Sustainable Tourism

As consumers witness the effects of climate change, they’re becoming more aware of the social responsibility behind each purchase and decision. According to a report from Nielsen IQ, 78% of consumers value leading a sustainable lifestyle.

Achieving sustainability can be challenging for the tourism industry. A World Travel & Tourism Council study found that between eight to 11% of global greenhouse gas emissions occur because of travel. Therefore, when travel and tourism agencies work to be more sustainable, they must share this information with consumers. One of the most effective ways to showcase your commitment to sustainability is through marketing.

At AMNY Travel Marketing, we combine vast industry knowledge and full-scale marketing capabilities to help reach your audience and generate new leads. Here, we discuss several marketing strategies to show travelers you prioritize sustainability.

Think About Your Target Audience

Despite growing consumer concern about sustainability, customer experience is still the primary selling factor. Even one to two adverse customer experiences can cause a traveler to choose a different company.

In your marketing campaigns, don’t stress only your commitment to sustainability but also how this approach to travel enhances the experience. For instance, you may point out that travelers reap more cultural enrichment and can potentially spend less money while having a more unforgettable trip. If more people visit your destination for business, emphasize how sustainability can help make the trip more productive.

When talking about sustainability, it can be tempting to lead with your accomplishments, such as organizations you support or events you’ve helped fundraise. This information is valuable to consumers and may persuade them to choose you over a competitor. However, the focus should always be on what value sustainability brings them.

Take a Glance at the Competition

Every business deals with competition, but it can be particularly stiff in the travel and tourism industry. By very nature, it’s a global industry — you want people from all over the world who fit your target audience to consider your destination.

Given this heightened competition, it can be beneficial to look toward some travel agencies with the same or a similar audience who already incorporate sustainability into their marketing campaigns. What approaches have they taken to sustainability and marketing? Have their strategies been successful? How can you differentiate yourself from these competitors while still emphasizing sustainability?

Give Messaging a Personal Touch

While sustainability is important to your target audience, it’s a topic that speaks to your company’s values. These efforts aren’t arbitrary — they represent your collective concern as a business.

Therefore, consider giving marketing centered on sustainability a personal touch. This could mean conducting interviews with leaders and employees who encouraged the push toward sustainability and then crafting blogs or social posts to highlight these stories.

Be Honest About Sustainability

One of the many keys to marketing success is maintaining integrity in your messaging. Therefore, when discussing sustainability, be specific. Showcase more detail about your sustainable practices, supplying evidence of their impact and actions you’ve taken to integrate this approach throughout the organization. Generalizations about how a move toward more sustainability supports a cause can make it seem that you’re doing more than you are, producing skepticism in potential customers.

Conversely, you don’t have to wait until you’ve mastered sustainability to talk about it in marketing content. Sharing with travelers your smaller efforts at the beginning, and continuing to update them on progress with green initiatives, shows you’re a work in progress, which also reveals your integrity as a business.

Share Your Story of Sustainability with AMNY Travel Marketing

No matter how you plan to incorporate sustainable tourism into your marketing materials, the task will involve crafting a story of your agency and its values. With help from a full-service travel marketing partner like AMNY Travel Marketing, you can ensure your marketing accurately reflects your efforts toward sustainability and connects with the right audience.

Leveraging key data insights and vast experience, our award-winning creative team will help you develop a story of what makes your destination unlike any other, including your emphasis on sustainability. We can also assist you in designing messaging that reaches your target audience, empowering a stronger lead generation. Contact us to learn more about our services, or book a complimentary consultation today.