Shannon Guihan, chief TreadRight Officer, The TreadRight Foundation ponders the post-Covid future on Earth Day
It’s remarkably difficult to comprehend how much our world has changed over a period of just a few weeks. These are unprecedented times for the travel sector in particular, with many businesses concerned for their futures, employees fearing for their jobs, and a worldwide community of travellers putting plans on hold. Our industry is collectively holding its breath for the moment when restrictions will be lifted and we can all start travelling again.
That time will come and, while we prepare for the world to re-open, we can use this collective time of pause to consider how best our industry can and should manage the return of travel, and what we can do better once the world starts to turn again. Today being Earth Day, this feels like an appropriate moment to reflect on the kind of meaningful travel experiences that we should offer to our clients and the type of travellers that we ourselves, as impassioned explorers of this amazing planet, wish to be. More importantly, in my opinion, will be the way that the industry behaves through its operations and while in destination.
Last year, in pre-COVID-19 times, ‘overtourism’ was one of the most high-profile issues our industry was looking to tackle. Now, with a hiatus in travel and rapid drops in industrial activity, electricity production and motor vehicle use, the planet has an opportunity to breathe. Venice’s waters are clear; levels of greenhouse gases and pollution have dropped significantly. All of this makes a case for industries to come back at a controlled pace and to address their impact now. In travel, that means customers making journeys cautiously and gradually at first, and for us to carefully consider where we travel to in the early stages. Depending on the number of people affected and the extent of local infrastructure, some communities will be better able to support an influx of tourists than others, and it is important not to overwhelm destinations before they have recovered sufficiently and are ready to receive visitors on top of their own resident populations. That said, many destinations need visitors as a result of an intense reliance on our industry, so it’s critical that we find a balance.
As we all know, travel can be an important force for good. The TreadRight Foundation and the TTC family of travel brands that we work alongside, including Trafalgar, Insight Vacations, Contiki, Uniworld and Red Carnation Hotels, believe strongly in the transformative potential of travel, and we are motivated to create travel experiences that support this potential, in addition to operating in a manner that does the same. Travel has the potential to open minds, connect cultures, protect endangered species and, most importantly following this global shutdown, to drive local economies and empower communities worldwide. Though in the long-term the shutdown will feel like a blip, the rapid cessation of travel is hurting communities, and we will need to return strong in order to protect their way of life, as well as our own businesses.
In this incredible time of togetherness at a local and a global level, I hope that we will unite in working together to make our industry even more sustainable and responsible, and to safeguard it for the future. The world has shown great altruism in this time of crisis; when we start to travel again, let’s choose to work with those travel companies that that will support communities around the world, and allow guests to give back through the nature of the holidays that they curate. And as companies, we have an obligation to address the way in which we operate, and ask ourselves – are we doing enough?
The travel that we do might be more gradual at first, with smaller numbers and with new social distancing measures in place, but the renewal of our industry is inevitable. We are inherently curious about the world and will be keen to explore it once again, when we can. In the meantime, keep the hope, dream of travels to come, and prepare responsibly for the time when we can enjoy the world beyond our doors once again. The planet awaits us when the time is right – and, until then, happy Earth Day to you all.
Treadright’s Shannon Guihan is hosting an Earth Day Instagram Live Q&A with film director and socio-environmental advocate Céline Cousteau at 5pm BST on Wednesday, April 22. Watch it on Instagram @TreadRight
