Travel Press - Blog
Save the planet – it’s good for business
- Fri 10th August 2007, 1:12 pm
Hear that!
It’s the sound of the storm that’s about to sweep over the travel and tourism industry and change the way the industry goes about its business.
Okay, that’s a bit dramatic. In most cases, change is evolutionary, not revolutionary, but right now there is a definite focus on the impact of the travel business – particularly air travel – on the environment.
And that’s a good thing.
Travel and tourism is a business that is about discovering the world we live in and – in the most simplistic of views – if that world is defoliated and destroyed, there won’t be much to see and that won’t be good for business.
So as a start, I suggest you start reading up on climate change, responsible travel, sustainability, corporate social responsibility, carbon emissions and offsets and as much else about what’s going on in the world around us.
Do what you can to help out – don’t get daunted by the guys (or gals) in the sign boards and sandals crying out that it’s the end of the world as we know it. Every little bit helps.
Talk to your politicians and tell them you want action on environmental issues – and it should be action that makes sense to regular people – not action that makes political sense, but means little to anyone but politicians.
If they want you to change your light bulbs to reduce energy usage, that’s great. But make sure they tell you how to recycle those little curly-cue bulbs when they burn out.
For the travel and tourism business, maybe it’s time for all of the different sectors to get together and work out ways to reduce industry emissions, but at the same time point out the kinds of things that are already being done to protect the environment.
Whatever you do … whatever happens … the reality is that as time goes on more and more consumers will be looking at ways to green their vacations and for travel and tourism professionals, it would be wise to have the answers and the options available so that you can give those travellers what they want.
It’s also a good way for a travel agent to add value to the transaction.
Stay green and stay tune, there’s bound to be more.
Steve goes green with E.N.V.Y.
- Thu 15th February 2007, 9:16 am
[Editor’s note: Steve Gillick, CTM, is president and chief operating officer of the Canadian Institute of Travel Counsellors and his comments on the ‘greening’ of the travel industry are well worth noting. What follows is Steve’s primer on how the Canadian travel industry can ‘turn green with E.N.V.Y.’ which is short for Environmentally Neutral Vacations & You.]
CITC began the first Global Explorers Club meeting on December 5, 1996. We were all into country-counting. Aside from wearing our name tags, we posted the number of countries visited on each tag. As the Club founder, I started off with 35 countries; now I have 56 to my credit. My travel experiences paled (and still pales) in comparison to many of the members who have attended club meetings over the years.
Big Deal! On the one hand you could say 'wow, big deal' to have accumulated all that travel experience. On the other hand, you could say 'Big Deal', if you added up all the air miles I have travelled, calculated the amount of carbon emissions my travels have generated and then thought about the delicate nature of our planet. You can take this one step further and think about how carbon emissions start a chain reaction the culminates in habitat destruction, loss of species, poor air quality, rising water levels and an uncertain future, if we continue living free and easy as we have done for many years.
Some people can't live without travel but in a sense, everyone has to think if they can live with travel.
On a recent trip to Ottawa, I consulted my "Green My Flight" calculator (www.greenmyflight.com ) and discovered that on a round trip flight of 727.7 km, I contributed to 98.9 kg of carbon dioxide being emitted into the atmosphere. I also discovered that the cost of neutralizing or offsetting the effects of my trip to Ottawa, in the form of emission reduction credits, would be $7.00. In other words, I could purchase a credit (for $7.00) which would go to a company that produces either products or services (such as a wind farm which helps reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere). While this is not an exact 'tit for tat' relationship, it does go part way in reducing the damage that my flying to Ottawa caused. Carbon credits, on the whole, contribute to an awareness of what we are doing to the atmosphere.
We, who are in travel, promote the benefits and joys of travel, make our living by enthusiastically promoting and selling travel services, now find ourselves in an interesting situation. Do we continue to sell travel? Absolutely. This is not a think-piece on why you should abandon your career! But consider the suggestion that Travel Professionals are uniquely positioned as providers of travel (air, coach, automobile, train, boat, cruise ships, tuk- tuk etc) to neutralize or offset the effects of carbon emissions resulting from travel sales. We are uniquely positioned to educate consumers and take a stand on 'greening' the planet, and in 'greening' the Canadian travel industry.
