Intrepid is regarded as one of the biggest exponents of responsible travel, but has been told not to use the phrase “planet-friendly” in its ads because the ASA said the wording did not take into account the effect of flying to a destination.
The ASA on Wednesday (31 May) ruled against an Intrepid ad featuring two women at Egypt’s Giza Pyramids, which carried the text: “People and planet-friendly small group adventures since 1989". The complaint said the ad misleadingly minimised the impact of Intrepid’s holidays on the environment.
The authority asked Intrepid to offer evidence taking the holiday, including flying to Egypt, caused no environmental damage. Intrepid said the claim applied only to its small-group adventures and the ad referred only to its Egypt tour, but the ASA found against it.
Zina Bencheikh, Intrepid’s managing director Europe, Middle East and Africa, said: “Greenwashing has become all too prevalent in the travel industry – and all industries – and we welcome the ASA becoming more stringent in its regulation of advertising claims related to climate change and the environment.”
Bencheikh added the operator had achieved much in the field of sustainability, including B Corp certification. “As travel’s largest certified B Corp, we are committed to transparency and that means facing up to our mistakes,” she said. “We fully accept that we did not adequately substantiate the term ‘planet-friendly’ and should not have included it in our advertising.
"As a result, we have removed the phrase from our marketing globally and have begun a review around how we can better talk about our trips in future.”
She added the operator had tried to minimise its impact for 34 years, using public transport and low carbon options wherever possible.
“We have been carbon neutral since 2010, but we know that is no longer enough,” she said. “That’s why we are taking steps to decarbonise our business in line with our science-based carbon reduction targets and climate commitment plan.”
