Thomson and First Choice Predict…Sustainable Tourism in 2009

One thing is certain, 2009 is going to be a busy year for the mainstream travel industry in terms of sustainable tourism. Here’s First Choice and Thomson’s list of predictions for what’s in store for the year ahead:

Developments in sustainable tourism will be driven by the mainstream sector

Specialist tour operators have been pioneers of sustainable tourism, and in recent years have done a fantastic job in getting the topic onto the public agenda. However, the challenges of the next few years – the auditing of hotels against social and environmental criteria, the reduction of carbon emissions from airlines, to name just two – can only be tackled with the support and commitment of the mainstream sector. Companies such as First Choice and Thomson are playing a pivotal role in ‘mainstreaming’ sustainable tourism, and this role will only increase in the future.

Hotel sustainability programmes will surge in 2009

2009 will see an increase in customer awareness of sustainability-related labels in tourism. The FTO-backed Travelife awards have industry-wide support, and with more and more hotels gaining awards, mainstream customers will find it easier to choose a more sustainable option for their holidays. First Choice and Thomson will be stepping up the number of hotels they audit against Travelife’s strict social and environmental criteria in 2009.

The impending recession, coupled with high energy prices, will drive environmental improvements in particular in hotels. In 2008, First Choice’s Holiday Village Red Sea reduced its water and energy use by 40%, representing a significant cost saving for the hotel. Many hoteliers already recognise that sustainability can bring cost savings – and may even be able to reduce any redundancies caused by the recession.

Customers will continue to care about sustainable tourism in a recession

It’s tempting to assume that, with the economic outlook as gloomy as it is today, travel customers will choose their holidays on price alone. However, our customer research shows that customers are concerned about the environment and poverty issues, and although they don’t want to compromise their personal holiday experience, they do expect a quality tour operator to be addressing these issues on their behalf.

The good news is that sustainable tourism initiatives needn’t add to the cost of a mainstream holiday. First Choice and Thomson see a strong business case for sustainable tourism that enhances the holiday experience without adding to the cost of a holiday, and is embedding this approach into core business processes.

Mainstream travel companies will increase their communications on sustainability

2008 was a year in which climate change topped the agenda, culminating in November when the UK Government passed the world’s first Climate Change Bill into law. Climate change will continue to be on the minds of the public in 2009, and mainstream travel companies will develop more sophisticated ways of communicating their environmental commitments to customers, providing ways for them to choose elements of their holiday that are more sustainable.

Customer donation schemes will become ‘smarter’

Sustainable tourism initiatives that ask the customer to part with their hard-earned cash now have an even more pressing need to be easy and affordable. Those initiatives that do not change to become ‘smarter’ and more attractive to the customer, will experience very low take-up rates.

Let’s hope it ALL comes true!

Valere Tjolle