We’re proud to announce our new partnership with Click-A-Tree to create the ‘EXO Forest’ near Krabi, Thailand, a reforestation project funded by our Carbon Neutral Holiday Fund.
The project is funded by our Carbon Neutral Holiday Fund, a voluntary initiative where travellers can add $1.50 USD per day to offset their trip’s carbon footprint. Thanks to their contributions, we’ve raised an impressive $119,000 USD from January to June 2024.
After a thorough evaluation, our team chose to collaborate with Click-A-Tree to allocate these funds. As a result, we’ll be able to plant 15,806 trees, offsetting 7,587 tons of CO2 emissions (EXO’s estimated total carbon output in 2023) and contributing to the local community.
Ruben Derksen, EXO Director of Commercial & Product, recently visited the site and met with the reforestation team as they prepared for the planting. ‘I feel that it’s wonderful that we’re able to use our position in the tourism industry to also benefit the planet’, he reflects. ‘I am happy that we are a purpose-driven company that encourages us to spend time thinking about how we can have a positive impact instead of just striving for economic growth’.
About the EXO Forest
Situated near Krabi in southern Thailand, the EXO Forest lies in a region historically impacted by mining and palm oil expansion. Conservation Natural Forest, Click-A-Tree’s partner in Thailand, identified this area as an ideal site for reforestation efforts.
The forest will host over 30 native tree species, selected to boost the region’s biodiversity and provide essential habitats for local wildlife. Ruben notes, ‘With some of the forest in the area having already grown well, it’s exciting to think that our contribution will help to fill in the empty spaces and provide another refuge for biodiversity’.
‘We greatly appreciate EXO’s contribution to reforest our planet’ adds Chris Kaiser, Click-A-Tree Founder and CEO. ‘Having lived in Southern Thailand for over five years myself, I’m delighted we can give back to the local community and help protect this wonderful country’.
In addition to carbon offsetting and rewilding benefits, the project supports local economic growth by creating long-term jobs for community members who plant, care for, and protect these trees. It also generates supplementary income opportunities for the community through mushroom foraging and eco-tourism.
By working with the Royal Forest Department, Conservation Natural Forest ensures that the EXO Forest site has legal protection and will be preserved for future generations.
The project is structured with a long-term commitment to survival: trees have a 92% success rate and any trees that do not survive will be replanted at no additional cost over the first three years.
Reflecting on his visit, Ruben remarks, ‘I feel that tourism can be a force for good in this world, and provide local people with a source of income that isn’t based on resource exploitation, and rather derives value from creating balance in the natural world’.
About EXO’s Carbon Neutral Holiday fund:
Working with experts in the carbon market, we’ve developed a measurement system to calculate the average carbon footprint of our journeys and the cost to offset these emissions. It averages out to be approximately $1.50 per person per day.
We offer each of our travellers the opportunity to contribute to our Carbon Neutral Holiday fund to offset their travels. These funds are then used to supporting sustainability projects across Asia, like the EXO Forest. Find out more about this initiative here or in the video below.
EXO Travel is a premium Destination Management Company (DMC) providing bespoke travel solutions across a growing portfolio of global destinations. Our services range from one-off tours for individual travellers to memorable incentive trips for groups of hundreds or thousands.
Established in 1993, we’ve harnessed in-depth local knowledge and a widely-recognized penchant for authentic, groundbreaking touring to become a leading DMC for the premium travel market. As a Certified B Corporation, EXO is also demonstrably committed to sustainability and using travel as a force for good.
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