The Luxury Travel Magazine
The Luxury Travel Magazine
By Ben Freeman
From delving deep through the Okavango Delta to hiking the Tiger’s Nest nestled on the cliff faced mountains of Bhutan; AndBeyond offers some of the most unique experiences, whilst caring for and supporting the communities they bring business to. A symbiosis between the natural world and luxury travel, conserving the environment around them whilst conserving the experience, AndBeyond has been making waves in the ecotourism industry since 1991. Since its inception, AndBeyond has impacted over 9 million acres of conservation land and 2,000km of coastline, and that’s just the beginning…
At the heart of AndBeyond is not a business, but a partnership; a partnership between the people of Africa, South America, Asia and their guests. An ethos that marries guest experience with conserving the natural world; a blend that is ever fading. Integral to this success of AndBeyond is the staff, none more so than the CEO Joss Kent, who oversees the company’s impact report. The impact report outlines the conservation and charitable work of the brand and echoes the African proverb ‘If you want to go quickly, go alone, if you want to go far, go together’ which is an fundamental part of Joss and AndBeyond’s vision for luxury ecotourism.
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"Look no further for the perfect blend of adventure travel, luxury destinations and environmental awareness - AndBeyond and their holiday creators will take you on a trip you can never forget…."
Every part of AndBeyond has been carefully considered. Founded from the logo of a Bateleur eagle, which translates to ‘acrobat’ in French, signifies the line towed between delivering exceptional bespoke experiences whilst caring for the land, its people and the wildlife it contains. At a time when luxury travel is under particular criticism for its environmental considerations, AndBeyond is demonstrating that luxury experiences don’t have to come at a price to the local ecosystem and its communities. Every area of the guest experience has been scrutinized, from drinking out of glass water bottles and not plastic as well as half of all energy used by AndBeyonds activities being renewable.
AndBeyond has touched the lives of over 75 communities globally, supporting 102 schools and creating jobs from artisans to farmers. Clinics have also been setup within these communities through donations from donors and from each person that ventures out with AndBeyond. One of AndBeyond’s many conservation efforts has been towards the protection of endangered species, including cheetahs, turtles, Rhinos, Aders’Duiker and Suns Antelope. Working closely with organisations such as Rhinos without Borders, moving rhinos from high poaching risk areas to where they can be actively monitored, has been an essential part of Africa’s conservation efforts as a whole, and for AndBeyond it has seen the birth of 30 endangered rhinos. This year marks the end of the longer term 2020 Impact Goal that AndBeyond have striven for over the last 27 years, from cutting down on plastic use within their resorts to protecting 3.6 million hectares of land. But out of this a new set of targets and aims will inevitably be set to be achieved by 2030.
From tailor-made tours to small group journeys, experiences vary from adventurous to meditative, and everything in between. Of course, no luxury is spared on any of these ecotourism experiences as a private vehicle, guide, chef and butler will accommodate your every need, giving you an experience that will be remembered long after the bags are unpacked. With 27 years of expertise at the forefront of the ecotourism industry, AndBeyond creates journeys that give you a relationship and narrative to some of the most untouched parts of nature, from the plains of the Sussusvlei desert to the rugged mountains of Annapura. An integral part to these experiences are their experts, for example the conscientious rangers guiding your safaris. At AndBeyond, expect nothing but the best as in-house trained rangers deliver tour trips that don’t just put you in touch with nature, but the land and its people.
An experience at AndBeyond offers much more than just a holiday. Going beyond the norms of luxury travel, the ‘impact’ experiences don’t just give guests an opportunity for luxury tours, dining and accommodation but allows them an opportunity to help out and give back to local communities. On the standard week-long experience, guests can take an afternoon or two out to give back to the local community by teaching in local schools, taking a trip down to the local market for some souvenirs which helps boost the locals’ economic prosperity or to be emerged in the Rhino conservation. Even if you don’t decide to undertake an impact experience, travellers can still be the catalyst for change as a percentage of every holiday is given to local missions.
Accommodation on offer includes two lodges named in Travel+Leisures Top 10 Safari in Africa. Ngala Safari Lodge offers exclusive traversing rights to over 14,700 hectares of Kruger national park land in South Africa. Some highlights of activities across the globe from AndBeyond range from heli-skiing in Chile to swimming with horses in the majestic Indian Ocean.
The impact report is a landmark model for how the tourism industry must act, at a time of last chances for the wildlife and communities that live there. Presenting luxury tourism without the environmental cost: AndBeyond.
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