With a 40-year legacy of positively transforming traveller mindsets, Adventure World (AW) recently unveiled a new brand identity to better reflect the company’s eco-credentials and the company’s long-time commitment to “Travel with Purpose”. We caught up with AW managing director Neil Rodgers to find out how travel advisors can better influence their clients to travel more sustainably.
At a time when making a positive difference on our travels has never been more critical, Adventure World has this week launched a new identity to distinctly highlight the brand’s style of travel and unique selling points while conveying its commitment to sustainably-led travel.
We asked Adventure World’s managing director Neil Rodgers to share his thoughts on how travel advisors can start new conversations to educate and inspire their clients, leading to making more responsible choices on their travels.
What makes a travel company sustainable and how does Adventure World benchmark its practices?
There’s no universally agreed-upon definition, which can make identifying truly sustainable travel companies tricky. Broadly speaking, though, sustainable travel companies protect nature, support local communities, preserve culture, and adopt green business practices at every level of their operations.
Each of our product offerings at Adventure World has been created with the fundamentals of sustainability in mind.
Our team of product managers seek out accommodation properties that are characteristic of the destination and have sustainability practices in place. All of them make use of low carbon transportation wherever possible, and the experiences we offer are chosen with great care based on the positive social and environmental impact they have on the destination communities and those who experience them.
As travel comes back, are you already seeing demand for more purpose driven travel?
“Sustainable or Purpose-driven travel” is becoming less of a buzzword and more of a cultural shift that touches all aspects of a holiday. Consumer’s knowledge of sustainable business practices empowers them to rightly question the green credentials of an operator and select the one that best aligns with their identity.
There’s no questioning that this mindset is snowballing, especially in a post-pandemic travelling landscape whereby people have had the time to question their values and mindset. But people inherently want to do the right thing, and I believe this ethos has always been at the heart of our travellers at Adventure World.
Are you seeing behavioural changes from clients wanting to travel on Adventure World trips?
Our travellers are well-informed citizens of the world, so they already feel connected to communities, the planet, and its wildlife; they travel to enhance and advance this feeling of ‘belonging’ in the world.
These people want to (and do) feel part of something bigger, and they won’t stand for anything less than authentic experiences.
They can afford to enjoy the creature comforts in life and travel – but they are also happy to temporarily sacrifice them if it means their curiosity will be rewarded and that they can feel connected to the world in new ways.
What are some key traits advisors should be following to maximise sales for post-pandemic travel?
When advisors are in the discussion stage of a potential trip or holiday with their client, I recommend that they ask at least one big-picture question related to sustainable travel to help determine their client’s potential concern or savvy for environmental topics.
For example: “How much do you care about knowing your travel experience will be leaving the place you’re visiting better than when you found it?”
Travellers consistently rank “ecotourism” and “nature” among the top criteria in their consideration set for choosing a holiday, so it’s likely many clients come to their professional travel advisor seeking recommendations for travel where they can authentically explore pristine environments and view iconic wildlife.
This is the perfect opportunity for these clients to tap into their love of nature and encourage them to choose sustainable travel providers.
Do you have a message for the industry?
You don’t have to be an eco-warrior to care about the planet, and you don’t need to be a sustainability expert to talk to your clients about travel that makes a positive difference.
Talking about sustainability is more of an art than a science, and any conversation that includes sustainable travel is a good conversation!
Get ready for a sustainable eco-adventure famil in British Columbia
Adventure World’s new brand identity has launched with a “Travel with Purpose” campaign in partnership with Destination BC and a free downloadable toolkit of marketing assets for advisors to use.
Over the next six weeks, all booked BC Canada products with Adventure World will receive a 1-year whale sponsorship with BC Whales.
Travel advisors will also be entered into a prize draw to win a place on an incredible “Sustainable Eco-Adventure” famil in British Columbia in 2023.
How to successfully sell sustainable travel? Catch Adventure World’s insightful live webinars on Tuesday, 29 March.
- Session One: 9:30am AEDT – Register here
- Session Two: 2:00pm AEDT – Register here
Head to adventureworld.com.au to register and find out more.
