakota National Parks and Native Trails will take travelers through North and South Dakota, where they will have the opportunity to visit four Native American Indian tribes.
With each booking, travelers will meet with tribal members to learn about their unique perspectives on the life, history, culture, and traditions of the tribal nations of South and North Dakota. These scales help tribal efforts to make tribal tourism a viable new option. economy, aids tribal history and historical education, and publicizes Lakota values. This incredible itinerary also includes a stopover in the South Dakota Badlands and Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
Historically, the vast majority of tourism in Greenland has been focused on sending cruise ships around the country. Now, thanks to the opening of a new foreign airport in the capital, Nuuk, Greenland is more available than ever.
According to luxury tour operator Black Tomato, glamping experiences will define tourism to inland Greenland in 2025. Among some notable new highlights of their new Greenland 2025 itinerary are Camp Kiattua, a tranquil Greenlandic wilderness haven set in the second largest fjord system in the world and Camp Saqqaq, a luxury tented camp limited to just ten guests at a time perched on the edge of Greenland’s breathtaking Disko Bay.
Nomad Greenland is a famous local company founded in Nuuk and organises everything from glamping in Greenland’s nature and puffin safaris to guided arts and cultural walks through local villages and foraging on ArcticArray.
Whether you’re traveling alone or need to sign up for a small, women-only, nature-focused group, Natural Habitat Adventures offers Women In the Wild briefings in destinations around the world.
This year, in partnership with World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Nat Hab’s Kingdom of The Monarch’s tour will take travelers on foot and horseback to witness the magic of Central Mexico’s great butterfly migration.
Ecotourism operator Wilderness opened the Bisate Wilderness Reserve in 2024, and with 360-degree perspectives of Virunga’s six dormant volcanoes, it’s one of the most productive tactics to delight in a personal gorilla trek from camp.
With its new food concept that fuses East African flavors with simplicity and sustainability, the camp offers seasonal menus, local produce and local staples. In July 2025, Wilderness will open the Magashi Peninsula in Akagera National Park, editing the complete Rwanda safari experience.
Specializing in trips for small organizations in Central and South America, Pura Aventura’s Off the Beaten Path Patagonia takes travelers through some of Patagonia’s most overlooked places. On this 17-day trek, stop in quiet lakeside villages, hike through Cerro Castillo National Park, and stay in secluded eco-lodges along the way.
If you are looking for a hotel to call home, located just outside of Puerto Varas, Chile, on the shores of Lake Llanquihue, the AWA Hotel is a perfect eco-friendly hotel and a wonderful location to start exploring the Far North of Chilean Patagonia. .
Intrepid Travel, the world’s largest company, offers a wide variety of experience-focused organized tours on each and every continent, adding its new Trans-Mongolian Rail Adventure.
During a fully immersive 11-day itinerary, travel from Beijing, China to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia via the Trans-Mongolian Railway where, in addition to seeing incredible landscapes along the way, you spend two nights in a classic yurt. camp and share a home-cooked lunch with a local camel herder, among other hyperlocal experiences.
If sweeping ocean vistas, ancient rainforests, and gorgeous eco-lodges in the heart of Tasmania’s Tasman National Park sound appealing then Tasmanian Walking Company’s Three Capes Adventure Walk is for you. Over the course of this five-day tour, you’ll explore coastal trails and dine on locally sourced ingredients and Tasmanian wine.
In 2026, the company will launch the Uluru-Kata Tjuta Signature Walk, a five-day fully guided adventure to Australia’s most iconic landmarks, including Kata Tjuta and Uluru, that combines adventure, cultural immersion and the breathtaking beauty of Australia’s outback.
Small group tour company G Adventures has partnered with National Geographic Expeditions to launch a Highlights of Costa Rica experience.
Over the course of this nine-day journey, you’ll go zip-lining in the surrounding cloud forest, tour a local coffee cooperative whose proceeds benefit the local community, cook and eat a traditional meal in the home of a local family, and explore the jungles of Manuel Antonio National Park where you’ll come face-to-face with howler monkeys, sloths, and toucans.
Astrotourism will be a massive trend in 2025, and Scandinavian curator Up Norway has selected the ultimate Northern Lights adventure.
On this seven-day journey, cross Norway’s Steigen and the Lofoten Islands via passenger ferries while chasing the illusory Northern Lights. While chasing the Northern Lights, you can go arctic surfing, kayaking, or simply immerse yourself in the region’s rich cultural heritage and magnificent herbaceous landscapes. The base of operations will be one of Manshausen’s architecturally striking sea huts.
Less than two hours from Quito, at the foot of Ecuador’s Chocó Andino Biosphere Reserve, the Maquipucuna Reserve and Eco Lodge is located along the Umachaca River and is a base for your eco-adventure in Ecuador.
The reserve, the closest private rainforest to Quito, covering more than 14,000 acres, is one of the three most biodiverse hotspots in the world and is home to the largest congregation of Andean bears. Book a stay at this family-friendly eco-lodge, which is a wonderful base from which to explore the region’s varied ecosystem while enjoying local cuisine.
