Agent Diary: Can I justify a trip on sustainability grounds solely because I want to go?

I’m off on my ‘jollies’, as my family and friends affectionately call my work trips. As I write, I’m preparing to go to Aberdeen to spend two nights with the team from AE Expeditions and explore the Greg Mortimer.

 

I’m super-excited about this one. I think these expedition ships are some of the most exciting products on the market and, along with culturally immersive small-group or private tours, it feels like their planets are in the ascendancy. They’re heralding real changes in our industry, so I’ve been desperate to understand them better in the hope I can bag some sales.

Parental guilt 

We have always been a sociable industry, and I’ve enjoyed my share of trips and parties over the years. But I’m a parent, so my natural state of being is to feel perpetually guilty over something or other. When my kids were young, I didn’t accept fam trips for guilt over leaving them, and I’m not alone in that. The rise of support groups like Back in Time for Bed – for those whose job makes regular travel unavoidable – have helped us all better understand the demands on their time this industry can bring, and has seen calls for change by some leaders. And recently it was great to see a cruise line encouraging travel professionals to bring their children on a family-friendly experience on board.      

 

When my kids hit their teenage years, I decided to make up for lost opportunities. I recall a colleague once saying I would go to the opening of an envelope, and he may have had a point at the time. But my kids have now grown, and the world and the industry have changed. These trips are precious opportunities for agents to learn and be inspired, but I always consider whether my going on a particular trip will give value to the tour operator, my business and clients, while still being fair to my family.

 

So you’d think a one-night, whistle-stop trip would be the answer, but these days I also have a new pull on my conscience. Can I justify a trip that involves two flights for a one-night experience that just by sheer lack of time does not reflect the product as my client would find it, and involves no value contact with the destination country or its people? Since I often wax lyrical about sustainability, can I justify a trip solely because I really want to go, regardless of the consequences? My conscience won over recently and I had to politely refuse a trip I was offered, on these grounds.

Justifiable journey

If I could have taken a train, things might have been different, but as anyone north of Birmingham knows, it’s not so easy for those of us up here to reach Europe on a train when you’re on the clock.

 

So AE has saved the day. This trip involves no flights; plus, I’ve invited my husband and extended our stay by adding three nights to explore the Cairngorms – we’ve been promising ourselves a Highlands adventure for years. He gets to go off with his bike for a couple of nights while I’m working, and we have offered a car share on the way home to a colleague. That’s a win-win, meaning for once I can enjoy a trip guilt-free!

 

 

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Hats off to the eco operators

I was invited to join a group of agents who are sustainability champions, and their commitment and depth of knowledge on a subject fraught with misinformation is awe-inspiring. My clients generally book long-haul tours or tailor-made trips, with my own holidays being the same, so I’m grateful to the increasing number of tour operators who are making the huge commitment to get certified as B Corp or similar.

 

Not only are their itineraries really exciting with fascinating local experiences, but I can trust that they have done their homework, helping me to avoid accidentally making unethical choices. I find I am driving my business in their direction more and more these days.