Venturing into the wild with a ‘Inexperienced’ contact: Albatros Expeditions

 

Do you need to escape the abnormal? Experience the uncooked energy of nature, discover locations far-far-away? Then it’s time so that you can guide an Albatros Expedition for a life much less abnormal. TDM speaks with Søren Rasmussen, Owner and Founder, Albatros Expeditions, who shares extra on the adventurous, sustainable, and magical spirit of the cruise line.

Travel Daily Media (TDM): An explorer at coronary heart, kindly share with us your journey to forming and rising Albatros Expeditions, which has been bringing vacationers to the Arctic area for the final three a long time. 

Søren Rasmussen (SR): It all started for me in Greenland throughout the 90s. I’d spent years exploring Africa, however Greenland stopped me in my tracks. I bear in mind packing my strolling boots and trekking as much as Great Baleen, a mountain exterior of Nuuk. The huge, open view of ice and panorama was breathtaking. From that second, I knew I needed to maintain coming again for extra. The solely drawback? There simply weren’t some ways to get to those distant areas again then.

That’s when Albatros Expeditions began. We start in the 90s chartering vessels to navigate the Arctic and Greenland. Our focus was clear: create an expedition expertise. We wished our company to really feel like they had been actually venturing into the wild, not simply on a sightseeing tour. These first ships we’ve used had been totally different, constructed for exploration, not luxurious.

Fast ahead to at the moment, and whereas we’ve launched two state-of-the-art vessels with a contact of luxurious, our core ardour continues to be the similar – exploring the world’s most distant areas. These new ships enable us to supply these unbelievable adventures at aggressive costs, making them accessible to extra individuals.

Being a family-owned firm means a lot to us. We need to create the very best expertise for our company, with the motto: “Make people feel at home and be part of our family.” On our smaller ships, it’s straightforward to attach. You’ll see acquainted faces in the eating room, forging bonds with fellow explorers and the crew who turn out to be your prolonged household for the journey. Our expedition workforce itself displays this spirit. We convey collectively individuals from throughout the world, with various backgrounds and experiences, to create a actually spectacular journey for our company.

We need to promote experiences. We provide the probability to flee the abnormal, to witness the uncooked energy of nature, to go to hardly ever accessed locations, and to create recollections that can final a lifetime. This is what we’re obsessed with, and it exhibits in each journey we share with our company.

 

TDM: How do Albatros Expeditions synergise with exploration, nature conservation and sustainability?

SR: Sustainability is at the coronary heart of all the things we do. We take nice pleasure in being pioneers in sustainable journey, having received our first Sustainable Travel Award in 1995 as Albatros Travel.

Our dedication begins with our fleet. Both the Ocean Victory and Ocean Albatros are designed to be trade leaders in eco-friendly journey. These ships boast one among the lowest gasoline consumption to passenger ratios, considerably decreasing our carbon footprint.

Onboard, we’ve applied a complete inexperienced program. We use solely eco-friendly cleansing merchandise and provide natural and fair-trade teas, coffees, and sustainably sourced seafood in our eating places. Even our parkas are designed with recycled supplies, and we function a parka change program to make sure minimal waste. We consider in offering a luxurious expertise that doesn’t come at the expense of the surroundings.

Beyond the technical features, we prioritise accountable engagement with the communities we go to. Our aim is to make sure our presence has a constructive influence, not simply on our company but in addition on the native individuals. We purpose for secure and environmentally pleasant journey to the polar areas, and actively assist tasks that give again to the locations we discover. Our fundraising initiatives contribute to world and native efforts centered on conservation and group improvement in the areas we function. This dedication to sustainability is mirrored in all the things we do, from the design of our ships to the approach we work together with the environments we go to.

 

TDM: Kindly share high 5 tricks to the good Polar Holiday and high 5 tricks to the good African Safari.

