Mistakes, we\u2019ve made a few. In fact, you probably have too. But for Intrepid CEO James Thornton, who has his own confession to make, being open about our mistakes can make us not just better travellers, but better people too.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere are plenty of things I\u2019ve done over the course of my life that I\u2019m not proud of. You\u2019d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn\u2019t made mistakes in their lifetime. If we never made mistakes, we\u2019d never grow into functioning, morally minded, opinion-having adults.<\/p>\n Intrepid CEO James Thornton.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And so, as CEO of one of the world\u2019s largest sustainable travel companies, a travel company that five years ago made the decision to ban elephant rides on all of its trips, I have a confession to make:<\/p>\n In 2004, I rode an elephant in Thailand<\/a>.<\/p>\n I know. I don\u2019t feel great about it. In fact, I didn\u2019t feel great about it at the time, and that was before<\/em> we knew how much these animals have to suffer for our enjoyment. But \u2013\u00a0and this is going to sound like a complete cop out \u2013\u00a0it\u2019s just what people did back then.<\/p>\n RELATED: I RODE AN ELEPHANT FOR FUN. HERE\u2019S WHY IT WAS ANYTHING BUT.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve all been in those situations, and they can be particularly prevalent when we\u2019re travelling, when something might just seem a little <\/em>bit off-kilter (lukewarm food, I\u2019m looking at you). But everyone else goes along with it, so you do too.<\/p>\n I\u2019m no veterinarian but those elephants in Thailand didn\u2019t look particularly happy. But there was part of my brain that said, \u201csurely, if this was dodgy in any way, we wouldn\u2019t be allowed to do it.\u201d And so on I went, just another one of the tens of thousands of tourists sucked in by this heavily-touted \u2018once in a lifetime\u2019 experience.<\/p>\n \u201cSurely, if this was dodgy, we wouldn\u2019t be allowed to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n As I mentioned above, mistakes are an essential part of life. As a company, Intrepid made the mistake of offering elephant rides for nearly 20 years. And as a company, as soon as Intrepid realised that mistake, we invested the necessary time, money and energy to fix it.<\/p>\n In 2010, we partnered with World Animal Protection<\/a>, a global not-for-profit animal welfare group, to commission one of the first studies into elephant conditions on the ground. We looked at 118 wildlife projects and businesses all over Thailand. The results revealed an industry that was trading on animal cruelty.<\/p>\n RELATED: THIS IS WHY WE NO LONGER RIDE ELEPHANTS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n In 2014, we removed elephant rides on all our trips<\/a>. It was an industry-shaking move at the time. Intrepid was the first global travel company to take this stance, but happily, we weren\u2019t the last. Since then, over 200 travel companies around the world, including heavyweights like TripAdvisor, have followed our lead and removed elephant riding from their itineraries.<\/p>\n Now every action has a reaction, so from 2020, Intrepid will be offering new trips and initiatives in Thailand and Laos that help support the animals and mahouts<\/em> (elephant handlers) impacted by our 2014 decision.<\/p>\n Travellers will be able to watch elephants roam and swim in their natural habitat at MandaLao<\/a>, the first non-elephant riding sanctuary in Luang Prabang. And Intrepid\u2019s not-for-profit, The Intrepid Foundation<\/a>, will also be raising funds to help support the organisation.<\/p>\n RELATED: LOVE ELEPHANTS? HERE\u2019S WHY YOU SHOULD VISIT MANDALAO ELEPHANT CONSERVATION<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n In Thailand, travellers from will be able to visit the ChangChill<\/a>, an organisation that supports the protection, conservation and lifestyle of free roaming elephants in the area. These new experiences will be totally immersive, educational and experiential \u2013\u00a0and they will cause absolutely no harm to the elephants.<\/p>\n FIND OUT MORE ABOUT INTREPID\u2019S STANCE ON ANIMAL WELFARE HERE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n I wanted to talk about this on World Elephant Day because I think it\u2019s important for us all to face up to the mistakes we\u2019ve made \u2013\u00a0whether in travel or everyday life. Positive change doesn\u2019t happen when we\u2019re living in regret, fear or shame. Positive change happens when we\u2019re able to be honest and open with our community and say, \u201cYep, I messed up. But here\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do about it.\u201d<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t end with being honest about our mistakes, either. We also have a responsibility to listen to what other people have to say without judging or chastising them. One of the best things about mistakes, actually, is that we can also learn from the mistakes of others. So the more we share, the more likely we are to make better decisions moving forward.<\/p>\n You\u2019re not alone if you\u2019ve ever ridden an elephant. But this World Elephant Day, we ask you to join us and share your experiences to help raise awareness and stop elephant rides for good. Tell us your story on Facebook<\/a> or Instagram<\/a> \u2013 don\u2019t forget to use the hashtags #StopElephantRides\u00a0\u2013 and tag @intrepidtravel so we can see your post.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n Feature photo by Matt Freer.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.intrepidtravel.com\/adventures\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/JAMES_Elephant-e1565569017527.jpg\")
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