EXCLUSIVE – RachelMcCaffery Virgin Holidays’ Responsible Business Manager talks to VISION

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Virgin Holidays Responsible Business Manager, Rachel McCaffery started her career working for a small eco travel specialist, and went on to set up a voluntary organisation in the UK, to help crime victims through the trial process.

She then studied for a Masters Degree in sustainable tourism at the University of North London, before and going on to work in marine research and environmental education at Lee Stocking Island in The Bahamas and Discovery Bay, Jamaica.

Returning to the UK she took up a commercial position, working in the Product department at Panorama Holidays and moved into a similar role for Virgin Holidays 2 years later. After gaining a grounding in the commercial basis of the company, Rachel was able to begin ‘waving the flag’ for sustainability internally and encouraged Virgin Holidays to turn this into a distinct and permanent role in 2003. She has spent the last 6 years as Responsible Business Manager for Virgin Holidays and steers sustainability strategy internally, in addition to working with Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Management to input into a more sustainable future for the Group

Q: What do you see as the greatest sustainable tourism achievement to date?

• A: “By the industry – Aircraft being included in emissions trading from 2012 will have a big impact on the sustainability of the industry as a whole and encourage greater technical innovations such as Virgin Atlantic’s sustainable biofuels trial.”

• A: “By Virgin Holidays – We took a big step last year when we decided to involve all our customers in sustainability by including a donation in the cost of every holiday we sell. This will raise hundreds of thousands of pounds to help look after the people and environment in the destinations we travel to. We’ve also made great strides in auditing our core supply base in The Caribbean and Florida for sustainability and have been pleased that a really good number have qualified for Travelife bronze, silver and gold awards.”

Q What do you see as a key factor to riding the storm in 2009?

• A: “By the industry: There will inevitably be pressure for sustainability to slide down the priority list, but the big problems the world faces aren’t going to disappear. The companies that survive the recession will also need to make sure they futureproof themselves against the challenges that the changing environment and social conditions will bring. So for any business, losing sight of sustainability goals has got to be a short sighted strategy.”

• A: “By Virgin Holidays Our commitment to making a difference comes right from the top and because it always has done, it’s something that is indelibly associated with our brand. We are proud to live up to, even exceed, this expectation and wouldn’t be the company we are if we didn’t. So I think we’d have a strong social and environmental agenda anyway, but it does also make business sense. From futureproofing, as I mentioned, to the bottom line benefit from operating more resource efficiently, to adding value to customers through the quality that we find goes hand in hand with sustainability – its all good! “

Q: The future looks pretty challenging – climate change, global political instability, the economic situation, fuel, food, water, population increases, changes in tourism source markets. Which of these challenges do you think hold the most danger, and which hold the most potential opportunities?

A: “Essentially, they are all tied up with each other, so they all present a challenge. Some of them, we in the travel industry can do something about – greening our own businesses, encouraging hotels to save energy and water and linking developing world farmers with hotel kitchens to cut down on food miles, as we at Virgin Holidays have been doing. Others obviously need addressing on a global level, but I feel optimistic that finally government heads and leaders in all sorts of industries are recognising this and starting to come up with some really innovative ideas for solutions. “

Q: It’s pretty difficult to see the future at the moment, after all EVERYTHING could change. Are you willing to be a little brave and tell us how you see it in 2020? 2050?

A: “I think we are seeing already the beginnings of a much lower carbon world, as the cost and volatility around fossil fuels is increasingly driving the search for affordable, clean alternatives. Front running hotel businesses, such as Sandals Resorts, are already making major investments in solar and wind turbines to power their resorts and lower emissions aircraft like the Dreamliner, combined with increased investment in biofuels are very positive developments within aviation. Destinations like New Zealand, overall winner at the 2008 Virgin Holidays Responsible Tourism Awards, show it is possible to integrate sustainability into tourism and are setting a standard that others will learn from and follow in years to come. Things will change and the kind of holidays people want to take will probably change too, but I’m pretty confident us Brits will continue to want to get away to more exotic shores as often as we can!”

Q: What do you suggest should be the industry’s key focus issue in 2009?

A: “For 2009 the priority for all industry, not just travel, should be ensuring an economically, socially and environmentally sustainable future.”

Q: And what will Virgin Holidays be?

A: “We are confident of our ability to deliver in all these areas!”

Q: Virgin Holidays has made tremendous strides in sustainable tourism in the last few years. Where do you see its involvement leading, and what are the next few steps?

A: “We have made great strides in engaging with our supply chain on sustainability. As a tour operator Virgin Holidays has very few direct impacts of its own. Obviously we have measures and targets in place to cut our own emissions, reduce paper use and increase recycling. But the vast majority of our impacts come from third parties, including our sister company Virgin Atlantic (who have their own team working hard to achieve their goal as the worlds most sustainable airline) and the many hotels we do business with worldwide.

So we have a strong focus on encouraging our hotel suppliers to adopt more sustainable practices and are looking at how we can better reward those that do. We also aim to make it easier for them to do the right thing by raising awareness of the key issues and initiating sustainability projects in destinations, such as the farming project I mentioned and the work we have done with the Travel Foundation on promoting sustainable seafood choices. Our staff are very involved in sustainability initiatives and often travel overseas to assist with community work in our destinations. But we are increasingly keen to get customers involved and are now actually the first mainstream tour operator to sell volunteering holidays. Teaming up with Intrepid Travel and Madventurer, Virgin Holidays customers can take a safari in Kenya and then follow this with some time helping build or teach at a Kenyan school.”