New Carlson Wagonlit Travel research has revealed three sustainable tourism trends emerging since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic. The study suggests that consumers have become more eco-conscious in the wake of COVID-19.
The report via HospitalityNet also shows that companies are keen to meet the new expectations of travelers. Niklas Andreen, CWT’s President, and COO, was quoted saying:
“Companies who want to meet the expectations of their customers and employees will need to step up their efforts to make their businesses and business travel policies greener.”
CWT says they are keen to help travel businesses with new programs and strategies geared to take advantage of the slowdown COVID has caused. Last year, CWT introduced an ECO responsible travel consulting framework. ECO being short for Employee Wellbeing, Climate Impact, and Organizational Performance.
The framework is designed to help companies fulfill these different priorities, end-to-end, across five areas – strategic assessment, travel policy reviews, supplier sourcing & management, change management, and reporting & insights. Rob Coomer, CWT’s Snr. Director Customer Management, had this to add:
“There’s discussion in the market about how travelers fill in the so-called ‘final mile’, specifically how they’re traveling the distance from the terminal or station to a meeting location.”
CWT says there has been an increase in micro-mobility options to accommodate these final mile journeys. Things like city bike rentals and e-scooters, are an expanding opportunity because of the new traveler expectations. Also,. broadening options and campaigns from governments that encourage walking and cycling throughout the pandemic will lead to a shift in how ‘the final mile’ is taken in the future.”
Back in June, CWT’s Richard Johnson, Senior Director, CWT Solutions Group spoke to a panel of experts representing different viewpoints surrounding sustainability. The talk revolved around airlines, environmental non-profits, TMCs, and travel buyers discussing a major point of contention in making corporate travel programs greener: how companies should set targets and measure success.
The pandemic prompted companies like CWT and partners to take a closer look at the environmental impact of business travel. The new study announced by the company confirms most of the points addressed in the panel discussion. The podcast, Business Travel on the Fly, is here.
Also, a recently announced partnership with Delta Air Lines and CWT frames the exciting development of sustainable aviation fuel use. Delta has agreed to purchase enough sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) to cover the projected fuel usage from all of CWT’s travelers on Delta on 5 June, which was World Environment Day.
