Once Upon a Trip places sustainable development at the core of its business model. The company is committed to designing travel experiences that generate positive impacts on the environment, wildlife, and local communities, while encouraging travelers to adopt more responsible practices.

At Once Upon a Trip, we believe tourism can be a powerful force for good—supporting communities, protecting the environment, and celebrating local cultures. 

Our mission is to offer authentic and responsible travel experiences while contributing to a more sustainable future in New Zealand and the Pacific. 

Internally, we reduce our use of natural resources, operate with fully digital travel documents, minimize waste, and prioritize local purchasing. We promote fair and inclusive working conditions, including a 36-hour work week paid as 40 hours, fair salary adjustments, and ongoing sustainability training. 

In our community engagement, we support local development, promote cultural experiences, and share the Tiaki Promise to encourage respectful travel. Our supply chain prioritizes locally owned and Qualmark-certified providers, and we encourage partners to improve through a sustainability scan. For our clients, we communicate transparently about the International Visitor Conservation and Tourism Levy (IVL), offer responsible travel tips, and highlight sustainable initiatives. 

Over the next 2–5 years, we aim to fully integrate sustainability across all operations, strengthen our positive impact, reduce tourism leakage, and collaborate with aligned partners while maintaining transparency with all stakeholders.

Supporting Wildlife Conservation: Pohatu Penguins

Once Upon a Trip actively supports Pohatu Penguins, a well‑established conservation organisation dedicated to protecting the little blue penguin (kororā) and its natural habitat in New Zealand.

Our Concrete Contribution

Our support goes beyond simply sending business to the organisation:

Annual financial donation: 

Our donation to Pōhatu Penguins directly supports a wide range of essential conservation activities. As confirmed by the organisation, our financial contribution helps fund nesting box materials for little blue penguins and other native bird species, ensures the rehabilitation of injured penguins (including food, veterinary care, and maintenance of rehabilitation facilities), and supports predator control programmes, covering equipment, upkeep, and trappers’ wages.

In addition, our donation contributes to the reforestation of Pōhatu’s protected covenants, including tree planting and track building, backs penguin conservation research projects, and enables staff training initiatives such as trapping workshops, rehabilitation workshops, and penguin symposiums. It also helps fund educational programmes for school groups, raising awareness about wildlife conservation among younger generations.

Through this support, Once Upon a Trip ensures that its financial contributions translate into measurable, on-the-ground impacts for wildlife protection, habitat restoration, research, and education, reinforcing our commitment to responsible and conservation-led tourism.

Business-generated support: We prioritise Pohatu Penguins in our itineraries, directing travellers to their responsible, conservation-focused experiences.

Traveller donations: When Once Upon a Trip needs to refund travellers following a cancelled service, we actively encourage them to donate the remaining balance to Pohatu Penguins. Many travellers choose this option, allowing their trip to have a direct positive impact even when plans change.

This approach creates a simple and transparent way for travellers to contribute meaningfully to wildlife conservation.