The captivating coastal towns of northeastern Spain, its striking architecture, and its unique cultural identity have long made it a boon for travelers. Now enjoy it all on a cycling adventure with EF Adventures that starts in Catalonia and ends on the Costa Brava, Spain.
With six days of guided rides curated by professional cyclists, this tour invites seasoned cyclists to experiences some of Spain’s most stunning landscapes, from Girona’s iconic climbs to the serene beauty of Lake Banyoles and the rugged coastal charm of Tossa de Mar.
The world’s first (and only) “Swiss” fitness tour, Trafalgar’s new Contrasts of Switzerland is an immersive eight-day adventure that takes travelers from Zurich and St. Moritz to Zermatt, Geneva and Lucerne.
Offering eco-friendly lodging, briefings, and meals along the way, the highlight of this excursion comes with small business-owned MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® company briefings.
According to Hilton’s 2025 Vacation Trends report, ‘slow travel’ which the chain defines as ‘immersing oneself into a destination for an extended time as a local to fully experience the culture,’ is arguably the best way to soak up the Portuguese island of Madeira.
On the new Backroads hike and hike tour, tour a 600-year-old aqueduct that crosses the island’s emerald mountains, hike through the lush Sao Vicente Valley, and enjoy new local food and wines from the farm. This six-day, five-night excursion is an incredible way to see and revel in this alluring island destination, while staying at Madeira’s most sublime resorts along the way.
Designed for swimmers, snorkelers, snorkelers, and anyone looking for a truly breathtaking sea-to-jungle adventure, Africa’s largest marine migration expedition from the luxury company
This limited edition itinerary begins with a sea safari to observe the wonderful sardine migration and includes a stay at GweGwe Beach Lodge in Mkambati Nature Reserve, followed by 3 nights at &Beyond’s Phinda Private Game Reserve for game drives and bushwalking. nature. interpretation in nature. Profits from this adventure will be donated to the Oceans Without Borders fund which encourages a positive recovery of our marine footprint.
Bali has been under the brunt of overtourism in recent years. If you’re to revel in the less touristy aspect of this alluring destination, SeaTrek Sailing Adventures gives two classic wood pinisi sailboats that will take you via some of Indonesia’s maximum remote regions. 1,200 miles northeast of Bali, the SeaTrek Spice Islands to the Dragon Islands Expedition is a 16-day sail “designed for the true adventure traveler. “
If you need to stay on the ground, small-group adventure company Explore! now offers an itinerary called Discover Bali, Flores and the Komodo Islands. On this 12-day itinerary, stop at tribal villages and explore lush jungles, rice paddies, and surprising archipelagos while learning about local women-owned cooperatives and networking projects.
Perched on a mountaintop in the Italian Dolomites, FORESTIS is a seriously luxe adults-only eco-retreat. With just 62-suites and a ten-bedroom villa ideal for small groups or families, this family-owned a boutique is the ultimate transformative wellness getaway.
The property’s signature “forest cuisine” showcases culinary artistry with ingredients sourced from local farmers. The real star of the show is the FORESTIS Spa, whose treatments includes a three-hour Tree Ceremony and Stay Retreat designed around the essentiality of the environment and the preventive and healing functions of nature.
Defined by the tourism industry as vacations to more temperate climates, ‘Coolcations,’ are poised to be one of the biggest travel trends to look out for in the year ahead.
In 2025, new direct routes between the U.S. and Copenhagen on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Delta will make the journey to your next Scandinavian ‘coolcation’ that much easier. Opening in January 2025, Park Lane Copenhagen is set in a former former 1920s cinema just north of Copenhagen in Hellerup, and will feature luxurious suites, original stucco, and a cozy cafe. Don’t miss a meal nearby at Michelin-starred The Samuel which will be reopening in a former townhouse in March.
On track to be 100% sustainable and 100% energy self-sufficient by 2025, Mysa Nordic Spa
Located in St Peters Bay, in addition to the Nordic Thermal Spa and magnificent massages, the hotel invites visitors to book a stay in its newly renovated cabins from Sunday to Thursday through its Stay & Give package, where $10 from each guest pass reserve for the Abegweit Conservation Society, a charity focused on the protection and conservation of Prince Edward Island’s natural resources.
The Contiki group company will organize its first holiday in the Malaysian part of Borneo in 2025. During their nine-day adventure in Borneo, visitors and wildlife lovers will have the opportunity to observe orangutans, pygmy elephants, sun bears, and trunks. Monkeys.
With visits to Bako National Park and a day at Selingan Turtle Island, where travelers can witness the rare sight of turtles laying their eggs on the beach, this exclusive also includes a cruise on the Kinabatangan River for even more wildlife viewing.
Off the coast of Portugal, the Azores are just one of Europe’s most charming island destinations, but the world’s first archipelago rated through EarthCheck’s Sustainable Destination Program offers the best eco-adventure in 2025.
From inter-island hot springs to volcanic crater hikes and kayaking across sparkling lagoons, Azores Getaways offers a variety of organized tours and self-guided tours year-round.
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