Hotel & Tourism SMARTreport #40

ELITE TRAVEL TRENDS
Hotel & Tourism
SMARTreport #40
2018 Autumn Edition 27
“START WHERE YOU ARE”
Virtuoso Sustainability Summit 2018
According to Virtuoso, when it comes to sustainability,
there is a common language among all in the industry:
“Keep it simple and make sure the consumers ‘get
it’.” This is done by supporting the culture, the local
economy, and protecting the planet.
In 2017, key business owners,
travel advisors and global
influencers came together at
the first Virtuoso Sustainability
Summit – a think tank launched
to coincide with the UNWTO
Year of Sustainable Tourism for
Development.
The idea of the summits
was spawned ten years ago,
when National Geographic
Sustainability expert Costas
Christ and Jessica Hall
Upchurch, now Virtuoso’s
Sustainability Ambassador
discussed carbon offsetting and
recycling, and the conversation
led to a broader topic of
sustainability. According to
Christ, “In 1950, it was the
first year they kept track of
international tourist arrivals.
There were 25-million people
who took an ‘international
holiday’ in 1950. Fast forward
to 2017 – 1.2 billion. By 2030,
we are probably going to hit
either just below two billion
international travellers, or we
are going to hit it. All of us
know that travel can be a force
for good. We also know that
unplanned and unmanaged,
it can be a destructive force. It
can harm communities, it can
endanger habitat and wildlife.
So, at the heart of Virtuoso’s
strategy to advance sustainable
tourism, is to harness this
‘thing’, which is a little bit of a
beast … harness it and make it
a force for good. Ensure that
travel delivers on its promise
to make the world a better
place.”
This year, Ms Upchurch says
Virtuoso is starting with a
very simple message: ‘start
where you are’: “We feel at
Virtuoso that the way in which
we can get our travellers and
our guests and our clients to
start and really think about
sustainability is for them to start
where they are… To start with
very simple, basic ideas that
can turn into something that
is transformational. Some are
starting very simply by turning
the lights off and reusing
towels. Others are far beyond
that – they are into education
and engaging in cultures,
waste reduction, energy
management and production,
recycling… there are so many
different ways. But the key is to
just start where you are. That
helps build the future of the
travel industry and what we
can do together.”
This year’s Virtuoso
sustainability goals are: to
make sustainability a greater
factor in consumer choice,
make it easier to do good, and
to cultivate more passionate
sustainability stewards through
their advisor network
THE WAY
IN WHICH WE
CAN GET OUR
TRAVELLERS AND
OUR GUESTS
AND OUR
CLIENTS TO START
AND REALLY
THINK ABOUT
SUSTAINABILITY
IS FOR THEM TO
START WHERE
THEY ARE…
The Upchurch family
at Vermejo Ranch with
Rutherford Seydel and
Laura Turner Seydel.