by Mia Taylor
Last updated: 10:30 AM ET, Fri March 9, 2018
Virtuoso is once again advancing the discussion regarding sustainable tourism with the release of a new white paper detailing how to shift the effort from a mere trend to an organized, ongoing movement.
The paper outlines a thoughtful action plan designed to elevate sustainable tourism best practices in the industry as Virtuoso, a global and luxury experiential travel network, seeks to leverage its position and relationships to influence both businesses and travelers.
Among the goals and actions outlined in the paper, entitled "Sustainable Tourism: From Trend to Transformative Movement"
-Compiling a database of Virtuoso partners' sustainability success stories and best practices and making the database available to Virtuoso-affiliated travel advisors so that they can develop itineraries that are not only unforgettable but also give back to the local people and planet.
-Increasing sustainable tourism awareness and training for Virtuoso staff, establishing an interest group for Virtuoso travel advisors and partners and creating a sustainability specialist designation for advisors.
-Promoting travel consumer education on sustainable tourism as an important factor in trip planning, with easier ways to find advisors and partners committed to enjoyable and responsible travel.
"Travel creates a path to human understanding and peace, and allows countries to protect natural resources in a way that would not be possible without its economic contributions," Virtuoso Chairman and CEO Matthew D. Upchurch, said in a statement. "We support the individual sustainability practices of our partners, who in turn support their own communities. And it's through their stories that we find the inspiration that educates our advisors and encourages their clients to make more informed travel decisions."
In 2015, according to Virtuoso, there were 1.2 billion international tourist arrivals and billions more domestic tourists.
It is a number that is expected to nearly double by 2030, which led the former UN World Tourism Organization Secretary-General, Taleb Rifai, to say "Will tourism bring us one billion opportunities to make the world a better place, or one billion disasters?"
Virtuoso has a lengthy track record of leading the discussion in the industry regarding sustainable and eco-friendly travel.
Its efforts have included creating the Virtuoso Sustainable Tourism Leadership Awards, which are now in the eighth year, and more recently the Virtuoso Sustainability Summit.
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