While not a life-saving sector, we’re certainly one that provides employment and security to a great many. So when the bottom fell out of travel, our focus was survival and recovery.

Thankfully, the pandemic seems to be in the rearview mirror. But with war in Ukraine, living costs spiralling, the potential for recession and a global recruitment crisis on our hands, how do we remain focused on the climate crisis and planetary health?

And, as agents, how do you guide your clients to feel the same and to make the right choices?

The answer to the first question is, of course, that without a sustainable travel industry, there is no industry at all. Recent research surveying 11,000 people from 11 different countries showed that nine in ten consumers are looking for more sustainable options when they travel.

Your clients want this, although they might be unsure the questions to ask. They just want it to be made easy for them. As do you, I am sure.

So my first piece of advice navigating a confusing and often very technical topic is to look for companies that are transparent about their sustainability initiatives and goals.

Commitments are no longer enough. In September 2020, The Travel Corporation laid out our 11 sustainability goals, aligned to the UN’s global goals, and our plan to achieve them.

This week, we released our first Impact Report, which details our progress against those goals. It helps us recognise the achievements that have been made, and acknowledge the areas that need more work.

In it, there are some real, tangible soundbites for agents that hold genuine impact. For example, Insight Vacations has a Make Travel Matter experience on 94% of its itineraries, and there are 554 Make Travel Matter experiences across all TTC itineraries by Trafalgar, Uniworld, Evan Evans, Luxury Gold and Contiki.

Contiki, Haggis Adventures and Highland Explorers trips were carbon neutral as of 2022, food waste has been reduced by 39% at 12 Red Carnation Hotels properties, and a similar food waste measurement system is being rolled out now on Uniworld ships – food waste being one of the most significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

And if you’re unsure about the credibility of the claims being made by companies, then look to see who else they work with, or who has endorsed them. For example, our Make Travel Matter experiences have been endorsed by, or won awards from, the Travel Foundation, the Future of Travel Coalition, Fast Company and TTG.

The real challenge for agents is greenwashing, so we have done our best to make it as easy to understand what we have done, and continue to do, to advance sustainability.

Companies striving for meaningful impact will have all commitments and progress easily accessible online and elsewhere. We need to take the time to investigate, because it’s up to all of us to support the resiliency of our industry – and ensure it is a continued force for good.
 
Shannon Guihan is chief sustainability officer and head of TreadRight at The Travel Corporation.