The Travel Foundation aims to cut through industry confusion about tourism that takes the environment and destinations seriously. This week it launches a campaign called Make Travel Greener, supported by Travel Weekly.
The charity wants 10,000 members of the trade to complete the training and quiz. It believes it can transform the industry’s understanding of green issues by the end of the year.
The campaign launches on Monday with an invitation to take the Make Travel Greener training and test.
ABTA, The Co-operative Travel group and Advantage are among those who have already signed up.
Co-operative Travel managing director Mike Greenacre was among the first to take the quiz, saying: “I surprised myself a little because I scored 62 out of 64, with an average score in each section of 97%. I have the printout as proof.”
ABTA will promote the quiz to members and it will form part of the Accredited Travel Professional programme, with agents able to download a certificate. Advantage has also promised to promote the training.
The quiz takes 30 minutes and the Foundation promises no jargon. Once registered, you can dip in and out so you do not have to do it all at once.
Greenacre said: “This is a great initiative. Ethical, responsible, sustainable, green – they are all words to describe the same thing, but it can be confusing. It is hard for staff to get their heads around the issues and explain them to customers in a meaningful way.
“Sustainable travel is not just about specialist holidays. It is about every customer, wherever they go and however they travel. Make Travel Greener will go a long way towards raising people’s understanding.”
Travel Foundation chief executive Sue Hurdle said: “There are still a lot of people in our industry who do not know much about responsible travel. This is the biggest educational campaign we have ever launched. But it only takes a tea break to complete.”
The quiz is divided into sections covering climate change, responsible travel, destinations, helping your business stand out, talking to customers and how people can help.
The Travel Foundation believes it will help staff respond to customer queries amid growing environmental awareness. “We want to show that going greener brings clear business benefits” said Hurdle.
The launch will involve a viral campaign, with members of The Travel Foundation’s industry forum emailed and urged to complete the quiz before forwarding it to others working in travel.
- Have you taken the training course? Discuss it in thetravelhub forums…
The Travel Foundation is funded largely by donations from holidaymakers and travel companies. Its trustees include The Co-operative Travel’s Mike Greenacre, TUI UK managing director Dermot Blastland, World Travel Market chairwoman Fiona Jeffery and ABTA chief executive Mark Tanzer.