EF Ultimate Break Unveils Company’s New Responsible Travel Initiative in Partnership with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Aimed at Producing and Promoting Responsible and More Sustainably Designed Tour Itineraries

Partners can now participate in EF Ultimate Break’s affiliate marketing program and earn commissions for tour bookings. Click here to learn more.

“The Responsible Travel initiative is an extension of EF Education First’s ongoing commitment to operate as a more sustainably minded business,” said Heather Leisman, President, EF Ultimate Break. “From limiting our carbon impact where possible, adhering to strict animal welfare guidelines and supporting local businesses and communities, we’re evolving our itineraries to deliver sustainable tour options that preserve landmarks, environments and destinations for future generations.”

EF Ultimate Break is one of three tour operator brands within EF World Journeys, an adult leisure travel company that is part of EF Education First.

The Responsible Travel initiative in itinerary design is supported by EF Education First’s overall approach to being more sustainable, and will focus on the following tenets:

• Protecting the environment
  EF Ultimate Break will benefit from EF Education First’s leadership in carbon measurement, working with myclimate to track our emissions, and strategizing ways to reduce our carbon footprint for years to come. Myclimate’s methods follow the international Greenhouse Gas Protocol, calculating every relevant emission. Bottom line: a business can’t fix what it doesn’t measure, and this is just another step we’re taking to be more mindful of our carbon impact. Additionally, we invest in climate protection projects through the EF Forest Initiative. Between 2021 and 2023, our collaboration with the Eden Reforestation Projects in Kenya, Madagascar, and Mozambique resulted in the planting of nine million mangrove trees. Starting in 2024, we’ve partnered with the climate change non-profit WeForest to implement a more comprehensive restoration approach focusing on creating and conserving forests worldwide, supporting local communities, and protecting wildlife. Over the next five years, we aim to regenerate 1,500 hectares in the Mahale mountains, foster the growth of over three million native trees, educate 1,500 farmers, protect the eastern chimpanzee populations, and support local communities through environmental education initiatives and employment opportunities.
• Promoting animal welfare
  EF Ultimate Break adheres to itinerary design standards as part of the EF Animal Welfare Program to ensure that travelers never come into physical contact with endangered species, captive, or wild animals. No Instagram selfies while holding an animal. No swimming with captive dolphins. No excursions that involve unnatural interactions with wild animals (such as riding, feeding, or swimming). And no elephant rides or visits to locations where animals are used for entertainment. Instead, our tours will visit sanctuaries and national parks where animals, inclusive of elephants, can roam freely in their natural habitats, always being mindful not to support any business that engages in the exploitation of animals. In addition to these measures, we decided to lean on our core strength – education – to cultivate wildlife–savvy travelers all over the world. As part of the program, we provide EF staff and tour directors with specialized training on the importance of animal welfare, common misconceptions, and simple ways to have a positive impact. We also offer experiential learning opportunities to EF customers, like tours featuring service-learning projects at animal sanctuaries handpicked by non-profit partners.
• Supporting local communities
  Travel has always been about “sharing a place” not just “seeing a place.” EF Ultimate Break committed to providing economic, social, and environmental benefits to the communities we help people explore. Our experiences directly support local businesses and livelihoods, while allowing our customers and students to learn about the importance of local production and heritage. We seek to have a long-term positive impact that benefit communities long after we depart. We also seek to collaborate with the communities we live in, travel to, and work within to help preserve them. At EF Ultimate Break, our itineraries preference local guides, meals, lodging, and excursion providers that are authentic to the communities we visit. Our goal remains to help travelers truly understand local cultures and to find ways tourism can uplift local economies in a sustainable manner, geared at also helping alleviate the challenges that come to communities from overtourism. In doing so, we pledge to work with local businesses and communities, and to consider the impact travelers will have on a destination as we develop trips within any region.

Moving forward, tour design at EF Ultimate Break will be guided by these responsible and more sustainable planning principles.

The new tours to Thailand, which were added due to growing traveler popularity on EF Ultimate Break, will benefit from the itinerary design principles of EF Ultimate Break’s Responsible Travel efforts.

