Intrepid Travel chief executive James Thornton believes “a third” of the travel industry is not acknowledging the ongoing “climate disaster” and is “sticking its head in the sand”.
Thornton said the adventure tour operator, which is the largest travel firm in the world to achieve B Corporation status, was seeing increasing interest from new employees about sustainability.
But he said a large section of suppliers and the wider travel sector were not facing up to the fact the world was experiencing a climate crisis.
Speaking as part of a panel at Travel Weekly’s Sustainability Summit, Thornton said: “I reckon in the industry at the moment a third are totally acknowledging there is a climate disaster and doing everything they can to have the biggest impact that they possibly can.
“A third would say ‘I want to do it, but I don’t know how. I am a bit scared’ and the final third are sticking their head in the sand.”
Thornton said people would look at him like he “had two heads” when he talked about “sustainable, experience-rich travel” as a young sales rep working for Intrepid in 2005, but said attitudes were now changing.
Fellow panelist Hedda Felin, Hurtigruten Norway’s chief executive, echoed Thornton’s comments about the next generation of workers and their views on sustainability.
“The next generation does not work for a company that does not take sustainability seriously,” she said. “We gain the best talent because of our investment. The future of travel industry is either this [sustainability effort] or we’re out.”
Thornton outlined how travel companies can grow sustainably.
“It’s just about taking small incremental steps, taking action and reporting on what you do and try to move forward together,” he said. “We’re not perfect and we still need to get better.”