Travel: going green – TravelMole guest comment by Clement Wong, Europe, Middle East and Africa Manager, Euromonitor International

Travel has never been so accessible to the masses, thanks to the myriad of low-cost carriers in the short haul sector and the recent emergence of low-cost players in long haul travel.

While the consumer may be benefiting on price from the low-cost carrier phenomenon, the increase in air travel has serious implications on carbon emission levels; implications which are not going unnoticed by the EU or the international media.

How green will they go?

The European Union is currently taking the lead in making the travel industry more responsible for its actions with the introduction of emission trading schemes.

Germany, the world’s largest outbound tourism market, but also a world leader in environmental politics, will take on the presidency of the European Union in 2007. It will be interesting to see how Germany will manage to balance environmental issues with the Wanderlust of the European  population.

Elsewhere, the Bermuda government has taken steps in protecting the environment by outlawing car rentals. Similar actions may be taken by governments worldwide in order to protect areas of natural beauty and attractions such as those accredited with the UNESCO Nature Heritage status. The decision is clearly a difficult one, however, with a ban negatively impacting on potential visitor numbers and therefore damaging tourism revenue.

Proactive green initiatives from the private sector

Virgin and easyJet are two European carriers that are taking a proactive stance on the green issue. Virgin is currently conducting environmental test trials with BAA to cut emissions through the use of starting grids. These grids are intended to cut emissions by limiting the fuel used before take off, as a plane’s engine is only started once it has been towed to the grid.

Whereas easyJet, on the other hand, is taking a more bullish position, arguing that many of Europe’s leading low-cost carriers use newer and more environmentally-friendly aircraft, and fly more efficiently than legacy carriers with higher load factors.

TUI can also be seen as a leader on green issues, with its corporate environmental management programme, which has made it the only travel and tourism company listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index.

This corporate environmental management programme consists of initiatives such as in-group environmental reporting and nature conversation in the countries where its customers holiday.

Consumer environmental responsibility moves up the agenda

Green tourism still remains a niche tourism product catering to a select consumer group. However, websites such as Responsibletravel.com already allow travellers to book an environmentally responsible holiday, explaining to the traveller how they make a difference with each holiday booked through them. At Climatecare.org, travellers can also proactively offset their carbon emissions every time they fly.

It is likely that the next step in the green evolution will see environmentally responsible tourism move up the consumer agenda, resulting in more “green” demands being placed on travel companies, such as the need for carbon offsetting options as part of travel bookings or perhaps even prompting the need for a green tourism body that serves to certify environmentally-friendly organisations, so that consumers can gauge a travel company’s green credentials before booking.

If this is the future, then being green will be essential for travel companies to sustain long term profitability.