BusinessTN

For people who have climbed Machu Picchu, cruised the Galapagos Islands or whale-watched in Baja, Mexico, ecological tourism, or ecotourism, may be a familiar concept.

For Frank and Peggy Cregor, the term describes a vocation and passion that began in 1994, after reading an article on the devastation of the Amazon rainforest.

"We decided that we had to see some of these places before they were gone," Peggy Cregor says. In the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, an opportunity arose for the former employees of a large insurance agency in Wisconsin to rethink the corporate lifestyle. That year, the husband-and-wife team established an upscale, adventure travel company called Cregor Adventures.

Now operating entirely online from the town of Altamont, Tenn., Cregor Adventures customizes travel itineraries with luxury accommodations and eco-tours across four continents, including the Americas, Antarctica, and soon, Africa. To do so, the company partners with large travel agencies and environmental organizations like Polar Bears International and the Rainforest Alliance, as well as land operators, who employ expert guides and naturalists.

"Clients are met at the airport by transfer agents and guides, and basically, we lead them by the hand all the way through," Frank Cregor says. Each step of the way, the company's philosophy of travel aims to not only protect and conserve ecosystems, but also birth economic livelihood in the community. To ensure the integrity of that mission, the Tennessee couple only markets locations that they visit regularly -- often several times a year.

"We know all the land operators who we deal with personally; we stay up to date with what boats are going out and what special new hotels there are," he says.

Similar to its destinations, the company's clientele spans the globe, according to Frank Cregor, drawing about 45% from Great Britain and the majority from the United States and Canada. Yet, he adds that potential clients still need convincing that ecotourism can befit the average vacationer as much as it can the wilderness explorer or tree-hugging environmentalist. To that end, "Most all of our accommodations are at least first-class or three-star," Cregor says.

What's more, according to Ayako Ezaki, director of communications of the 20-year-old International Ecotourism Society, today's ecotourism no longer lives only in isolated, Third World countries.

"This example of balancing the economic and conservation needs really applies to many places in the more developed country context, as well," Ezaki says.

In recent years, when a global recession also applied to such countries, the sub-set of luxury travel promoted by Cregor Adventures suffered. Despite that fact, many travelers now seek more unique, once-in-a-lifetime trips, "as opposed to going to a beach resort or large hotel, and essentially, having an experience they can have at home," Ezaki says.

Indeed, at home, one cannot venture onto the icy tundra in Churchill, a Canadian town known as the polar bear capital of the world, where Cregor Adventures has booked tours since 2001. When the Bush Administration added polar bears to the threatened species list in 2008, many adventure travelers added Churchill to their bucket lists.

"We did see an increase in inquiries," Peggy Cregor says, and in the following years, significantly more bookings. In an effort to highlight similar crises that often self-promote the company's tours, Cregor Adventures plans to offer treks through Uganda and Rwanda, to combat the poaching of endangered, mountain gorillas.

If more of the average travelers opt for responsible tourism, Ezaki says businesses will act accordingly. Until then, "From the individual consumer and business perspectives, ecotourism is still gaining popularity," Ezaki says. Meanwhile, whether cutting edge or mainstream, when it comes to global ecotourism, the Cregors will be in the middle of it all—and all from their modest headquarters in Tennessee.