The world's most remarkable journeys are those that leave an indelible mark—not just on the traveler, but on the destinations themselves. At REYA Communications, we believe that luxury travel should be synonymous with purpose, and we are proud to represent a collection of extraordinary brands that intertwine indulgence with impact. Whether it’s an eco-conscious safari in the heart of Africa, a river cruise through the pristine Amazon, or a sustainable retreat in the Italian countryside, our partners are redefining what it means to travel responsibly.
As Earth Month 2025 approaches, we invite writers, journalists, and storytellers passionate about ecotourism to explore these pioneering initiatives. From conservation efforts that protect endangered wildlife to regenerative tourism that uplifts local communities, the stories of these destinations deserve to be told. If you're working on sustainability-focused travel pieces for Earth Month, reach out—we’d love to collaborate and share the inspiring work of these trailblazers in sustainable luxury.
WHERE LUXURY MEETS CONSERVATION
Volcanoes Safaris is the pioneer of conservation-led eco-tourism in East Africa, offering intimate experiences with mountain gorillas and chimpanzees while actively investing in the preservation of these extraordinary species and the communities around them. Guests staying at any of their five luxury lodges have exclusive access to projects like the Chimp Protection Program in partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute and a pioneering lion conservation initiative in Queen Elizabeth National Park.
Chimp Protection Project
Volcanoes Safaris’ Kyambura Gorge Lodge has developed a partnership with the Jane Goodall Institute to protect an isolated family of chimpanzees under threat, known as the ‘Lost Chimps of Kyambura’ Two hours away in the Kibale Forest is the largest population of chimpanzees that the Jane Goodall Institute actively works to protect. Kibale is also home to Volcanoes Safaris’ new Kibale Lodge, which opened in July 2024 as their second lodge, offering chimp trekking while committing to the conservation of these unique creatures.
Lion Conservation Project
Volcanoes Safaris Partnership Trust (VSPT) launched a lion and large carnivore monitoring project last year. Based at Kyambura Gorge Lodge in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda, the project will establish an annual carnivore survey and create a shared research database in partnership with the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA). A key focus will be to keep a pulse on the population status of the country’s iconic tree-climbing lions through the use of the latest spatially explicit capture-recapture methods. These findings will also provide an understanding of how lions are faring in the park over time and insights into particular individuals, their space use, and sex ratios. Read more.
Expert: Praveen Moman, Owner
For those seeking an exclusive, off-the-grid experience without sacrificing comfort, EXP Journeys crafts luxury mobile tented camps in some of North America’s most stunning wilderness locations. Built with a "Leave No Trace" ethos, each camp ensures that travelers leave behind only footprints, not waste.
EXP’s Luxury Mobile Tented Camps offer an unparalleled mix of outdoor adventure and comfort.
Designed to provide upscale accommodations in America’s most spectacular landscapes, including Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon, Zion, Escalante, and Lake Powell, these mobile camps prioritize sustainability with a ‘Leave No Trace’ ethos. For 2025, EXP Journeys will create mobile camps in new locations, including Paradise Valley, Moab, and Yosemite. Each camp is outfitted with king-sized beds, an en-suite toilet, hot showers, fresh linens, select wines and beers, chef-curated meals, and complete privacy. Embracing private wilderness settings, EXP elevates the camping experience to new heights in the US by combining luxurious accommodations and refined hospitality with the beauty of the great outdoors. The EXP Foundation’s mission is to create authentic travel experiences that enrich lives and transform perspectives. This is not only a commitment they make to clients and partners but also to the destinations in which they travel; they feel a responsibility to enrich and transform them for the better as well. To that end, EXP donates a portion of the cost of every journey to local, non-profit organizations in their most traveled destinations.
The Leave No Trace principles are guidelines for minimizing the impact of human activities on the outdoors. The principles are:
Plan ahead and prepare: Know what to expect before you go. This can help ensure a safer trip for you and others.
Travel and camp on durable surfaces: Try to avoid damaging the land by camping on surfaces that can withstand your weight.
Dispose of waste properly: Don't leave trash, food scraps, or other human items behind.
Leave what you find: Leave nature as you found it, including not leaving behind chemicals, feces, or trash.
Minimize campfire impacts: Use lightweight camp stoves instead of fires to reduce the impact on natural areas.
Respect wildlife: Don't treat wildlife like pets or get too close to them.
