Guilt and climate change driving longhaul travel

by Yeoh Siew Hoon

Q: Other than climate change, what other trends are driving longhaul travel?

Richard Beere: There is a change in people’s habits in what they do with their time and how they regard the quality of their lives. The idea of family is getting stronger. It’s the guilt theme – ‘I forgot my family, now I have to make time for it’. Look at Japan with its mother-and-daughter travel.

Then there is the ‘I need time for me now’ theme – so people are taking more frequent, shorter breaks, rather than that one extended long vacation.

This has been aggravated by low cost carriers which have opened up new, short haul destinations for people who could not afford to travel previously. This gives them bragging rights – ‘I’ve just been to Hanoi and I got it for so much’.

On top of this is the “green revolution”. It is no longer about ‘should we worry about it’, it’s ‘we are worried, let’s do something about it’.

It’s that guilt thing again – what have we done to the environment, is it my lifestyle? If so, I need to do something about it. It’s no longer a case of need to be seen, but need to do.

Q: So this will influence people’s decisions on where they take holidays?

I think people will ask questions like, is this place I’m going to responsible about the environment? Or is it wasteful and about conspicuous consumption?

Q: It’s kind of ironic you should say this when we are in Dubai, the city where everything is bigger and biggest?

There’s nothing wrong with big projects as long as they are responsibly done.

But there is no doubt that as the arguments escalate, people will start asking questions of themselves. How much is my travelling contributing to global warming? We’re seeing programmes in the UK addressing this subject. It’s easier to say, don’t travel than switch off your TV and get rid of your car?

I don’t think people are going to say, I am not going to take a holiday but they might look differently at places that are further away and opt to stay closer to home.

So what we’ve got to do is help them balance their guilt by offering them experiences that are authentic and real, and respect the environment.

Q: How can destinations rise to the challenge then?

Destinations are having to present the “experiences” and how they are doing it with social responsibility, with the green effect and with the right kind of involvement with indigenous people.

But it’s really hard to promote that – it’s a feeling you get when you get there. But to promote it, it could be very cliché.

For example, Australia is not about beaches, it’s about the beach culture. People use the beach, there is a whole lifestyle associated with it. It’s the whole experience that will touch you – but how do you promote it without becoming soppy or sounding like a Hallmark card?

Q: So how are you communicating it then?

We are slicing the market by interests. It’s no longer just talking to people but being positioned where they will find you. It’s the changing dynamics of communications – people viewing you at their own time, and not when you want them to.

Q: The changing dynamics of communications also means tourism boards can no longer just paint pretty pictures if they are not true, right?

Yes, you need to be true in your representation of what’s available. You need to be honest and you’ve got to be careful that what you present is real. With this whole trend of blogging, the world will very quickly know if what you tell are lies.