PIONEERS AND DESIGNERS FOR SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR TOURISM
Welcome to Trail Angels!
We are pioneers and creators of sustainable tourism. To achieve this, we are both a consulting agency and a specialized travel agency. This combination allows us to shape outdoor tourism projects in a truly sustainable way: ecologically, socially, and above all economically—with long-lasting regional value creation.
©Matthew Nelson/Trail Angels
OUR MISSION
Tourism Consulting & Travel Agency
“Innovation and sustainability as the new normal.”
The global vision of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the North Star for us Trail Angels. To fulfill this mission, we have taken new paths by combining our expertise in sustainable tourism consulting with that of a high-performing and highly rated specialized travel agency. This has made us idea generators, developers, and long-term partners for some of the most impactful projects in sustainable outdoor tourism—from the Alpe-Adria-Trail to the Lynx Trail and the High Scardus Trail, to name just three out of more than 50 projects in 17 countries. We also aim to inspire tourism decision-makers to take the first step with us toward innovative and balanced sustainable projects.
OUR UNIQUE SELLING POINT
Trails with Impact
“The only source of knowledge is experience.”
(Albert Einstein)
Long before founding Trail Angels, we were involved in teaching, destination management, nature conservation and travel services. These experiences taught us to always link the development of sustainable outdoor tourism projects with their long-term value creation. Projects are only truly sustainable if they continue to generate impact for regions long after the official project ends. That’s why we developed our unique and proven Trail Angels model. It gives projects wings—from the initial idea to sustainable, long-term management—ensuring that modest initial costs are far outweighed by the regional value they generate. That’s our unique selling point!
©Klaus Dapra/Nationalpark-Region
©Klaus Dapra
THE WAY BEYOND
Our Tourism Consulting
“In everything you do, consider what will endure in the end – that is sustainability”
(Eric Schweizer)
This quote is undoubtedly our mantra in consulting, developing, and implementing sustainable tourism projects. We always strive—in close coordination with our partners—to combine project design with solutions for a “Way beyond”: a long-term, resilient, and value-creating future. Too often, projects end up as ineffective “paper tigers.” We prevent this by focusing on the development and market-readiness of linear products such as long-distance hiking trails and stage-based cycling routes, as well as experience design for other sustainable tourism products. Recently, we have also introduced innovative approaches for climate-friendly travel and creative storytelling for travel products. Learn more about our consulting portfolio here.
WALK LIKE AN ANGEL
Tourism Consulting & Travel Agency
“Innovation and sustainability as the new normal.”
The global vision of the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the North Star for us Trail Angels. To fulfill this mission, we have taken new paths by combining our expertise in sustainable tourism consulting with that of a high-performing and highly rated specialized travel agency. This has made us idea generators, developers, and long-term partners for some of the most impactful projects in sustainable outdoor tourism—from the Alpe-Adria-Trail to the Lynx Trail and the High Scardus Trail, to name just three out of more than 50 projects in 17 countries. We also aim to inspire tourism decision-makers to take the first step with us toward innovative and balanced sustainable projects.
©Klaus Dapra
Explore Bookyourtrail® and our current outdoor travel program, which also includes trekking tours, cycling trips, and ski tours.
©Thomas Sattler/Fair Trails
LATEST ON SUSTAINABLE OUTDOOR TOURISM
The Trail Angels Blog
“If you don’t have good news, then don’t bring any.”
(Bob Dylan)
Our world could truly use more good deeds and messages. Even though we are a small company, we try to make our tiny contribution to a better world through sustainable tourism—and share it on our blog. Here you’ll find updates on our projects, ideas and impulses for new sustainability initiatives, inspiring travel stories, and external commentary. Our blog helps you get to know us, our mission, and our work—and might even inspire your next trip or a new sustainable tourism project. Enjoy reading!
MORE REASONS TO CHOOSE TRAIL ANGELS
We Are Award-Winning
“Praise is the food of the soul.”
(Socrates)
The appreciation of our guests and project partners is the greatest recognition and motivation for future tasks in sustainable tourism. We strive to meet the highest quality standards, welcome feedback on Trustpilot®, are one of the few Austrian travel agencies with Travelife sustainability certification, act as the official trail service and booking center for more than 20 trails, and have won several prestigious awards for our projects.
Learn more about our awards here.
©Travelife
©Martin Huber/Trail Angels
SMELLS LIKE TEAM SPIRIT
About Us
When we founded Trail Angels 10 years ago, we combined our knowledge and experience from teaching, consulting, and destination management with our boundless passion for the outdoors. We consciously chose new, less-trodden paths—always inspired by our conviction that sustainable tourism can not only create value but is the sole perspective for the future of travel. Over the years, this mission has shaped a team that blends experienced and recognized outdoor and tourism experts with the “true angels”—a young, helpful, and competent service and booking center team.
Learn more about us Trail Angels here!
A Short Story About Long-Distance Hiking, Us, and What Makes Us Tick
About the magic of long-distance hiking
It is truly a great privilege when leisure interests and work overlap, turning a profession into a vocation. That’s exactly what happened with the core team of Trail Angels. Back then, we were still working in destination management when the idea for the Alpe-Adria-Trail was born. As passionate long-distance hikers, we threw ourselves into this visionary hiking project with great enthusiasm. Because transforming a long-distance hiking trail, which carefully follows existing paths, into a flagship product for sustainable tourism was an exciting prospect—and stood in such pleasant contrast to other tourism strategies, such as noisy events and resource-consuming infrastructures.
The New Way of Long-Distance Hiking
We then successfully applied for a license to operate the Official Alpe-Adria-Trail Booking Centre and immediately paid the price. Although the Alpe-Adria-Trail attracted a lot of interest from the start, potential customers didn’t want to book our offers—which were mostly scheduled and guided group tours, as was customary 10 years ago. Sometimes the dates didn’t fit, sometimes the section of the trail or the duration of the trip didn’t, and so on. Demand had simply changed dramatically, along with the ideal image of a hiking trip on a long-distance trail. Customers envisioned individual hiking with plenty of personal freedom, combined with tailor-made services. And hiking without luggage—meaning with luggage transfer—was right at the top of the wish list.
Sustainability as the New Normal
So we adapted our Alpe-Adria-Trail offers to meet the demands of this new way of hiking: You can now hike whenever you want; start your journey wherever you want; hike as long as you want and with whomever you want—and above all, how you want—with individually selected services. A model that proved so successful that we applied it to other long-distance trails in the following years. This demonstrated that sustainable tourism—in our case, in the form of long-distance trails—can also create value and have a significant impact on the regions. Through our concrete actions in the destinations, we aim to contribute to fulfilling the global vision of the World Tourism Organization: that sustainability will become the new normal.
The Next Step into the Future
Alongside passion, expertise, and sustainability, the will to innovate has always shaped our work. Especially when it comes to designing responsible long-distance hiking for the future, we achieved a milestone with the development of our new offers: Hiking without a footprint. For the first time, hiking trips can be offered that have an almost negligible ecological footprint—by balancing climate-friendly services with conscious restraint and providing an evidence-based emissions balance for each trip. We are convinced: This is the hiking trip of the future!
YOUR MESSAGE TO US
Contact
Every great journey begins with the first click.
If we could inspire you with our travel program, just get in touch with us. You will see: The first click can turn into an unforgettable travel experience!
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