The founder of Just, Good Travel, an online community aiming to help travel professionals become more sustainable, has hailed the business’ success after receiving “overwhelming” feedback to its first webinar.
David Atkin, founder and director of Atkin Jones, launched Just, Good Travel at the start of the year to target travel agents, tour operators and travel businesses interested in sustainability and create a community for them to talk to each other and share ideas.
The platform, which is free to join, provides people with access to information, as well as six e-newsletters and four webinars annually.
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“Agents, tour operators and travel businesses who sign up get access to advice and resources we found helpful when we were starting out on our own sustainability journey,” Atkin told Travel Weekly.
“We encourage them to look at their own operations, such as where their offices are and what their carbon footprint is, so we can work through a policy of internal commitment to reviewing the impact they make both in their operations and in the supply chain.
“We also want them to widely look at the impact of the holidays they sell or run from a culture and heritage perspective and see how they can have a positive affect, as well as the biodiversity and environmental side.
“It’s a huge sector and I think that is why it can be a daunting proposition, particularly for larger organisations because it is so complex, but that is where we want to help.”
He went on to praise the turnout to the community’s first webinar which was titled Reframing Sustainability for Travel Organisations and featured presentations by Tim Maiden, founder of Green Small Business, and Rachel Parsons, founder of New Forest Escapes.
“We were really pleased with the first webinar and our guests delivered two excellent presentations outlining the key considerations for travel organisations who are looking to embed sustainability into their organisations,” said Atkin.
“We were joined by a broad mix of travel companies which is reflected in the 120 people who have signed up to receive our e-newsletter, including tour operators, travel agencies, DMCs, membership organisations and accommodation providers.
“We had initially planned to run two webinars a year, but the feedback from the participants that they would like more regular sessions was overwhelming so we will now host quarterly online events for our members and their guests.”