Interview: ‘Everything comes back to finance’

The Travel Foundation has grown over almost three decades from a UK charity set up by a small group of tour operators into an organisation with global recognition. Yet in late April it changed its name to Travel Forward.

 

Chief executive Jeremy Sampson explains: “We were set up to be like a foundation but were no longer operating like a foundation. 

 

“We regularly get calls asking for money and it makes you think, ‘What do people assume we are?’ A foundation has a connotation of distributing wealth and that is not what we’re doing. That felt like a disconnect. We need to be funded to do our work. 

“We looked for a new name for a while and were prepared to keep the [old] name if we didn’t find one we felt could embody who we are. The minute we saw Travel Forward, we said ‘That is the one.’ 

 

“Being a foundation is sort of stable, and maybe in the early years it was important to communicate stability. But now there is way too much urgency and need for action.

 

"What we are now is a vehicle to move forward – not just to talk, not just to recognise the problem, not just to challenge, but to be solution-oriented, to demonstrate what action looks like.”

 

He adds: “No one can do these things on their own, especially the way this industry is structured. There is lots happening, a lot of people working hard, but there aren’t enough people working together.

 

“The only way to move forward is through collective action, and Travel Forward is a vehicle – part of the infrastructure to facilitate that collective action. We’re in a unique position to be that vehicle. We’ve leaned in on the independence we’ve earned as an organisation.”

 

Sampson points out: “When I arrived [in 2019], we were primarily funded by Tui. 

Nothing against Tui, [but] it was not a sustainable model. We now have something like 80 funding sources. Our biggest funder Expedia is no more than 25% of our budget. 

 

“I say this because independence is important to help move things forward. There needs to be an organisation that isn’t mired in politics or in its members’ needs.

 

“We think we’ve earned that role. We’re much more visible globally than we’ve ever been. The goal is to be known and trusted so that we can lead. The community we’ve built, the convening power, is remarkable for a small team. We know who we’re able to bring to the table.”

 

A platform for action

 

The launch of a platform for members, Travel Forward Connect, has followed. 

 

Sampson acknowledges: “There are lots of membership organisations – hotels get together, tour operators get together, destinations get together. But there is a distinct difference with this membership. There is no governance. It’s not an association. You don’t need to become a member to work with us. 

 

“We’re simply creating value out of the sense of community, content and connections. We’re not representing members. They won’t have undue influence on our decision making.

 

“Partly, there are business reasons to do this – we need to fund our work. So, we’ve created the structure to do that. But one of the key differentiators of this network is that there will be destinations and businesses together. Another is that we’ll be action oriented. It has to be a vehicle.

 

“There will be opportunities for members to work together on pilot projects that move the needle on key issues, and they will be able to influence the agenda.” 

 

Sampson argues: “This industry knows how to collaborate. But when it comes to the challenges, there is no mechanism [for collaborating]. Destinations and businesses don’t have counterparts they can go to and work on their climate plans, work on visitor management. Everything is [about] demand. 

 

“This is about destinations and the supply chain. We’re not working with businesses on every aspect of how they make things more sustainable for travellers. We’re working on the supply chain and the shared challenge and opportunity that comes with sharing places and sharing suppliers.”

 

Membership rates will be tiered and “pretty affordable”, he says, with companies able to sponsor destinations to join “if they don’t have the bandwidth”.

 

He accepts “there is never a great time to do something likes this” but adds: “We’re pleased so far.”

 

‘Everything comes back to finance’

 

Sampson highlights finance as a key area of focus for Travel Forward now. He notes: “Everything comes back to finance. 

 

“We can’t change the way decisions are made, or the way success is measured, without changing the funding models. We can’t really say we’re having an impact unless more resources are mobilised to change things on the ground. The money needed at scale is not there.

 

“Destinations have a hard time advocating for the investment needed to build resilience, and we have weak infrastructure. Housing is a challenge. The workforce is a challenge. Insurance is a challenge. Small businesses are at risk and need funding. We need to mobilise resources.”

 

In response, he says: “We’ve started to study why it’s so difficult for the industry to access finance. There are mechanisms for impact assessment and climate finance that other sectors have done a much better job of tapping into. The travel industry doesn’t really understand the finance sector, and vice versa. So, we’re exploring what bridges can be built.

 

“We’ve partnered with the Edinburgh Futures Institute [at the University of Edinburgh] and Cornell University, both with a lot of credibility and a focus on tourism and climate change.

 

“There are already things emerging, primarily around the need for an intermediary which could attract finance from multiple sources and combine and distribute it.” 

 

But this should be done, Samspon says, “through a lens of understanding risk and a need for equity and climate justice”, adding: “We’re studying what that might look like.” His hope is to produce a white paper for this year’s COP Climate Conference in November.

 

‘Risk’ is a bridge to sustainability

 

There has been debate about sustainability in travel, about the need to respond to climate vulnerabilities and to put communities more at the centre of destination development, for years. Yet progress appears slow. 

 

Sampson argues: "Are we where we need to be? No. But sustainability is becoming more integrated into the fabric of organisations.” 

 

He recognises: “For a long time, we were maybe too siloed from the realities of business.” Now, he suggests, growing recognition of the risks to travel businesses and destinations provides “a bridge between sustainability, marketing and product”.

 

Sampson adds: “The only way to move a system with deep structural challenges is by having some critical mass.

 

“There is still siloing. There is still imbalance. But it’s remarkable how destinations shifted mindset in just a few years. Everyone became destination management or stewardship organisations.”

 

Of course, he says: “It’s one thing to have a mindset, it’s quite another to have the resources and governance to deliver. But the urgency and the risks have never been clearer. The bridge is that risk. 

 

“For a long time, the ‘business case’ was around people wanting sustainable things. But I don’t buy it. That wasn’t driving enough urgency and real resources. 

 

"Now there is a bunch of compliance around risk and vulnerabilities people are increasingly aware of. That creates the business case.”

 

Sampson notes of the past few years: “Sometimes it has felt weird. On one hand we were declaring a climate emergency and on the other we’d be working with places, doing education on what is climate change.

 

"In an emergency, you would hear sirens, you wouldn’t be talking about what is a heart attack. So, there is cognitive dissonance there. But if we never build the foundations, we won’t ever make progress.”

 

He argues: “There have been a lot of ‘performative’ micro actions, but people recognise it’s not enough now, that this won’t deal with the risks we face as an industry.”