Travel agents and tour operators are grappling with the challenges of decarbonisation and sustainability amid uncertainty about how to raise these issues with consumers.
An Abta Delivering Sustainable Travel Conference in London suggested members at all levels of the industry are taking action of some kind, but few report customers driving demand for sustainability.
Karen Musgrave, Barrhead Travel Group head of PR and communications, said: “No customers are coming into our stores asking for sustainable holidays, but there is an unspoken expectation.” She argued: “Sustainability is non-negotiable now.”
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Mireia Delgado, business director at Majorca-based consultancy Preverisk, told the conference: “If we wait for customers, it will be a long wait. What needs to change is the way businesses perform, not what customers ask for. We should not be afraid of communicating [to customers], but we can’t wait for customers to request sustainability.”
She argued: “Health and safety was not a given 30 years ago. Would anyone say, ‘We’re not going to pay for health and safety?’ Customers are not the drivers of this.
We try to stay away from using the term ‘sustainability’ because consumers don’t really understand it
“Hotels in Seville constrained by the water shortage right now have to take action for their businesses to survive.”
Tui sustainable business manager Ian Corbett agreed, saying: “We try to stay away from using the term ‘sustainability’ because consumers don’t really understand it. We position it as part of quality and trust in the brand.”
He noted: “We’re trying to understand more about how behaviours change without negative effects on the guest experience.”
But he added: “We’re kidding ourselves if we think we’re going to be able to add a premium [on price] for sustainability.”
A conference attendee from a cruise operator argued: “Our research tells us younger generations are interested in sustainability and older generations not. We don’t get anyone asking about it.”
But Corbett insisted: “Our research shows older generations think more about this than younger generations.”
One corporate travel participant said: “A lot of businesses say sustainability is high on their agenda, but it’s a ‘tick box’ exercise. Often it comes down to cost. Some push us to do more, but others just talk about it.”
She added: “Everyone is nervous about sustainability and not sure what they’re doing.”
A tour operator added “we don’t know how much customers understand about sustainability”, while a travel consultant suggested: “It’s difficult knowing how much to say and not to lecture or make someone feel guilty.”
However, senior sustainability auditor Chris Thompson insisted: “Tour operators need to talk to people about sustainability. We need to make it a big discussion point.”
Thompson added: “Accommodation providers have a role to play in educating consumers and employees, [but] most fail miserably.” He suggested hotels “should encourage guests to behave differently”.
Tui announced a near 50% increase to almost 1,000 in the number of hotels with its ‘Green and Fair’ label this week, while Scottish agents’ association the SPAA issued a ‘Sustainability Considerations’ document asking members “to examine their own practices and to educate, inform and advise their clients on sustainable options”.
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