By Bruce Piper
Sustainability seems to be a word on everyone’s lips at the moment. I must admit to being a long time skeptic about such matters, with my jaded middle-aged sensibilities often seeing initiatives like hanging your hotel towel in order to save the planet as simply “greenwashing” to boost a property’s environmental credentials — while in fact actually boosting the bottom line.
But there does truly seem to be a groundswell of genuine goodwill and commitment in the travel industry to saving the planet for future generations. From the point of view of product innovation, suppliers are increasingly working to design their offerings with sustainability in mind from the ground up — whether it’s eliminating single-use plastics, working with the procurement chain to influence the sourcing of product, mandating the use of less polluting fuels, changing animal tourism practices, or simply ensuring revenues flow into local communities.
Last month I was fortunate enough to take part in Intrepid Travel Group’s 30th anniversary conference in Melbourne, where some of the fruits of the long-time commitment of founders Darrell Wade and Geoff Manchester to using their business for good were clearly on display. Make no mistake, this pair of canny businessmen have built an amazing company which has made them both very well off — but along the way they have had an incredible influence on the world which continues today.
intrepid’s conference delegates included a number of their top “local guides” from across the globe, who stood up and spoke about how their work for the company had made a difference in their lives and their local communities. It’s clear that businesses like Intrepid are able to do good while at the same time doing well.
To that end, this special edition of travelBulletin is being released to coincide with the very first Travel Daily Sustainability Summit. We hope we can encourage the conversation around sustainability, with the event clearly resonating with the industry as it sold out in a matter of days.
We are thrilled at the support of our generous sponsors and expect that the Summit will become an annual event that will definitely be bigger and better next year.
And just a word about the printing of travelBulletin. While print sometimes gets a bad rap, we closely investigated our own supply chain and are pleased to know that the paper used for the magazine is from 100% renewable plantations, while the soy-based ink is also totally biodegradable. So please read every issue with a clear conscience!
FINALLY I can’t finish this column without a word of tribute to the late Nick Zaferis, long-time Hertz Head of Trade Sales and more recently the owner of iTravel Liverpool.
The untimely death of this character who always seemed so full of life should prompt us all to keep asking each other “are you OK?”.
Vale Nick, you went too soon.
