Sustainability at the counter

Project objectives

Studies show increased interest in more sustainable vacations

The majority of holidaymakers book their trip at a travel agency. For a growing proportion of customers, the topic of sustainability is playing an increasingly important role in travel planning / on vacation. According to booking.com's Sustainable Travel Report 2022, 72% of German travelers say that sustainable travel is important to them and 50% would like to travel more sustainably in the next 12 months. Also, 58% of German travelers would rather opt for sustainably certified accommodation.

However, there is (still) a clear discrepancy between this desire and actual behavior, as the majority of travelers have not booked sustainable accommodation, for example. According to the FUR Travel Analysis 2019, sustainability was the deciding factor for only 4% of vacation trips (with otherwise equivalent offers). Obstacles include a lack of information or suitable offers. for example, 24% of Germans surveyed by booking.com stated that they did not even know that sustainable accommodation was available, while 23% did not know how/where to find it.

Lack of knowledge Reason for not approaching

The "Fridays for future" movement and the resulting climate protection discussions as well as the effects of the global coronavirus pandemic have increased awareness of the issue among the general public. Customers are increasingly asking about sustainable travel when seeking advice or making bookings, and more and more travel agents want to focus on selling more sustainable travel.

However, it is not always easy for travel agency employees to obtain reliable information and acquire the relevant knowledge to advise on more sustainable travel.

The lack of knowledge in particular ensures that travel agency employees do not actively address the topic in sales talks or actively offer more sustainable travel.

Joint project aims to raise awareness

The joint project between Futouris and QTA aims to change this.

The aim is to raise awareness and knowledge among travel agents on the topics of sustainability and climate protection and to inform them about more sustainable and climate-friendly vacation offers. This is to be achieved, for example, through various materials and tools such as seminars or guidelines. Travelers should also be given more information about more sustainable vacation offers and opportunities.

Activities in the project

• Analysis of existing materials and tools

• Survey of selected travel agencies on desired supporting tools

• Development of a comprehensive guide and supporting materials and tools

• Development of materials for customers

• Testing the developed materials with pilot travel agencies

Explanatory video "Sustainable travel made easy"

The following video was developed as part of the project and uses a typical scene in a travel agency to explain how a vacation trip can be made more sustainable. The travel agency employee gives the customer Ms. Levy practical tips - for example, how to make the journey more climate-friendly or what advantages sustainably certified hotels offer.

These tips can easily be adopted in everyday travel agency life. The short video is also ideal for drawing customers' attention to the topic of sustainable travel in a fun way.
Watch now on YoutTube