EXCLUSIVE: Leilani Latimer, Sabre’s Director of Sustainability Initiatives Talks to VISION on Sustainable Tourism

World’s largest marketer and distributor of travel – “We must start with the economy”

Leilani Latimer – Director Sustainability Initiatives

Q1 Valere Tjolle: “Leilani, What do you see as the greatest sustainable tourism achievement to date?”

“I would not single out any one achievement, but rather I think the fact that the various constituents in our industry are focused on finding concrete, balanced solutions to promoting sustainable tourism is an achievement in and of itself.

IATA, ATA and ICAO have solid, pro-active platforms and programs for long-term change in aviation.

The WTTC and WEF are developing recommendations for the Travel and Tourism sector as it relates to how governments, industry and consumers can collectively make Travel and Tourism more sustainable. These projects are both focused on presenting industry recommendations for the UN Conference on Climate Change that will take place in December 2009.

You saw the UN Foundation, Rainforest Alliance, UNEP and UNWTO Global Partnership for sustainable tourism criteria (a coalition of 32 organizations that we belong to) launch the globally-recognized baseline criteria last October, which was an extremely important step towards setting industry standards. All of these efforts are vital to bringing the industry together to focus on the economic, social and environmental sustainability of the business.

With regards to Sabre Holdings I would say our greatest single achievement was the development of our Co2 emissions methodology for Co2 reporting on travel. (http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=73098&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1205746&highlight=). We put a lot of effort and our unique industry expertise into this offering to ensure that our customers have the best and most relevant business intelligence with regards to their travel. We plan to continue to work within the industry to drive towards industry standards around Co2 calculation as it relates to travel. “

Q2. “What do you see as a key factor to riding the storm in 2009?”

My answer here is both for Sabre as well as for the industry as a whole. I think that companies who focus on environmental sustainability as an integral part of their strategic long term plans, and who embed those initiatives into the company’s core business will be well positioned for “riding out the storm”. Sustainability initiatives ultimately help transform the business for the long term because they deliver ongoing value to customers; they promote transparency and responsibility, and help us make smarter, more efficient use of the resources we have at hand – which, by the way, are in diminishing supply.

Q3. “The future looks pretty challenging – climate change, global political instability, the economic situation, fuel, food, water, population increases, changes in tourism source markets. Which of these challenges do you think hold the most danger, and which hold the most potential opportunities?”

A. Well, as a true proponent of sustainability, I would tell you that in travel and tourism all of these challenges are intrinsically linked to one another, so it would be difficult to single out one as a key challenge or opportunity. I believe we must start, however, with the economy because the choices we make – sustainable or not – can be driven by our economic situation, positive or negative. Travel & Tourism is the second largest global industry sector and remains the main source of foreign currency and employment in many developing economies. (WTTC statistic is that T&T generated 7 trillion USD in 2008, was responsible for 10% of global GDP and was responsible for 8% of global employment) Our single greatest challenge and opportunity is to find solutions to protect the economic and employment potential of the industry while simultaneously protecting its cultural and environmental resources.

Q4.”It’s pretty difficult to see the future at the moment, after all EVERYTHING could change. Are you willing to be a little brave and tell us how you see it in 2020? 2050? What do you suggest should be the industry’s key focus issue in 2009?”

A. Let’s talk about 2009 first, since that is NOW. I believe that the times of making business decisions that provide quick fixes, but which jeopardize our long term sustainability are over, and I am optimistic that the industry as a whole has reached that conclusion. So – and I have no crystal ball but am simply in agreement with industry and sustainability experts here – I think we will continue to see product, service and process innovation that favour efficiency and cost reduction. And that is a good thing. It goes back to what I said earlier – doing more with less, being smarter about the way we use resources that are in diminishing supply is a great way to position ourselves for better times. Never more than now are travellers and consumers in general mindful of how and where they spend their money, and we have an excellent opportunity in the industry to provide them with sustainable options that will make them feel good about their travel choices.

As for the 2020 or the 2050 and beyond – let me share what may be less of a prediction than an aspiration for our industry! I think that by the time 2020 rolls around, asking about a linen re-use program, or energy and water efficiency practices in a hotel will be like asking for Internet access, or a coffee maker today. It will just be the way we do business. I think that having an understanding of the true impact of our travel choices – not just the carbon impact, but the socio-economic impact, the complete environmental impact (includes water) will be much easier for the average traveller to comprehend, and the choices afforded will be easier to distinguish thanks to global industry standards. I believe that we will see industry innovation that today we cannot even imagine – beyond bio-fuel and sustainable concrete – and I’m confident that the technology innovations that have already led to significant change in travel and tourism will continue to provide exciting efficiencies that promote more sustainable travel and tourism.

Q5. “Sabre has made tremendous strides in sustainable tourism in the last few years notably becoming involved in the Sustainable Tourism Criteria initiative, Where do you see its involvement leading, and what are the next few steps?”

We want to continue to participate vigorously where we see opportunities for developing industry standards and industry advocacy. As the world’s largest marketer and distributor of travel we are uniquely positioned to work with all constituents in the travel industry, and are firmly convinced that industry-developed, globally recognized standards are essential for travellers to be able to make the sustainable travel choices we have spoken about previously. By industry standards we mean a single methodology for calculating air, car-hire, rail and hotel emissions for instance, or a single rating or scoring system for determining the degrees of sustainability at a hotel/lodging property.

We also want to continue to promote travel as an agent of positive change. In a recent research project we participated in including leisure and business travellers from the North America and Europe, results showed that business travellers – and those that travelled the most frequently – were the most sensitive to environmental sustainability and the options afforded them, and the most likely to choose a sustainable offering over a less sustainable offering. That for us was a great confirmation of Travel acting as an agent of positive change for awareness and education about sustainable travel options. Additionally, we plan to continue our offerings, such as our latest Travelocity Green Directory (www.travelocity.com/greentravel) so that travellers, travel resellers and suppliers can be a part of that positive change.