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This is the question that we are hearing over and over here in the Discover Corps HQ. With travel picking up and vaccine distribution increasing, summer travel is proving to be the reprieve from the, let’s be honest, monotonous year that many of us experienced in 2020. Summer is also when most families get out into the world and use the time to bond, grow and discover.

If you haven’t heard already, Discover Corps started the new year on a positive note with our first departures since the pandemic took hold last Spring. One group took to the tropical Caribbean island of the Dominican Republic and the other to the South American chain of the Galapagos Islands. It took months of preparation, but in the end, both groups received a safe & meaningful experience and we are excited to continue gradually getting back out in the world through the Spring and Summer months.

Since Discover Corps was founded in 2011, we have gone against the grain of the larger travel industry by evangelizing the benefits of small group travel. Why? Well, it’s quite simple, not only is it part of our DNA but leads to a much better experience for the group, guides & communities we partner with. Small groups are more nimble and allow us to access some very unique locales and properties. Think small jungle lodges tucked in the Amazonian Rainforest or boutique luxury tented camps in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. And that personal community connection that the guide is able to facilitate? Well, we can only do that with small groups.

As we close out 2020 and look forward to a hopefully more normal world in 2021, we here at Discover Corps thought it would be fun to take a look around the world at some of the more interesting ways to celebrate the holiday season. Both in countries that we visit and others we hope to visit one day, the holidays highlight just how interesting and diverse our world is. A demon-like creature that terrorizes kids in Austria, Germany & Hungary? Yes, that’s a thing. Celebrating under the candlelight with a KFC dinner? Only in Japan. Below are some of the more fascinating (and occasionally questionable) holiday traditions in this big, wide beautiful world of ours:

As we close out November, we here at Discover Corps are reflecting, like many of you, on what we are grateful for. Despite the challenges this year has brought, we cannot help but express gratitude to everyone that brings our travel programs to life. From our guides to each and every one of our travelers, a tremendous amount of work, dedication and trust goes into making each and every one of these experiences.

Below are just a few of the many pieces that all link together to make a Discover Corps Vacation with Purpose:

If there were a “word of the year” for 2020, a key contender would definitely be “uncertainty”. As we continue to navigate volatility and the unknown, it obviously gets harder and harder to plan. Spontaneously hopping on a plane and jetting off to an exotic foreign destination? Sounds like something from a sci-fi novel these days!

Dreams. This was the word that came up over and over as we designed our new 2021 Trip Catalog that officially went to (digital) press last week. This time each year, we pour over the photos collected from every corner of the world, the quotes sent over from all of our travelers and fine-tune the experiences that give our trips a true sense of purpose. These come together to form the basis of our catalog.

In September 2015, world leaders at the United Nations’ General Assembly in New York adopted 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Designed as a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future, these goals address many of the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice. To date 193 countries have adopted these goals as a way to help guide their societies towards a brighter future.

It may come as no surprise that tourism and wildlife conservation are inherently intertwined. When approached correctly, sustainable tourism practices can be a catalyst for protecting some of Earth’s most treasured creatures. Examples of this can be plucked from just about every country that boasts a high density of wildlife both on land and below the sea. In fact, through the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals, the global community has agreed to implement practices that help protect the most vulnerable wildlife and ensure biodiversity continues for generations to come.

The pandemic has taken a toll on our collective global society from all perspectives. As we continue to assess the damage and chart a way forward, we at Discover Corps have spent hours on Zoom calls, like many of you, musing on what comes next. We consider ourselves eternal optimists and have really started to focus on one silver lining, how can we use this moment as an opportunity? An opportunity to re-invent the way we explore our world and fundamentally shift travel from a wholly consumptive experience to something that strengthens our shared humanity.