5 Tips for a More Eco-Friendly Travel Experience
Over the past two years, having the ability to work remotely and drive less has opened people up to considering more carefully their carbon footprint. As travel agents and agencies, not only have some of us been making the same careful considerations (reducing office space, instituting work-from-home policies, switching to mainly digital offerings, etc), but it’s also in our best interests to keep up with the times.
It’s also not an exceptionally difficult task! Going eco-friendly these days is a lot easier than you’d think - the digital products are there, suppliers and companies are more committed than ever to sustainable practices, and travelers themselves are obviously willing to make more conscious choices about their travel habits. To show just how easy it is to adopt more eco-friendly business practices, we’re listing out our top five tips below:
1. Choose green suppliers and partners
First things first for travel agents who are either curious themselves about creating a more eco-friendly business, or are servicing customers who have made that a top priority, is to have a good backlist of green suppliers and partners.
It’s not even that difficult these days to find sustainable travel operators! Tons of destination management companies and tour operators have instituted responsible travel policies over the past few years. AndBeyond, for instance, has made safe environmental practices a cornerstone of their business - along with installing an electrical micro-grid at their Xaranna Okavango Delta Camp in Botswana, they’ve also worked collaboratively with many environmental agencies such as Rhinos Without Borders and the World Wildlife Fund.
Trafalgar, an award-winning tour company offering extraordinary tours all over the world, launched their 5-year sustainability plan back in 2020 called How We Tread Right. HWTR comprises 11 different goals and commitments to be met by 2025, including animal welfare, sustainable food production, and responsible consumption around reducing single-use plastics. With more and more tour companies, suppliers, and other travel professionals are making sustainable practices integral to their business, travel agents don’t have to pick and choose.
(Not to plug Umapped too soon, but we work with both of these companies and many more that have made real commitments to green travel.)
2. Go paperless
For the majority of travel agents, switching to a digital sign-off provider was likely one of the first moves you made after Covid19. For those of you who haven’t already done so, if you previously had documents signed in person or via courier, then this is definitely something to consider.
Not only will adopting a digital signature provider streamline your workflow (imagine getting documents signed off on in a matter of minutes or hours versus days), but you’ll also have the reassurance that you’re lessening your paper dependence. Sign-off providers like Docusign or Zoho offer not only secure ways to send documents and receive e-signatures, but they also often offer ancillary products and services, like payment collection.
3. Encourage travelers to use local transportation
Encouraging your clients to use local transportation is almost definitely in their best interests. With gas prices at an all-time high and rental cars never really the most affordable option, your clients will also see the benefits of taking advantage of trains, metros, and buses to get around the city.
Tourism boards definitely encourage using local transportation as well, and they often slip in some extra incentives! In Switzerland, for example, the Swiss Travel Pass grants travelers unlimited travel by train, bus, premium panoramic trains, and boat; it also provides free admission to over 500 museums and some mountain excursions, such as Rigi, Stanserhorn and Stoos. Not only is it an overall economically better idea to go local, but it also makes for a better travel experience!
4. Avoid single-use plastics whenever possible!
This is a big one. If you look at the Sustainability page of any green-travel company’s website, you’ll often notice that reducing the amount of single-use plastics (literally check four tips above where it’s part of Trafalgar’s sustainability program) is a cornerstone of their initiative. Your travelers may also be wondering how they can get around without overconsuming plastics as well.
As an easy first tip, bringing a reusable water bottle in your checked luggage or carryon (just make sure it’s empty if you go for this option) is key. The same goes for a reusable travel mug if you’re servicing the type of traveler who loves to grab a cup of coffee at every new cafe (if it isn’t clear, I’m making fun of myself here).
For travelers that want to reduce their plastic use even more, we recommend encouraging them to bring along their own reusable sandwich bags, totes, cutlery, containers, and cloth napkins to reduce having to use the plastic versions of these while out eating or shopping.
5. Use digital itineraries
Much like with switching to a digital sign-off provider, digital itinerary solutions add just an extra opportunity for your business to go paperless. Plus, digital itineraries are absolutely the way to go with modern day travelers - anyone who usually adds their passes and e-tickets to their Apple Wallet or even just checks their booking details on their email right before boarding their flight will be able to tell you just how convenient it is.
(Most Gen Zs and Millennials also just don’t even own printers these days)
These are just some ways that you can create a more eco-friendly travel experience for yourself, as a travel agent, and for your green-minded travelers. For even more traveler-specific tips, we recommend checking out this New York Times article.
Curious about how Umapped can help you meet all of your clients’ needs?
Using digital itinerary solutions, like Umapped, travel agents can not only provide their travelers with a safe and secure way to access their itinerary and suggest activities for their clients to enjoy, they can also ensure that their own business includes more environmentally-friendly tools.
See why more and more advisors are turning to digital solutions like Umapped by signing up for a free trial and joining one of our introductory webinars.
