Travel brands should ‘acknowledge challenges’ when discussing sustainability

Travel brands are being encouraged to be more transparent about their sustainability progress and “acknowledge the areas they’re finding more challenging” to help clients make better decisions.

Speaking at Aspire’s Leaders of Luxury conference last month, project manager at sustainable travel non-profit Travalyst Anna Dacam told delegates that “no one is expecting you to be perfect”.

She said: “Sustainability is a journey. It’s not a tick-box exercise and it’s not something a business can complete. It’s all about continual improvement, so when you’re talking about your impact and your sustainability work, it’s really important to frame it in that way.

“You want to highlight your successes, obviously. But you also really want to acknowledge the areas you’re finding more challenging, or the areas that you know you need to focus on more in the future.”

Discussing challenges as well as success will help clients “make better decisions when it comes to travelling”.

Dacam cited research from Travalyst that found 75% of people want to travel more sustainably, but 75% struggle to know where to find the information to help them do so.

To help bridge this gap, she emphasised the importance of sharing information that’s “specific, transparent and backed with evidence”.

Terms such as “eco-friendly, climate conscious and carbon positive” should be avoided if they’re not backed up by data.

Dacam said: “The more detail you can add, the more weight you provide to your claims, and also the less scepticism that you get from your consumers, because consumers are increasingly becoming conscious and aware to these kinds of claims.”

As well as language, this also applies to imagery, with Dacam advising against the use of “green leaves that imply sustainability” within marketing materials.

Ultimately, brands who communicate their environmental impact and sustainability credentials in a clear and accurate way will be able to offer “a huge value add” to guests.

“Historically, people always thought that luxury and sustainability didn’t really go together, and there was a bit of conception that sustainability was a trade-off for the luxury experience,” Dacam said.

“But actually what we’ve seen in the last few years is that the rise of sustainable luxury is actually a real market differentiator for a lot of amazing brands out there and, when it’s done right, it can be a huge value add to a guest experience.”