Making an Impact

Located in Grand Teton National Park, the T.A. Moulton Barn is the most photographed barn in the world. It was part of a homestead community called “Mormon Row,” and offers a sense of history in a majestic setting. This setting is also a part of Tauck’s “Impact” programs where we seek to make a difference in the places where we travel, live, and work.

For decades, the Tauck family and our employees have worked to preserve treasured places across the United States and around the world, including national parks; have provided assistance after natural disasters; and have helped to sustain cultures and traditions for future generations. At first, for the most part, we provided financial assistance. We then sought to become more involved in the planning process. Next, we harnessed volunteers from our own employee ranks, to partners and even guests. Additionally, also worked with public and private partnerships to expand the scope.

The barns at Mormon Row are a great case study. We started with support in hiring an architectural firm to strengthen the historical structures. Next came volunteerism. Tauck employees fixed fences, did yard work, and chinked logs, among other projects. It was definitely not hard to find volunteers! Then, the idea expanded to “Hammer Corps,” where outreach was made to volunteer groups across the country – from Boy Scouts, garden groups, retiree groups and more. The project expanded to neighboring homes and structures, a larger campaign was launched, and millions more were raised. We feel proud to have been there from the beginning. We’ve had similar projects in Yellowstone, Glen Canyon, Ellis Island, the Old North Church, Mesa Verde and many other special places.

Thinking of our Impact

Over the last decade, we have thought more broadly about the range of impacts we can have, beyond destination preservation and volunteerism. Our scope has expanded to include the economic, cultural, and environmental effects in the places we travel to.

Tauck’s immersive experiences create opportunities to build relationships locally and bring economic and social benefits to each destination. Every Tauck itinerary has more than 100 elements thoughtfully linked together. We sustain small businesses and family legacy properties. We create employment through our guides, drivers and local service personnel in restaurants, hotels, and attractions. Further, over the past decade, environmental considerations have become more central to our thinking. We have taken an active role in industry forums, and with our partners, to examine how we can reduce, reuse, and recycle. We have lowered fuel consumption, used more sustainable fuels where possible, and have greatly lessened single-use plastics.

We also work to reduce our footprint where we travel through choice, personalization and group size. “Small is big” became our mantra internally over the past ten years.  In 2023, we added many more small-group departures across our land programs, and they now outnumber our regular-sized groups globally. We are now piloting even smaller group departures on select itineraries in 2024. We rebuilt our four Jewel class riverboats with the prime goal of having larger cabins, and fewer passengers. Our newest riverboat, the ms Andorinha in Portugal, accommodates only 84 guests.

Tauck at 100 & Moving Forward

We are blessed to be starting our second century next year still family owned and led. This moment was a catalyst for members of the Tauck family and Tauck’s management team to work on our vision and goals for the coming century. One theme is to think deeply about the health of our planet, the communities we visit, and our own “one global family” of employees, guests, partners, and travel advisors. We have made great strides in past decades, but there’s much more to do. We are eager to move forward.

During our centennial year, we will highlight 100 ways Tauck’s family stewardship and your travels with Tauck are making an impact toward a thriving world. We will hold a company celebration for 800 Tauckies in our beloved city of Florence, Italy, where we will engage in volunteer activities and make several grants to help restore historical and culturally important artwork. We will also relaunch our much-loved company volunteer events in the US. And keep an eye out, for we will connect with our guests for your input on different Impact projects we will pursue.

Leading our important work – under the Tauck Impact banner – is Rebecca Tribelli. She joined us in 2023 and is already making great strides. She formed a volunteer corps across the company to generate, prioritize and implement new ideas, and is in the process of developing a refreshed Impact Vision, with three areas of focus:

• People (social and economic support)
• Places (cultural and historical preservation)
• Planet (protecting and restoring ecosystems and measuring/reducing our environmental impact)

Thank you for your connection to Tauck and for being part of our “one global family,” exploring the world together. We know you share our goal to make a positive impact where we travel. Together, we can accomplish so much.

Warm Regards,

Dan Mahar, CEO