Advisors' Corner: Sustainable Travel by Travel Specialist Rose O'Connor

Sustainability can be an intimating and mystifying topic, and determining how and when to broach to subject with clients also presents a challenge. Through a lot of trial and error, I have found the best approach is to first and foremost make sure that clients understand sustainability as a value add, not a sacrifice, and to help them understand the connection between sustainability and the passions and interests that inspire them to travel.

A couple of years ago when I was revamping my business to make sustainability the center piece, I decided to create an ideal client avatar in the hopes of attracting clients that were as passionate about sustainability as I was. As a first step, I decided to interview a longtime friend and client who shared a lot of my travel sensibilities and interests in wildlife and conservation. I explained to her that I was pivoting my business to more sustainable-focused travel experiences and that I would love to get her input about what motivates her to take the specific trips she chooses. Her answers really surprised me.

She said, “Rose, you know I care about sustainability, but it’s not the most important thing to me, and not necessarily a factor in my purchasing decisions.” I was a little taken aback as this was counter to everything I thought I knew about her, so I decided to dig a little deeper. “Tell me what you think of when you think of sustainable travel,” I said. She answered that she primarily thought of things like compostable toilets, and recycling. A lightbulb went off and I realized she was missing the bigger picture because I had failed to adequately explain it to her. I let her know that sustainability meant so much more than the things she mentioned! We talked about wildlife conservation and maximizing economic benefit for local communities – both things I knew she was passionate about. Once she began to see the broader implications of sustainability, she stated that not only was she passionate about it, but she would also happily pay a premium for travel experiences if it meant she was contributing to conservation efforts and positive community impact.

This and subsequent conversations have taught me that it is essential to understand our clients and engage with their passions and interests when having the sustainability conversation. I truly believe that all travelers care about sustainability whether they can identify it by name or not– it is our job as advisors to make them understand why it matters, and why sustainable travel is the best travel!

Rose O'Connor, An Independent Affiliate of Brownell Travel, a Virtuoso Member