Be considerate of others: Consider how your actions might impact others, such as the noise from music or pets.
Expert: Kevin Jackson, Founder
A leader in bespoke African safaris, Go2Africa is not just about creating unforgettable journeys—it’s about ensuring those journeys contribute to the well-being of the destinations. With its B Corp certification and "Trips with Purpose" program, travelers can engage in conservation and community projects while exploring Africa’s breathtaking landscapes. Whether it’s gorilla trekking in Rwanda that supports the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund or funding anti-poaching efforts, every itinerary is curated with a conscience.
B Corp Certification
Go2Africa received its B Corp certification in 2023, further exemplifying its unwavering dedication to sustainability, transparency, and ethical business practices. When planning a trip with Go2Africa, travelers are choosing a company that uses its influence and resources to drive positive impact in the world. Read below to learn more about Go2Africa’s impactful work.
Positive Impact Safaris
Go2Africa has designed a Trips with Purpose program and created over 300 different itineraries for guests that combine exceptional experiences with giving back to African communities, from community impact to wildlife conservation to environmental work. These trips allow travelers to visit or have a hands-on experience at a Positive Impact project and include an additional financial contribution from Go2Africa towards specific projects. For example, guests can participate in the Gorilla Trekking for a Cause trip, where they can meet these rare, incredible creatures face-to-face. When travelers book this trip, a portion of the proceeds goes to the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, and guests are able to visit the campus to see the organization’s work in action.
Expert: Liesel Van Zyl, Head of Product Development and Positive Impact
SUSTAINABILITY THAT TRANSFORMS DESTINATIONS
Venture to uncover the Amazon Rainforest in the most unique and personal way. Delfin Amazon Cruises is the pioneer upscale river cruise operator in the Upper Peruvian Amazon, with three luxury cruises that will take you on a magical journey of discovery. Breathtaking sceneries, luxuriant forests, and nature at its finest come together with first-rate service to create an unforgettable experience. Their Bee Conservation Project, developed in partnership with BioAmaz, introduces stingless Meliponine bees to local communities, promoting sustainable honey production and pollination. A visit to their Farm-to-Table garden or the Bee Queen Coin center offers a firsthand look at these initiatives in action.
Through a partnership with BioAmaz, Delfin Amazon Cruises has contributed to the Bee Queen Coin project, which provides the beehives of stingless Meliponine bees to families in Peru. Their initiative spans 29 different species out of the almost 200 stingless Meliponine species. Importantly, communities have the flexibility to either sell the produced honey, bee wax, pollen, and propolis back to Bee Queen Coin or keep it for their own consumption. This dual-purpose approach enriches local diets, addresses nutritional needs, and simultaneously benefits their crops through enhanced pollination. The absence of a sting on the Meliponine bees eliminates the threat to the villagers and streamlines the beekeeping process. Onboard, Delfin Amazon Cruises' guests can enjoy the benefits of a Farm-to-Table garden, which hosts 10 beehives of Melipona Eburnea. This initiative is also intertwined with education efforts in local schools, where children visit the crops, learn from lectures, and help by making handmade signs. Guests of the Delfin I can visit the Bee Queen Coin center in Iquitos and witness the marvel of open beehives housing stingless Meliponini up close.
Expert: Lissy Urteaga, Co-Founder
In the rolling hills of Piemonte, Casa di Langa sets a new standard for sustainable luxury. The carbon-neutral property operates entirely on renewable energy, sources water from its own wells, and eliminates single-use plastics. Dining at Faula Ristorante, where organic waste is composted to nourish their on-site gardens, is an immersive lesson in sustainability.
Using a sustainable approach in design, GaS Studio and Parisotto + Formenton Architetti carefully incorporated many important elements respectful of the environment. Every aspect reflects the respect for the natural world and its sustainable future, from the carbon neutral commitment to the use of 100% water from the onsite wells for irrigation, from geothermal and photovoltaic systems functional to heating, from cells PV to solar panels, from FSCenvironmental certified wood to high-performance windows up to the operational goal of eliminating the use of disposable plastic generally used for guest amenities. Casa di Langa has been careful not to increase its footprint on the land but to minimize it by reforesting the land and planting indigenous trees to increase its green space. At Casa di Langa’s Faula Ristorante, all green waste is composted and used to fertilize the organic vegetable garden.
