OUR COMMITMENT

our commitment

Tiaki means to care for people, place and culture.

New Zealand is precious, and everyone who lives and travels here has a responsibility to look after it. The Tiaki Promise is a commitment to care for New Zealand, for now and for future generations.
On engaging with us our guests make a commitment to the Tiaki Promise. A national initiative to care for New Zealand:

What steps are we putting in place to action this value:

TRANSPORT

Utilizing electric, hybrid, wind, water and people powered transport and activities wherever possible. As a company that relies on travel and exploration at the heart of our operations and industry, this really is the biggest and most important place to make a real change to the norm.
We spend a lot of time and rack up many kilometers in our main tour transportation vehicle. The way our vehicle is powered is one of the most meaningful choices we can make. We choose electric or hybrid transport wherever possible. Currently that means renting them when we can. We are on the search to purchase an electric or hybird passenger vehicle as soon as one suitable comes onto the NZ market. As the technology develops and they can travel longer distances we will be one of the first to use them commercially for our tours.
Our signature eco-tours, the Tiaki Connection Tours, take guests around a specially selected part of the country. This means less burning of fossil fuels. There is so much to be seen and done in each different area of NZ, why clock up massive hours and burn excess fuel traveling a long way just to tick off the typical ‘bucket list’ of NZ travel. On our Tiaki Connection Tours guests see as much if not more beautiful scenery and experience all the fantastic activities you want in a select area. Less time on the road means more time immersing in the natural environment and meeting the locals. Really getting to know a place. This is where the genuine connection develops.
The other aspect to this is planning trips for our guests where they explore and participate in activities which do not rely on fossil fuels. For example rafting instead of jet boating, e biking instead of quad biking, sailing or kayaking instead of motorized lake and ocean exploration.

PARTNERS

We partner with accommodation and activity providers who can show us how they are obtaining or working towards zero (or even better; positive) carbon emissions. We go to meet them and see their operations before choosing to work with them.

CARBON TRACKING

We track the carbon emissions and environmental impact of each of our tours ensuring they are at least carbon neutral, maybe even carbon positive.
Giving back to our communities helps our guests feel good about what they can reciprocate during their travels. We provide opportunities such as tree planting or supporting a local carbon offset initiative, for our guests to ensure the sustainability of our tours and to deepen their connection with the people and place they are visiting.

On engaging with us and booking a tour with us, we get to know our guests. We learn about their interests, their holiday desires, their needs and limitations. We do this through face time meetings and email. This way we make sure the tour is tailored to them. They know what to expect and they know the expectations we have of them as guests to NZ.
Our guests are shown the Tiaki Promise as a part of their initial agreement form. We ask them to make a commitment to the Tiaki Promise, and show them how we will support them with this during their time here.
We encourage our guests to support local. Local tourism operations, small business’s, artists, musicians and eateries. We encourage them to attend local events including festivals, markets, celebrations etc during their time here. We weave these things into the vacation itinerary. This way they are supporting the social fabric of our communities and getting to experience the real people of this place. These places and experiences are where a real connection can be formed between our guests and the people they are visiting.
Where possible, we put our guests in contact with and introduce them to the providers in the industry whom we partner with. For them to get the most out of the activity on offer it is best the host gets to know them and their needs/interests.
We speak with our guests about our beautiful, ingenuitive and talented indigenous people, the Maori. We create opportunities for them to meet Maori people. Participate in cultural practices and be taught about what is important for Maori when our guests travel through Aotearoa, New Zealand.