How do we do this?
There are a number of easy strategies to use:
At the basic level, hand out a brochure or flyer to your clients, summarizing the issues of carbon emissions and the ability to purchase carbon credits to at least go some distance in neutralizing or offsetting those emissions. For an easy-to-read summary of the issues, visit www.davidsuzuki.org
Sell carbon credits
These are emission reduction (also referred to as carbon offset) payments or donations to companies who have been certified as providers of products and/or technology that eliminates carbon from the atmosphere. A 'wind energy' company is just one example.
Give carbon credits
Where a situation may warrant it, an agency can give carbon credit certificates to travellers as part of an awareness program in encouraging what we might call 'Green Global Citizenship'. Just think.if the agency gave a $5.00 carbon emission voucher, in the name of the client, along with a link to a site such as www.greenmyflight.com this would at least stimulate some clients to think about the issue of global warming, as well as feel good about the gesture that the travel agency made. They may even want to ante up, to purchase some carbon credits themselves.
Marketing
Tell your clients what you are doing to 'Green' their travel. Have a sign on the door announcing something like 'We have been in business for 15 years and we are Green? (this plays on the pun that someone who is 'green' is new and inexperienced. At least it will draw some attention to your signage). Or you can send out a press release part way through the year announcing that XYZ Travel Agency has donated $1500.00 to date, in the name of our clients, to help offset carbon emissions?. Don't be surprised if total strangers come into the agency and compliment you on your efforts, and then purchase your travel services. It's what we call a 'Positive Vicious Circle': Donations..Marketing.new clients and client retention.sales.donations.
marketing etc.
And the results?
No one can promise more sales, and hopefully more sales would not be the prime motivating factor in your agency's 'Green Scheme'. The motivating factor is a carbon emission credit program that helps offset some of the damage caused by people travelling. Hopefully your corporate citizenship, your global citizenship, your concern for what has finally become a front page issue, will provoke you to al least think about what you can do. Remember that small gestures can amount to big things. Travel professionals are used to taking ownership of their actions as they affect the travel services they provide their clients. The challenge is, simply, to take ownership at the global level.
Turn Green with E.N.V.Y. It stands for Environmentally Neutral Vacations & YOU©
Some sources: www.greenmyflight.com ; www.environmentalchoice.com
www.davidsuzuki.org/climate_change/what_you_can_do/carbon_neutral.asp
CITC will offer a teleseminar on Greening your agency, if we receive sufficient interest from the travel community. Let us know at info@citc.ca
Do you vacation?
- Tue 30th January 2007, 5:48 pm
I’ve often wondered where travel agents go for their holidays, or do you? I ask myself, ‘what would the deciding factors be?’… cost, time-off, low-high season, past experiences etc. Travel industry types are sometimes used to freebies, discounts or at the very least, upgrades. Does this make us better consumers or raise our standards to a frenzied demand? Either way our own leisure-time booking decisions must be biased. Consider this, travel agents don’t have travel agents who can help them make their decisions. And why not? Doctors have doctors, mothers have mothers, barbers can’t cut their own hair (in the back), chiropractors can’t crack their own bones and I’ve actually seen chefs eat out! So, it must be the ‘shoemaker’s-daughter’ syndrome; shoes for everyone except my own children. Translation… ‘I can offer you (free of charge) well researched, customized suggestions on where you should go on your next vacation, but I can’t help myself.’ So travel agents, where do you go for holidays (that’s if you get them) and how do you arrive at your decisions?
Keep those cards, …errrr … e-mails coming
- Wed 24th January 2007, 4:07 pm
Thanks to all of our subscribers out there, we’re a pretty happy bunch here at Baxter Travel Media. We launched our new-look, new-name Press Today! double daily newsletter on Tuesday afternoon – that’d be Jan. 23, 2007 – and we’ve been inundated with fan mail … Garsh! It just makes a grown journalist blush from the tips of his fingers to the ends of his tippy-tappy toes. Yet while it’s nice to be noticed, it’s even nicer to know that our readers like what we’re doing. Thanks for the praise and keep those cards, e-mails, calls and whatever else coming ‘cos we love to hear from you. And please, keep reading and subscribing to Press Today! Good travel news, twice as fast.