The hotel is dedicated to creating a luxury experience that cares for both its guests and the environment. The issue of waste is of primary importance, starting from the recovery of an existing building. The old materials were used to make the hotel design unique, and when no longer necessary, they were sold to local businesses. All wood elements, such as flooring and milling work, are formaldehyde-free certified, and their origins come from forests certified by the Forest Stewardship Council.
Expert: Eva Codina, General Manager
Steeped in history and sustainability, Cashel Palace blends luxury with eco-conscious initiatives. From offering biodegradable straws and reusable water bottles to operating a composting system that transforms food waste into nutrient-rich soil boosters, the hotel is a leader in sustainable hospitality. Guests receive a symbolic bag of compost on departure, reinforcing the hotel’s commitment to a closed-loop environmental approach.
Opened in March 2022, Cashel Palace is a luxury hotel in the heart of County Tipperary, two hours from Dublin. Cashel Palace has enacted many ongoing measures to reduce its environmental impact, including car charging points for guests, providing e-bikes for guests, using LED light bulbs, providing biodegradable straws and cocktail stirrers, offering water bottles made from biodegradable materials, large refillable dispensers rather than miniature toiletries, leather reusable coasters for drinks and more. The Cashel Palace Hotel has also implemented a composting system to manage the food waste from its Michelin-starred restaurant, The Bishop’s Buttery.
In a creative blend of sustainability and marketing, the hotel calculates the average food waste generated by each guest. When guests depart, a paper bag containing an equivalent weight of compost is placed in their car, accompanied by instructions for use in their own gardens, thereby completing the sustainability loop. Cashel Palace’s food waste converter, the Harp CX2, turns leftover food into a natural soil booster in one day and can digest up to 2,000 liters a week. The soil booster is packed with essential nutrients for plants. Additionally, the bag's stickers and labels are printed on uncoated paper, with water-based biodegradable inks without VOCs (volatile organic compounds) and quick dissolving glue, which are environmentally friendly & food-safe. Cashel Palace operates a Zero-Waste-to-Landfill Policy. This means that all brown bin waste becomes fertilizer/compost, all cardboard is baled and recycled into paper, all glass is recycled for the production of glass and roads, all coffee grounds are used to fertilize rosebuds and shrubs, and all general non-recyclable waste is sorted for use as fuel.
Expert: Adriaan Bartels, General Manager
HOTELS THAT GIVE BACK
More than a hotel, Sol y Luna is a mission-driven property that funds a school providing education, housing, and opportunities for children in the Sacred Valley. Profits from the hotel directly support these programs, making every stay an investment in the future of local communities. Guests can visit the school and see firsthand how their travels are making a difference.
The Sol y Luna Foundation gives Peruvian children born into extreme poverty the future they deserve through love, care, and education. The foundation consists of the Sol y Luna School, Paqari for special needs support, the Sol y Luna Home, and Roots & Wings for further education. Today, thanks to private donations and profits generated by the Sol y Luna hotel in Peru's Sacred Valley, the foundation enrolls 163 students while providing housing for 21.
Sol y Luna School
Founded in 2009, the Sol y Luna School accepts 163 students from ages 5 to 17 and from 20 different rural and disadvantaged communities, providing them with an education and the tools to build a brighter future. The school was established by the Sol y Luna Foundation, a non-profit institution that gives love, care, and education to children from Peru’s poverty-stricken communities. The foundation was created in 1996 and is run by Petit Miribel, who moved to Urubamba in the 1990s and has been dedicated to supporting the Sacred Valley ever since. The financial support to make the Sol y Luna Foundation possible meant leveraging the Sacred Valley’s potential for tourism, and in 2000, Petit decided to open a hotel. Walking distance from the school, Hotel Sol y Luna is a Relais & Châteaux member encompassing 43 casitas and two restaurants showcasing contemporary Peruvian cuisine.
Expert: Petit Miribel, Owner
Sustainability in travel is not just a passing trend—it’s the future. As Earth Month approaches, we encourage journalists and content creators to shine a light on these extraordinary efforts. If you are covering ecotourism, conservation, or sustainability in luxury travel, we’d love to collaborate. Let’s tell the stories that inspire change.
For more information, requests for quotes or interviews, or interest, please email Alexandra Avila at alexandra@reyacommunications.com.
Comments