New for 2024, the dedicated sustainability conference taking place on the Wednesday morning of LATA Expo, will explore why, what and how businesses implement sustainable practices into their operations.
THE WHY
Thomas Power, CEO and co-founder of Pura Aventura and co-founder of Travel by B-Corp.
Thomas Power will begin the conference discussing WHY there is a business case for sustainability.
From conferences and tourism authorities to marketing campaigns and the media, sustainable travel is talked about everywhere. Consumers say they want sustainable travel, but most don’t actually buy it. So why now? Thomas believes that if a business isn’t currently taking action then it will be left behind. As soon as sustainability has more positive associations, and it becomes a duty rather than desire, the gap between a business’ intentions and actions will narrow.
If done well, sustainability isn’t a hygiene factor. Thomas will show that it’s more enriching for both businesses and consumers as well as generating higher new product sales. Businesses see greater customer loyalty and more repeat bookings, often with higher spends, which accompanied by a lower acquisition cost, has financial benefits for the business.
THE WHAT
Chris Haslam, chief sustainability writer at the Sunday Times and Darrell Wade, CEO and co-founder of Intrepid Travel.
Chris Haslam will host a fireside conversation with Darrell Wade to look at WHAT a sustainable, purpose-led business should look like?
Does the travelling public really care about sustainability? At home they recycle and drive electric cars. They take reusable bags to the supermarket, and they’ve got solar panels on the roof but for two weeks of the year, they want to fly to another country and cut loose.
But does it matter? Not if the holidays they choose already have the sustainability baked in and the extractive matter, well, extracted.
In other words, there’s no point waiting for public demand to force change in the industry. It is the responsibility of purpose-led tour operators, hoteliers, DMCs, airlines and all other relevant stakeholders to present menus offering only the right choices.
But how much effort is enough when, according to an informal Sunday Times poll, only five percent of travellers consider a lack of sustainability to be a deal breaker? How far down the value chain is far enough? When is the cost of transformation too much? How do you reconcile idealism with pragmatism?
Intrepid Travel is the largest certified travel B-Corp in the world and a global leader in regenerative travel with sustainability embedded into its strategy. Chris will be discussing with Darrel what a business that does this looks like and questioning what value this brings to a business.
THE HOW
Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner, Executive Director of The Long Run with Tony Thorne, Director of Wilderness Explorers, Naomi McKee, PR Manager of Senderos and Jasci Carvalho, Director of Tropic Travel DMC.
Led by Anne-Kathrin, known to many delegates for leading LATA’s Sustainability Training Programme, the final session of the conference will look at HOW to implement change through collaboration, embedding sustainability into the day-to-day operations of your business.
The Long Run’s 360-approach looks at business through the lens of the 4Cs – community, culture, conservation and commerce. The challenges felt by most businesses align to each of these, which in turn enables solutions to be found. How do we better engage with suppliers, how do we embed a culture of sustainability within a team, how do we create transformative and engaging experiences, and how do we create a responsible business model.
Alongside the panellists, the interactive session will tackle the key challenges around implementing change and collaboratively develop strategies for overcoming them.