AAT Kings has quietly crossed a marker worth knowing about if you're eyeing an Australia or New Zealand holiday: 95% of the operator's tours now include a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience — a structured encounter designed to put something back into the destination, whether that's wildlife protection, cultural knowledge or community support.
The new and expanded inclusions arrive with the 2027/28 Australia and New Zealand programme, and they're specific rather than token gestures. The standout on the Australian side is the new nine-day Outback New South Wales Adventurer, which takes travellers to Menindee Lakes and Kinchega National Park with a local Indigenous guide. Here the focus is Barkindji heritage — creation stories, ancestral knowledge and the traditional uses of native plants — layered onto an itinerary that also covers pastoral history, regional food and wine, and outback towns well off the usual red-centre circuit.
New Zealand gets its own additions. The Southern Wonders tour now stops at the Ōamaru Penguin Conservation Centre, where visitors learn about kororā — the little blue penguin — through the Discovery Centre and a guided colony walk, with proceeds supporting the centre's conservation work. Meanwhile, Spirit of New Zealand adds a day at Real Country, a working farm with sheepdog mustering and horse demonstrations, which also backs the Fairlight Foundation, a charity advancing education and leadership opportunities for women in agriculture.
Group CEO Ben Hall frames the milestone as good for both sides of the equation: travellers come away understanding far more about where they've been, and destinations get tangible support. That's a fair pitch — meeting a Barkindji guide or the people protecting an endangered penguin colony tends to stick in the memory longer than another photo stop.
On the practical side, all remaining 2026 departures are guaranteed to run, and Last Minute Deals are available for late planners. Anyone booking ahead can tap the 2027/28 New Season Sale, which offers savings of up to AU$2,200 per couple on selected Northern Territory, South Australia, Western Australia and New Zealand trips — but only if you book by 30 September 2026. Terms apply.
Why it matters: responsible-travel claims are easy to make and hard to verify. What sets this apart is the specificity — you can point at the guide, the penguin centre, the farm. If your ideal holiday involves learning rather than just ticking off sights, it's worth checking which MAKE TRAVEL MATTER Experience is attached to the itinerary you're considering, and letting that shape the trip you pick.
Story via Karryon.