The new activities/excursions include:

• Highlights of Thailand (15 Days, 4 Cities): Lush northern mountains and pristine southern beaches. Bustling cities and natural wonders. Elephants and temples. Noodles on noodles. It’s impossible to experience all that Thailand has to offer in two weeks—but this trip is sure gonna try.
• Bangkok City Experience (8 Days, 1 City): If there’s one city to dive into headfirst, it’s Bangkok. It’s a beautiful contradiction from bustling markets and serene temples, to tuk-tuks and skyscrapers, to street food that rivals Michelin-starred dishes—and that’s only scratching the surface.
• North Thailand: Bangkok to Chiang Rai (14 Days, 4 Cities): What makes North Thailand the “it” spot? It’s the perfect mix of rich culture, vibrant city life, and breathtaking landscapes. We’re talking bustling Bangkok markets, serene temples, tuk-tuks, elephants, and food to die for.
• South Thailand: Samui, Phangan & Krabi (12 Days, 4 Cities): Your face is gonna hurt from grinning (and maybe a little sunburn), which tracks for a country called the Land of Smiles. It’s also the land of fragrant flowers, breezy islands, sandy beaches, and endless seafood. If the world is your oyster, south Thailand is the pearl.
• South Thailand: Phuket & Krabi (11 Days, 3 Cities): Temple. Beach. Seafood. Beach. Nightclub. Beach. Sensing a pattern here? You’ll cruise around Phuket, learn from the locals, chill with elephants—all between hours on the sand, of course. Because this is south Thailand, and all roads lead to the sea.

Other tours being introduced that feature festival and cultural events include, the Full Moon Party, Songkran Festival and Lantern Festivals: Yi Peng & Loy Krathong in Thailand. The Full Moon Party is an all-night beach party that originated on the island of Ko Pha-ngan, Thailand, in 1985. The party takes place on the night of, before, or after every full moon. Songkran is the Thai New Year, celebrated on April 13 every year, but the holiday period extends from April 14-15. The Thai Lantern Festivals (Yi Peng and Loy Krathong) have differing meanings but both use lanterns that float on water or rise in the air as symbols to celebrate the holiday.

“We’re so proud to partner with EF Ultimate Break as they demonstrate their commitment to the sustainable tourism goals of our country, and the tourism industry’s larger environmental impact initiatives,” said Mrs. Pornpan Intratat, Director of the Tourism Authority of Thailand Los Angeles Office. “We know, inclusive of market research recently conducted by EF Ultimate Break, that a new generation of traveler not only will pay for sustainable travel options, but they are demanding travel choices that more positively support local communities and mitigate environment impact.”

A recent September 2024 survey, conducted by EF Ultimate Break and Qualtrics Research, of GenZ and younger Millennial travelers, ages 18-35 residing in the United States and Canada, found that 72% of young adults said sustainability factors into their travel purchase decisions. The majority of young adult travelers (56%) said they would book the more sustainable travel choice even if it costed more than some less friendly to the environment or local communities. 75% of young adults said it was important to them that a travel company has an animal welfare policy, and 73% said it was important that a travel company supports local business.

About EF Ultimate Break

EF Ultimate Break is the best way to experience the world for anyone 18-35. With over 140+ trips, we handle logistics for everything that makes travel a great experience from accommodations to flights to amazing tour directors to memory-making excursions. Our affordable interest-free payment plans make international travel possible for every traveler. EF Ultimate Break is part of EF Education First, the world leader in international education, has helped millions of people throughout its history learn a language, discover the world, or earn an academic degree. 

Want to be a brand ambassador for EF Ultimate Break and earn free travel? Learn more by visiting: #1 Travel Brand Ambassador Program | EF Ultimate Break.

Partners can now participate in EF Ultimate Break’s affiliate marketing program and earn commissions for tour bookings. Click here to learn more.

About the Tourism Authority of Thailand

The Tourism Authority of Thailand is an organization of Thailand under the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. Its mandate is to promote Thailand’s tourism industry and protect the environment.

SOURCE EF Ultimate Break

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