Sustainable Travel Market Demand and Best Practices for Market Access Leilani C. Latimer Director Sustainability Initiatives Sabre Holdings
Mar 27, 2015
Sustainable TravelMarket Demand and Best
Practices for Market Access
Leilani C. LatimerDirector Sustainability InitiativesSabre Holdings
Global Consumer Trends
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Green savvy Globally aware of challenges
Tech savvy Transparency in information
Active participant in creating sustainable economy Engaged with brands & solutions
Emerging middle class Higher education, less tolerant to social/environmental
failures
US Consumers associate value with “green”
The “Green” and the Mainstream” Traveler
66% of US travelers believe their travel choices can make a difference to the environment
44% consider the environment when making travel choices
56% are skeptical about companies’ “green” practices
The “Greenest” Mainstream Traveler
Which Traveler is most sensitive to choosing environmentally sustainable options ?
Frequent Business traveler 55%Infrequent Business traveler 48%Leisure travel only 41%
Retailers tend to be more trusted than brands
How influential will travel providers’ “Green” initiatives be during your RFP decision-making process for 2010?
30% of Corporate travel managers include “green” in their policies
Government mandates US, UK, Germany –
mandate sustainable travel
Corporate Travel
Green Meetings
• Winning venue selection Over 51% of meeting planners will hold meetings only
in sustainable venues Another 25% prefer
“green” providers Over 73% deliberately
avoid destinations or venues with poor environmental record
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Hospitality Trends• Certification Matters
• Hotel Guests lists certification as top preference in sustainable offerings
• Over 40% of respondents looked for 3rd party certification to verify that a supplier is truly “environmentally friendly”
• 91.6% of respondents said that a hotel’s environmental rating is an influence
• Only 8% say it’s easy to find “green” options
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Globally Recognized Certification Value in a globally recognized certification
program Over 135 certification
programs for Tourism and Hospitality
Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria Translates “sustainable,” “green,” and “eco-friendly” from
buzzwords to foundations for significant revenue Increase/enhance market awareness for travel offering
Marketing Sustainable Travel
Make it easy Make it visible Sell “better”
Use meaningful standards Certification matters