But travel agents do have a really valuable role in developing a more sustainable travel industry and helping people have more sustainable holidays. Abta is working to support our agent members to adopt an approach that is right for your business, including through new specific guidance for agents and a new e-learning course.

As well as being good for the environment and local communities, incorporating sustainability could help you save money – and secure sales. The good thing for agents is that a lot of the hard work is being done for you. More and more tour operators and suppliers are adopting sustainable practices and implementing new initiatives. Jet2holidays, easyJet holidays and Tui are among the many travel companies that have sustainability strategies, which explain what they are doing across a range of issues.

By looking at your supply chains, you will be able to gain knowledge and a greater understanding of the sustainable credentials of the products you sell. And you’ll probably find there’s more to say about the sustainability of the holidays you’re selling than you might think.

To help you, Abta is collating examples of good initiatives – which can be found in our new guidance and on our website – and we’d encourage suppliers to make it clearer to agents what they are doing on sustainability.

Talking to your customers about sustainability and weaving it into your sales conversation is also important. But easier said than done, right? I know that there are concerns about mentioning sustainability and it being a barrier to sale, and some people may lack confidence using sustainability messaging in a positive way.

But with 41% of people saying they are more likely to book with a travel company with a better sustainability record, it is certainly worth exploring. And it doesn’t need to be complicated. Take local food and local businesses, for example. If you are telling your customers about the great local food and restaurants available in their destination or are explaining all the food and drink at their hotel is locally sourced, then you’re talking to them about sustainability.

Customers who visit local restaurants and eat local food will be supporting jobs and businesses in the community, and the same is true of suppliers that used locally sourced food. They are also reducing carbon emissions by not importing products from far away. Similarly, more and more hotels are taking action to reduce their environmental footprint and ensure they have a positive impact on the local community, with many large tour operators selling these hotels.

‘Small steps’

Tui, Travel Republic, Travelbag, Emirates Holidays and many other companies are signed up to Abta’s Travelife for Accommodation scheme. This is an independently verified sustainability certification programme which sets a framework to help hotels take action such as reducing food waste, sourcing electrical energy from renewables and investing in electric vehicles. For agents, and their customers, this means they can look for the Travelife Gold certification mark to identify accommodation of all shapes and sizes, and in all parts of the world, that are operating responsibly.

I’d also really encourage agent members to look at what they can do in their own premises – you may find there are both financial and environmental benefits by making a few small changes. And you don’t have to do it all at once. Maybe spend 15 minutes a week looking at what you could do in your business, from changing to energy-efficient lighting to exploring brochure recycling. Small steps over time can make a difference and can save money.

I know from experience adopting a sustainability approach can feel insurmountable – particularly if you are a small business. But it is worth taking a moment to look at what you may already be doing, and how you can build on that. With growing customer appetite for more sustainable holidays, it is worth the time investment.

Danny Waine is head of membership at Abta.

• Abta recently issued new sustainability guidance for agents, including a new e-learning training module available from its Knowledge Zone. Abta will host its Delivery Sustainable Travel conference on Wednesday (2 March).