Naturetrek’s Andy Tucker says focus on sustainability, people and technology has been key to firm’s success

The travel sector has been in the eye of the storm of digital disruption over the past four decades while pressure on the industry to become more sustainable has also provided difficult headwinds for operators.

Hampshire-based Naturetrek, however, has not only weathered this turbulence but has drawn on these twin pressures to achieve substantial growth in recent years.

Naturetrek organises wildlife and nature-focused holidays around the world which includes wildlife holidays, birdwatching, photography, mammal and whale watching tours and other small group travel experiences.

The company's brochure is a nature-lover's bucket list featuring Jaguar watching in Brazil, photo safaris in Kenya and bird watching in Cuba.

The Alton company is ranked number one in this year’s Thames Valley Growth SME 100 ranking, published by The Business Magazine, with a turnover of £17.7 million for the year ending 2022.

Naturetrek expects a turnover of £28m for the year 2024.

Managing Director Andy Tucker said: "Running a travel business isn't rocket science, but you do need to be a very level-headed character, good under pressure, good at prioritising work and have a focus on customer service.

"Travel done right can be a force for good through sustainable local employment and investment in carefully chosen conservation projects around the world.

"As we evolve, we want to harness technology to make the customer journey smoother and easy for our customers but fundamentally the business is all about people"

Andy joined the company 25 years ago as an office junior and tour leader before taking up a leadership role in 2002.

The company has seen significant, stable, organic growth through this period.

Andy, who is married with four children, grew up with a keen love of mountains, sports and wildlife.

He studied aquatic biology at Aberystwyth University before working in fisheries ecology after graduation.

Andy then went on a placement in the Amazon rainforest as a naturalist guide in what was to be the start of a chain of events which led him into a career in the travel industry.

He said: "I had a wonderful year in South East Peru from 1995 to 1996 running guided tours for three weeks at a time and then having a week off to travel around the continent and learn Spanish.

“I really wanted to make use of my new-found language skills and passion for travel around south America and get into the travel industry.

"I met Naturetrek founder David Mills at the Birdfair in Rutland and joined the company in September 1998."

SUSTAINABILITY PRESSURES

Naturetrek was founded by David and Maryanne Mills in 1986. David was a trekking guide in the Himalaya and noticed there was a niche market for nature-focused walking and trekking tours.

The company remains family-owned with conservation at its heart.

Andy said: "The owners of Naturetrek remain committed to operating it as a family run business and investing capital in some exciting conservation projects, including land acquisition and reserve creation.

"I hope the future of Naturetrek is secure as a family business with the majority of profits being invested in conservation."

There was a time when the travel agents and glossy brochures were a portal to exotic destinations, however with the internet came the ability for holidaymakers to create their own trips.

This in turn put pressure on many small and medium-sized travel enterprises that have either merged or are no longer in business.

So what is Naturetrek’s secret to not only surviving this period of technological change but also thriving?

Andy says it comes down to the firm’s highly differentiated product and while it may have smaller competitors, none have managed to reach the level of scale that his company has.

He said: "In the mid-nineties, many people could only book their holidays through a travel agent or teletext and that was the only way they had to access the market.

"The marketing strategy of a tour operator has fundamentally changed. Alongside a brochure, you need to do your e-marketing, pay-per-click advertising, trade shows and social media.

"You have to have a finger in all of these different pies to be successful."

Trust is becoming an increasingly important factor for travellers, said the Naturetrek MD, and explains partly why consumers are keen to consult an operator like his rather than go it alone.

He said: "People appreciate good customer service and having the worry about their holiday planning taken away from them.

"When things go wrong, be it a cancellation or unforeseen circumstances, they know we will be in the background providing support and solutions.”

MENTORING AND GROWING STAFF

Key to Naturetrek’s growth under Andy has been finding the right people and developing their careers.

He said: "I want people that will be good team players and that's what we've managed to do successfully here in the team.

"It can be difficult when things go wrong, and you want people that will come in and do what it takes. You don't want people with airs and graces who will refuse to do certain jobs."

Covid brought the travel industry to a grinding halt and the stop-start nature of international lockdown measures meant that it was difficult for companies to gain traction again.

Andy says guiding Naturetrek through Covid has been his greatest achievement in his 26 years at the company with the firm only making a loss of £200,000 during lockdown-hit 2021.

He said: "We treated our clients right and keeping the goodwill was vital for when travelling started again.

"Our fellow tour operators burned through millions of capital keeping their business afloat.

IMPORTANCE OF FEEDBACK

As MD, Andy says he still reads every piece of feedback that customers give which helps signal if the firm is heading in the right direction.

He said: "I still take a keen interest in every single piece of feedback that comes into the office and when there's constructive criticism, we take it on board but by and large it is mostly praise.

"You get a real sense of satisfaction when someone writes to you after a trip. They often say it has been a life-changing experience, that they have saved up a lifetime for this.

'When you get this type of gratitude, it keeps me and the team going."

With its continued growth, Naturtrek is very much on the right track.