The Travel Corporation CEO & TreadRight Foundation co-Founder Brett Tollman
The TravCorp Canadian leaders l-r: President, Jeff Element; Lion World’s Lucille Sive; Trafalgar’s Wolf Paunic; CEO Brett Tollman; Uniworld’s Michelle Palma; Contiki’s Brad Ford & Insight’s Cris David
For Brett Tollman, the LetsTreadRight hashtag are words to
live by. The CEO of The Travel Corporation who was in YTO last week
to encourage more of us to do the same and to bring us up to speed on some of
the foundation’s more than 35 projects it has selected to support.
As co-founder of the TreadRight Foundation, a joint initiative
among the 25+ TravCorp brands, Tollman is not only passionate about the travel
experience but emphasizes that we all have a role to play to ensure travel
not only opens our minds, hearts, ears and palates... we must also ensure future
generations will have the same opportunities.
TreadRight focuses on
wildlife preservation as well as supporting people and cultures that are at
risk. Last year they launched the
TreadRight Wildlife Initiative to support project-driven conservation and
leadership efforts in Africa and elsewhere.
“Bringing
multiple project partners across multiple brands together under one banner, The
TreadRight Wildlife Initiative looks to further the foundation’s commitment to
the future now, by highlighting an urgent and desperate cause,” said Tollman.
“The staggering and disturbing statistics associated with the illegal wildlife
trade, combined with the horrific stories and images from the frontline of this
fight in the south of Africa, a place close to the hearts of my family and The
Travel Corporation, cannot and will not go ignored.”
As one example, at the
current rate of decline, Africa’s rhino population may be extinct by 2025.
Retired NBA star Yao Ming is also a partner in utilizing his voice in China to
reinforce the message that rhino horn has no medicinal qualities. And, as part
of the Wildlife Initiative, Botswana has dedicated its military to conserving Rhodesian
and South African rhinos by assisting with their relocation to Botswana.
One of TreadRight’s
cultural preservation projects is the Centro de Textiles Tradicionales del
Cusco (CTTC) which employs more than 500 people in the region to encourage and continue
the 10,000 year old Andean textile tradition and to provide support to those
working in this heritage industry in the face of changing times.
TreadRight doesn’t ask
their clients or partners to contribute to their foundation. They choose their
own projects and solely contribute to them. They also provide TravCorp
employees paid time off to help with their chosen projects.
The foundation’s efforts
will be recognized at the 2015 World Travel Market in London in early November.
They have been announced as the recipient of a World Tourism Award recognizing
their initiatives related to the travel and tourism industry and for developing
programs that give back to local communities.
“It’s truly an honour to have
been chosen as a recipient of the 2015 World Tourism Award,” says
Tollman. “We’ve come a long way since the introduction of our
sustainability and conservation program in 2008. We have worked diligently with
some absolutely inspiring partners that have helped power us forward us as we
continue on our sustainability mission. We share this honour with each of
them.”
Brett Tollman and TreadRight
Ambassador Céline Cousteau will accept the
Award during a special ceremony on November 2
nd during the opening
day of World Travel Market at the ExCel Centre in London.
