Phocuswright, the world’s leading travel industry research authority, has issued its new Green Innovation report, before the upcoming Phocuswright Europe Conference that will take place in Barcelona during the period from June 12-14. This edition will primarily focus on sustainability. The new Phocuswright report also details the key change catalysts for the travel industry, as well as meaningful actions travel companies can take.
“Climate change is happening now, meaning the travel industry is at a crossroads; it can either take action to become more sustainable via innovation – or be forced to do so via crises and regulation. Increasing global action on climate change will create various challenges for the travel industry – but travel companies must innovate now or these challenges will become more difficult and they face being left behind.”, Eugene Ko, Director of Marketing and Communications at Phocuswright, stated.
For the year 2023 and beyond, the five key drivers for change are the increasing regulatory challenges related to various green initiatives, which they must adapt to.
Further, 55% of travelers aged 18-34 are now likely to pay to offset their carbon footprint when flying, according to a recent Phocuswright study. This represents a growing share of consumers that are eager to act on sustainable travel. However, travel companies must not rely on traveler sentiment alone to guide their sustainability investments. If data and algorithms can be employed in a way that keeps users glued to social media, travel companies can and must harness innovative, technology-driven processes to make environmentally-positive travel decisions possible and desirable.
As a commitment to carbon reduction, individual travel companies spearhead efforts, following Intrepid Travel as an example, which in 2020 declared a climate emergency, is pushing travel companies to follow its lead in committing to specific targets for reducing carbon emissions through the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
Travel companies must then establish an action plan for how they will meet specific targets and find a way to accurately measure their emissions. Additionally, sustainability practices and products should be fully transparent, certified, and prominently displayed for travelers during the shopping process. Travel companies can increase their impact by working with vendors to foster sustainability throughout their supply chains.
There is also an increased focus on innovation opportunities for profit, and the planet to create impactful products and services. The sustainable future will crown new winners and losers and established travel companies and would-be startups alike should actively pursue innovation.