SR:  1) Do Your Research: Both the Arctic, Antarctica and Africa are huge landscapes with various wildlife and pure magnificence. Research your supreme vacation spot primarily based on the animals you’d prefer to see and the kind of terrain you favor. Consider elements like time of yr, climate patterns, and wildlife migrations. Albatros Expeditions affords European repositioning journeys, Arctic adventures to Greenland and Svalbard, and Antarctic expeditions to the Peninsula, South Georgia and locations in between. Albatros Africa has tented safari camps in Tanzania and South Africa, and provide journeys to Kenya, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Namibia.

2) Choose the Right operators: A good firm could make all the distinction. Look for firms with skilled and educated guides, snug lodging or fleet, and a robust dedication to moral wildlife viewing practices.

3) Pack Strategically: Pack snug, breathable layers. None of Albatros Travel’s merchandise require formal apparel. We emphasise consolation and true expedition expertise over pointless gimmicks. Binoculars are a should for recognizing distant animals! Of course, your digicam for those who take pleasure in taking images.

4) Embrace the lengthy days: Many animals are most lively at daybreak and nightfall. Embrace the early wake-up calls and lengthy days and maximise your wildlife viewing alternatives.

5) Respect the Wildlife: You’re a privileged customer in these pristine areas. Follow your information’s directions and keep a secure distance from wildlife. Avoid loud noises or sudden actions that might startle animals. Remember, you’re there to look at and respect the wonders of nature.

 

TDM: What are you doing to forge a long run mutually helpful partnership with your journey commerce companions? 

SR:  At Albatros Expeditions, we worth our journey commerce companions and prioritise constructing long-term, win-win relationships. Since our chartering days, we’ve maintained a robust deal with B2B partnerships (90-95%), with some lasting since the very starting. To additional strengthen these partnerships, we’ve representatives throughout the globe (Asia, Southeast Asia, Australia, Europe, UK, Middle East, North America) providing assist in native languages and time zones. Our globally distributed Business Development groups are market specialists devoted to fostering robust ties with journey brokers. We empower them with the newest availability data, gross sales supplies, and beautiful visuals to successfully showcase our expeditions. Our workforce’s ardour goes past the Polar areas – they’ve personally skilled our adventures, permitting them to reply journey accomplice questions with firsthand data.

Looking forward, we’re repeatedly creating software program to reinforce the buyer journey, present real-time availability, and simplify the reserving course of for each journey brokers and their purchasers.

 

TDM: Facilitating journey for the Scandinavian spirit for many years, what stay your future plans for Albatros Expeditions? What is the legacy that you’d go away for the future generations?

SR:  Albatros Expeditions is all about exploring the Arctic and Antarctic areas with a contact of Scandinavian hospitality. People can calm down on our ships after a day of journey, sharing tales with new or previous pals and journey companions. That heat and welcoming environment is what we name “hygge.”

Our Danish roots run deep. Our ships are a mix of traditional Scandinavian design, snug and practical, constructed by Norwegian specialists particularly for polar exploration. They’re stunning and hard, good for the sort of journeys we provide.

Even the meals displays our heritage. During meals and afternoon tea, you would possibly expertise Danish delicacies, reflecting a custom of having fun with scrumptious meals with good firm.

Looking forward, we need to share our ardour for exploration with future generations, particularly these new to the Polar areas. Our a long time of expertise in the Arctic inform all the things we do, and we hope to depart a legacy of exploration, sustainability, and appreciating the pure world.

 

TDM: Any message you wish to ship throughout to the younger explorers and travellers on the market?

SR:  The world of exploration has modified a lot. Back in the day, it was easier, however at the moment it’s all about exploring responsibly and defending our planet. Which is a good factor.

We are accountable to take our company on unbelievable adventures to those environments safely, however it’s not nearly enjoyable and explorations! We additionally need to train all of them about these superb, however susceptible locations and the wildlife that calls them dwelling.

We need to create new technology of explorers who’re obsessed with defending the pure world. By becoming a member of our journeys, they will be taught from our specialists and turn out to be explorers who make a distinction. We can’t pressure them to take motion, however we hope to spark your curiosity and encourage them to discover and shield our planet for years to return!