The study was conducted by exhibitor SustainIt, a software and data consultancy that specialises in sustainability performance. Respondents came from a variety of businesses, including hoteliers, airlines, resorts and tourist attractions, only 18% of which had sustainable supply chains and procurement policies in place.
An increasing number of businesses offer their customers carbon offsets, but only 26% of respondents said their companies were looking at their own carbon footprint. Meanwhile, six out of 10 felt their company could do more to promote sustainability overall, with nearly a third (29%) not knowing if they had any targets or objectives to meet in these areas.
When WTM delegates were asked to identify the key responsible tourism issue for 2012, ‘increasing employee and customer engagement on sustainability, was the most popular, with only 29% believing their company is doing enough to promote sustainability and responsible travel/tourism to its employees and customers.
These two statistics coincide to unveil that the industry is informed and aware of sustainability on one hand, but has a lack of employee and customer engagement on the other hand.
“Our survey shows that while there is increasing activity and concern around sustainable and responsible travel and tourism within the trade, many employees are not aware of what their own company is trying to achieve and, therefore, are unable to share it with their customers,” said SustainIT managing director Charlie Stockford.
“We really hope that 2012 is a year where businesses start communicating and engaging far more with their employees about their sustainability and responsible travel programmes, and that those companies that are just starting out realise the real positive impact a good sustainability programme can make to both their profitability and to the future of our planet.”
Commenting on the findings, Reed Travel Exhibitions’ chairman of World Travel Market and pioneer of responsible tourism Fiona Jeffery explained that the observations revealed were the key reasons why WTM World Responsible Tourism Day – an international day of action dedicated to help protect the world – was created.
“Travel companies, destinations, and professionals worldwide recognise that responsible tourism offers a valuable and exciting new dimension to travel and tourism,” she said. “With this in mind, one of the key objectives of WTM World Responsible Tourism Day is to help drive change by educating more responsible behaviour within travel and tourism.”
For further information, visit www.wtmwrtd.com
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