'People should travel flight-free because they want, not because they ought'
For Byway founder and chief executive Cat Jones, the slow travel specialist’s growth is in part due to the more experiential direction in which travel has been heading towards “since this century started”.
“I think for some there may even be an allergy towards ‘cookie cutter tourism’," Jones tells TTG. "One reason Byway has taken off is that the experience density of overland travel is so much greater [than by air].”
The rail specialist has grown passenger numbers three-fold year-on-year since launching in March 2020 to almost 3,400, with 2,305 more passengers travelling with Byway over the past year.
Meanwhile, a survey of its customers over the past year revealed 40% believe they would have flown had they not booked a Byway trip, up from 27% when compared with those asked the same question a year earlier.
Byway’s impact report, released on Tuesday (30 April), reveals travellers opting to travel on a flight-free Byway trip saved more than 750 tonnes of CO2 by not flying to their destinations.
Jones recognises some of those may not have chosen to fly, or even go on holiday at all, but Byway’s survey reveals almost two-thirds of its customers do still fly at least occasionally.
"There is an extraordinary number of customers who don’t have a journey-led mindset when it comes to travel,” Jones says. “It’s getting to know them and introduce them to that newer form of travelling.”
The operator’s hard work is paying off though – more than 80% of Byway’s customers who also fly say they would book another Byway trip, or would recommend flight-free travel with the operator to friends and family.
While Jones concedes sustainability isn’t front of mind for most customers when booking a trip, she remarks: “Isn’t it lovely when great experiences and sustainability come together – and when people don’t [travel flight-free] because they ought to, they do it because they want to."
Byway’s ambition for growth is also leaning into the travel agent trade, with around 10 trade partnerships in place including with Kuoni’s retail network and Midcounties Co-op, and independent agencies such as fellow B Corp Certified business Travel Matters.
The operator says it is “happy to work with any agent who had a customer base looking to travel in a more sustainable way and who love our multi-stop overland travel holidays”. “We want to help the industry where they know their customers will enjoy the type of experience we offer,” Jones adds.
Byway’s impact report also highlights progress in its mission to help curb overtourism. Its ambition to add seasonal timeframes for tourist hotspots in its technology is planned for the next year after previously prioritising efforts to scale its technology to handle more flight-free trips.
The operator has launched a "cheapest dates" initiative for each journey to show the low season dates for every destination it offers. It has also has developed trips to several regions deemed to be looking for tourism, including Poland, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Finland.
Meanwhile, Byway’s JourneyAI technology means all holidays are dynamically packaged and tailored to suit the journey and experience a traveller wants. “Our technology is set up so we are looking at experiences for you, those that are going to be more delightful,” Jones says.
‘Journey-based’ holidays
For those concerned about rail infrastructure, the technology is built for resilience, she insists.
“Byway has a purpose for putting journey-based travel on the map and removing the hassle factor for that type of travel when pre-booking and while on the trip,"Jones explains.
"We’re bonded so we carry that risk [of disruption] and we react when we need to reroute. We don’t put you on a replacement bus service, it’s on a mode of travel that still gives you a wonderful holiday.”
Among the most popular trips with Byway customers who are also frequent flyers are journeys to the Scottish Highlands, northern Italy and Austria.
The operator is looking to develop technology so customers can compare route options, and work on carbon labelling for each route so travellers can compare carbon emissions. A soft launch to European customers is in the pipeline after soft marketing to US customers, during which time 157 trips have been booked.
While expanding Byway’s customer base remains an aim, there is a focus on increasing repeat and referral bookings in the coming year, Jones says, and prioritising investment in technology and “that helps our customers spread the word”.
“We’ve started to introduce people to take ‘journey-based’ holidays," Jones adds. "What we’re here to do is show people how gorgeous it is to travel this way, and to do that we need to ensure they have a lovely time."
Sarah Dennis
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