World Environment Day: Your Guide to Selling Sustainable Travel

With more travellers prioritising sustainability as part of their plans than ever before, it’s vital that travel distributors can cater to the changing demands for eco-conscious travel. Up to 50% of travellers feel there aren’t enough sustainable options being actively promoted or available, carving a significant opportunity for distributors to offer eco-friendly travel products.

Demand for sustainable travel is on the rise

The demand for sustainable travel options is undoubtable, and is only expected to grow. According to the World Economic Forum, sustainable travel is now a priority for four out of five travellers globally, with 71% committed to travelling more sustainably. Travel distributors are perfectly placed to get ahead of the competition and offer sustainable travel options for conscious travellers, and would be wise to do so, since the sustainable travel market predicted to grow by $335.93 billion by 2027 (Global Sustainable Tourism Market 2023-2027). 

As leaders in the global TravelTech space, Hotelbeds are experts in sustainable travel and have already helped thousands of travel providers to better offer sustainable travel options to their clients. If you’re ready to maximise the potential of this growing market, keep reading.

How to maximise the potential of the growing sustainable travel market

1.    Expand your sustainable property portfolio

Hotels worldwide are investing and developing their sustainability practices in line with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) principles to appeal to customers and stakeholders alike. This poses significant opportunities for travel distributors to advertise eco-friendly hotels and green incentives. Prospective travellers are proven to be doing more research and due diligence on sustainability before booking, so it’s absolutely vital to be promoting these credentials, particularly since, according to Avantio:
-    40% of travellers want booking sites to clearly show sustainable properties 
-    37% of travellers want a filter option to show sustainable accommodation more easily

Ready to expand your sustainable property portfolio? You can access over 38,000 sustainable hotels with ease via Hotelbed’s ‘Green Hotel’ filter on our Booking Engine. In the past year, the programme has seen a 30% growth in travellers choosing eco-friendly hotels. Join the B2B travel partners already taking advantage of the Green Hotels Programme by clicking here. 

Beat plastic pollution

This year’s theme for World Environment Day is Beat Plastic Pollution, drawing attention to one of the most significant environmental challenges of our time. Thankfully, the travel industry can play a part in the solution by catering to the increasing demand for plastic-free. In fact, Hotelbeds has seen an 84% increase in our plastic-free hotel portfolio, with 30% more customers seeking both an eco-friendly and plastic-free hotel in the past year. This is a fantastic opportunity for travel distributors to clearly advertise products which meet this criteria. Learn more here. 

2.    Maximise high-margin products through sustainable ancillaries 

Are you maximising the potential of high-margin ancillary products? For example, nature-based packages are predicted to account for 57% of travel packages globally, according to Euromonitor. This demonstrates the increasing demand and opportunity for sustainable ancillaries, from off-grid retreats to immersive experiences, which you can easily add to your offerings for sustainable travellers to choose from.

Hotelbeds can help travel distribution partners to offer sustainable ancillaries: in fact, our mobility and experiences portfolio countains 16,000 activities overall, giving plenty of choice to your clients.

EMERGING TREND: REGENERATIVE TRAVEL

Sustainability is about protecting both people and the planet. Offering tours which are experience-rich and help improve communities and/or natural spaces, known as regenerative philosophy, will become essential to appeal to the traveller of tomorrow. With competition higher than ever before, plus more choice and greater traveller independence, it’s vital to offer unique, values-based experiences which sustainable travellers can’t refuse. 

3.    Broaden your customer base with options for all budgets

It is widely accepted that sustainable travel comes with a price premium, although those willing to pay varies across customer segments. Although some segments (like luxury travel and high-impact conservation) are seeing a boom, the global economic landscape is certainly impacting some travel behaviours. With inflation considered a primary issue impacting travel plans in the next 12 months, it’s vital to vary your offerings to suit budgets across traveller types. For example, whether a beach holiday or city break, emerging destinations are a fantastic opportunity to capture cost-conscious travellers who want to spend less, support local economies, and have authentic experiences.    

●    Access our Star Brochure to get ahead of the competition with key emerging destinations for 2023 for a range of traveller types. 

4.    Increase your credibility to increase customer loyalty 

Travellers are more discerning than ever about greenwashing in tourism, the marketing of products or companies which claim to be sustainable without any evidence to support these claims. In fact, the World Economic Forum reported one of the main barriers for sustainable travellers is concern around the claims which travel companies make about the sustainability of their products.

By working with credible partners and offering packages and services which are proven or certified to be sustainable (like the Hotelbeds Green Hotels Programme), with transparency and good reporting, you will gain valuable customer loyalty and see travellers return to you for years to come, all the more important in an increasingly competitive market with travellers exercising more independence than ever before.

The important role travel distributors play in sustainable travel

Travel distributors play a crucial role in protecting the planet through sustainable offerings. As the demand increases for sustainable travel, with more people understanding that eco-friendly doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing luxury or comfort; travel distributors can certainly benefit from, and even lead the way in, these changing ideas around sustainable travel. After all, environmentalism is definitely not going anywhere, so make sure your travel business is primed and ready to help sustainable travellers protect and enjoy the planet for years to come.