How Travel Agencies Can Help With Industry Net Zero Goals

This year, the Arabian Travel Market (ATM), a market leading, international travel and tourism event in Dubai, has announced that the main theme for the event this year is going to be “Working Towards Net Zero.” This shows how important the topic of achieving net zero has become for?the travel industry as a whole. But what does that mean for travel agencies and agency owners??

For this edition of The GRN Newsletter, we aim to discuss some net zero goals for the industry as a whole, as well as dig a little into what that looks like for you. We will talk about how agencies contribute to the overall carbon footprint of the industry, the challenges faced by travel agencies, and what you can do to reduce the emissions of your company.?

We will end the newsletter as always with some links to posts of other industry leaders who are discussing this issue on LinkedIn so you can continue the discussion, so don’t forget to check out their posts and offer your thoughts.?

Are you planning to attend ATM ? If so, we would love to see you there. Don’t forget to stop by the GRNconnect booth to speak with us about how we can help you grow your agency and find some of the best deals for your clients.?

Why is the travel industry so focused on sustainability right now??

Travel affects the economy in a huge way, as the majority of jobs around the world are created in travel and tourism.?Without the travel industry, many businesses and communities would struggle to thrive at best. Additionally, climate change is threatening the existence of many travel locations.

Travel and tourism also account for somewhere between 8 and 11% of total global emissions. Reaching net zero is an important topic, because if change doesn’t happen, the industry could disappear. This is because a lot of destinations are under threat of being destroyed by climate change.?

The issue is important to consumers as well. According to research completed in 2021 by Booking.com , 83% of travelers think sustainable travel is vital, 69% expect the travel industry to offer more sustainable options, and 61% say the pandemic affected their wishes to travel more sustainably.?

Estimates put the effect of travel agencies and OTAs at less than 1% of the 8-11% attributed to the industry. While that may lead you to believe that your impact is negligible and a low priority, it actually means it should be easier for you to reach net zero. The World Travel and Tourism Council believes that TAs and OTAs should be able to achieve net zero by 2030 or sooner. If agencies adopt this goal on a large scale, companies that fail to do so will risk a loss of consumer trust.?

Additionally, for the industry as a whole to move closer to net zero, everyone needs to work together. As a travel agency owner, you are in a unique position to not only work on reducing the emissions of your business but also to work with businesses and consumers to help everyone reach the goal of achieving net zero.?

But the work might not always be easy.?

Challenges:?

One of the biggest challenges facing all businesses wanting to achieve net zero?is education. Most business owners want to help but don’t know how, especially when they have a smaller carbon footprint, such as travel agencies. You may wonder what you can do or where you should start to reduce the emissions of your company.?

Travel agencies in particular have some unique challenges when it comes to reducing emissions.?

For one, agencies struggle to provide information to travelers about the impact of their travels in a consistent manner. There are not a lot of good tools or industry standards in place, and many agencies aren’t even sure what information they should provide or how often.?

Additionally, there is a lack of agreement on what should be considered a part of the emissions responsibility of travel agencies. Mainly, the discussion centers on?whether or not client travel emissions should be included in the emissions profile of a company or merely known by agency owners in an attempt to reduce them.?

Finally, there isn’t as much pressure on travel agencies to reduce carbon emissions, likely because the contribution to the industry’s total emissions is low. This has led to a lot of leadership teams prioritizing other business initiatives above net-zero goals. As mentioned earlier, this lack of pressure doesn’t mean you should deprioritize this issue, as you may someday find your business lagging behind that of those who do.?

Solutions:?

Research completed by Accenture in 2021 found the emission estimations for OTAs and TAs are as follows:?

• 9% office gas consumption and vehicle emissions?
• 55% office/data center heating, cooling, and electricity?
• 36% business travel, staff commuting, waste management, purchased goods and services?

It's important to note that these are estimates based on a small sample of businesses. As business models vary widely, your company could have a different emissions profile, but these averages can be a good point of reference if you don’t know where to start. ?

As an agency owner, there are some short and long-term actionable things you can do to reduce your company’s carbon emissions.?

1. Switch to lower carbon energy sources and use more on-site renewables?
2. When arranging employee travel, look for alternative modes of transport or choose more sustainable flights.?
3. Ensure your office is as carbon-neutral as possible by optimizing space, increasing operation efficiency, investing in technological upgrades where possible, and leasing energy-efficient buildings.?
4. Purchase goods and services from companies that are more sustainable and invest in lower carbon footprint operations, such as cloud computing versus on-site infrastructure.?
5. Create more awareness by educating clients and consumers on the estimated carbon footprint of their travel choices as well as ways to reduce it.

In addition to reducing emissions that are directly caused by your operations, there are also things you can do to influence other businesses to make changes. Agents and agencies are in a unique position because they can help consumers meet their goals of traveling more sustainably. This will encourage businesses with larger carbon footprints to improve their efforts in an attempt to get more business.?

As an example, there will be an increase in sustainable aviation fuels in the next few years. As an agency owner, you can put pressure on airlines to adopt the use of those fuels by only scheduling flights with airlines that have and letting other airlines know that it is a priority to you and your clients.?

It’s been said that the first 50% of your emissions are the easiest to reduce. It’s the second 50% that’s hard. Taking steps today to get started on that path, if you haven’t already, doesn’t just mean you are making your business more attractive to travelers looking for a sustainable agency to help them plan their next trip. It also means you are taking steps to save the future of the industry and the planet.?

Additional resources:?

COP26 - Driving Climate Action: A Net Zero Roadmap for Travel and Tourism ?

World Travel and Tourism Council: A Net Zero Roadmap For Travel & Tourism ?

Join the Conversation?

Here are some of the posts from the past few weeks from other LinkedIn members who are talking about this subject. If this interests you, commenting on some of these posts is a great way to continue the conversation.?

Sustainable Travel International is kicking off a free webinar series later this week called the "Road to Net Zero" which aims to help travel industry professionals learn more about various topics surrounding climate action.

Brian Jones summarizes an article about using hydrogen as an alternative fuel for airplanes to help the aviation arm of the industry reach net zero goals.

??Maynard Clark?? discusses the many challenges facing the cruise industry where net zero goals are concerned and wonders if companies are really working to achieve them or just greenwashing.

Shargiil Bashir shares ways that the transportation sector can reduce emissions .

Sustainability In The Air shares a podcast with a deep discussion on the pros and cons of using carbon offsetting to reduce emissions for the aviation industry.

Maria Deligianni of CLIA | Cruise Lines International Association talks about the commitment of the cruise industry to achieving net zero . She says it is possible, but will require collective effort and political will.

Fergus Maclaren expresses doubt that aviation will be able to achieve net zero goals in time .

And Climate Conscious Travel discusses what needs to happen for the hotel industry to achieve net zero goals.

Thanks for joining us again this week for The GRN Newsletter. Please comment with your thoughts and share this with your network. If we work together as an industry, we can achieve net zero goals!