This document discusses marketing for sustainability in tourism. It argues that both influencing the market and customers is important. To influence the market, transparency about objectives is key and change will be gradual. Influencing customers emphasizes authentic experiences that benefit local communities as well as travelers. Responsible tourism marketing should focus on the journey rather than having all the answers, as positive change takes continual effort.

1. Marketing for sustainability
RTD11
Tim Williamson
Director of Marketing & Content – Responsible Travel

2. Qualified to comment?
• Marketing & Customer director
– TUI UK
– Monarch Airlines
• Responsible Travel

3. Marketing
• 2 purposes
– Influence the market
– Influence the
customer
• To market sustainable
or responsible tourism
you don’t need to be
perfect!

4. Influencing the market on responsible
& sustainable tourism
• Just the role of the
NGO, charities &
governments?
• Should commercial
companies not get
involved?

5. Influencing the market on responsible
& sustainable tourism
• If you are going to
try and influence
the market:
– Need to be clear
and transparent
about your
objectives/agenda
– Accept that it’s a
slow process

6. Campaigning
• Not about selling holidays –
changing the market
– Orcas
– Volunteering with orphans
– Elephant safaris
– Travel journalism
– Tourist Board’s stance on
responsible tourism
– Etc etc
• And also changing your
mind

7. • Can be seen as event marketing but really:
– A showcase for the best in class examples from around the world in
responsibility & sustainability
– Sponsorship there to grow and market the awards
– Worldwide expansion will further help
– But clearly benefit by association for the founding brand

8. Influencing the individual on
responsible & sustainable tourism
• Need to face the fact
that the market for
this is relatively small
• For the majority it will
be a secondary
consideration, at best
• Certainly not a reason
to not bother or we
won’t have an
industry in the future!

9. Authentic experiences
• What customers do increasingly want is an “authentic” Holiday
but what is this?
– Something off the “tourist trail”
– A brief glimpse into life in another country, culture or community
– A break from normal life by experiencing something quite different
for a short space of time
– Something that can be talked about, remembered and shared

10. Responsible Travel belief – the win:win
• We have proved (or
stumbled upon) a link
between these experiences
and responsible &
sustainable tourism
• We only screen for
responsible & sustainable
commitment from our 400
tour operators yet they
deliver life changing
experiences & amazing
holidays

11. Why are these scores so high?
• Holidays created by interesting people who love where
they live – the culture, the wildlife, the landscape – open
up and show a side to life that might not be immediately
obvious
• These are amazing authentic experiences which can be
marketed as such BUT also tick the responsible tourism box

12. Marketing sustainability &
responsibility
• One last thought –
responsible tourism is
not immune for the
drive for more honest
and believable content
• Content marketing is
not a fad
• Search engines are
making us all make our
sites more interesting
and easy to use

13. Responsible Travel Guides
• Lack of journalistic
independence and the
rise of user generated
content is an
opportunity
• Our guides are
designed to:
– Be Honest & digestible
– To drive traffic and
booking conversion

14. Responsible Travel Guides
• Our Travel Guides give
us the opportunity to
highlight the
responsible tourism
issues
• And what customers
can do to minimise and
avoid them

15. Summary
• It is possible to market responsible and sustainable
tourism to:
– Influence the market:
• not just down to the public sector, charities & trade bodies
• Need to be clear and open about what you are trying to do and
why
– Influence the customer:
• Need to focus on the customer benefit as well as the local
community
• This could be a better holiday experience or just a cheaper price
• For both it is about marketing the fact that you are on
a journey rather than already at your destination