How Travel Agents Can Support Sustainable Travel

According to American Express' 2023 Global Travel Trends Report, 76% of people are interested in vacations that have a minimal environmental impact, and 65% want to book with companies that are dedicated to reducing their ecological footprint.

And yet, a recent survey conducted by TravelAge West found that 73% of travel advisors find it somewhat or very difficult to find information about a supplier's sustainability practices. 20% of respondents do not know what to look for or find the information too confusing, and 18% feel that information in general is too difficult to find. In the end, the majority of respondents (76%) feel that more education is needed on this topic.

Travel isn’t just going to stop, and it shouldn’t. After all, 10% of jobs worldwide are financed by travel. When travel essentially stopped during COVID, it showed us that under-tourism can be as damaging or more than over-tourism. Focusing on sustainability can help the industry find a balance between the two.

That’s why sustainability is a hot topic right now. But travel agents who want to help their clients travel more sustainably and help the environment don’t always know what to do.?

As a travel agent, you play a vital role in helping people plan their trips. But you can also play a role in encouraging your clients to travel more sustainably. Here are a few tips on how to do this:

Educate yourself about sustainable travel.

This includes learning about the environmental impact of travel, as well as the different ways that travelers can reduce their impact. You can do this by reading articles and books, watching documentaries, and talking to experts. The more you know about the issues the more you can educate your clients. People want to learn and they want to know better.

Once you know about sustainable travel, you can start talking to your clients about it.

Let them know about the environmental impact of travel and the different ways that they can reduce their impact. You can also offer them sustainable travel options, such as booking flights with low-carbon airlines, staying in eco-friendly hotels, and taking part in sustainable activities. It may seem a little scary to bring up these issues, because you may have concerns that some of your clients don't want to hear it. But you may find the opposite is true and that your clients become more faithful customers because they know you care about issues that are important to them.

Support sustainable travel businesses.

You can also support sustainable travel businesses by recommending them to your clients. This could include things like recommending sustainable tour operators, restaurants, and shops. Remember that some companies say they are sustainable, but when you dig a little deeper you may find it isn’t true. It helps to find organizations that are vetting things.

Get involved in sustainable travel initiatives.

There are many options to choose from. This could include things like volunteering for a sustainable travel organization or attending sustainable travel conferences.?

By following these tips, travel agents can help their clients travel more sustainably. This is important because sustainable travel can help to protect the environment, as well as the local communities that travelers visit.?

But what about popular destinations?

It can be a moral dilemma for some travel advisors to promote areas that are popular destinations that many people know and love because many are suffering from over-tourism. Unfortunately, the demand for these destinations is unlikely to be reduced; once a destination is popular, the demand will always be there. But with a little thought, these destinations can be promoted in a responsible manner.?

As a travel advisor, you can help to educate people on how to travel to these destinations more responsibly. You can encourage people to travel during the off-season or to visit less-visited parts of a tourist destination. Instead of focusing on the main attractions, you can encourage people to explore the destination deeper and in ways that are less damaging.

Additional tips:

• Educate your clients with posts that spread awareness on social media?
• Take opportunities to plant a seed to help clients become more aware of how they are traveling while they are in a new location.
• Offset the carbon from your business and your client's trips.
• Present more sustainable properties into your mix.
• Promote conscious travel over consumptive travel.
• Educate your clients about the impact of their travel.
• Support sustainable travel businesses.
• Get involved in sustainable travel initiatives.

By following these tips, travel agents can help to make travel more sustainable for everyone. And that deserves a…

P.S. Yes, it is true that we have talked about this topic before. But this podcast by TravelAge West had a lot of insights that we found to be helpful and we thought you would as well. Thank you to the team at TravelAge West for inspiring this post today.