Sustainable tourism is a reality. More and more companies are adopting sustainable tourism, given that it meets the needs of tourists, therefore generating profit with the traveller’s loyalty and the support of local communities.
The issue of sustainability is now at the centre of the focus on management. In this regard, tourism reinvented itself by offering its services through sustainable tourism, a trend whereby tourists ensure they make more sustainable choices when organizing a trip. According to a report by the Consumer and Users Organization (CUO), 73% of Spanish people base their purchases on an ethical or sustainability principle, a number that keeps rising.
In the face of this increasing demand, we put together the three main reasons why tourism companies should adopt sustainable tourism, and attract professionals aligned with this new paradigm.
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Added value: improve customer experience
The World Tourism Organization (WTO) shows that between 10% and 15% of travellers look for a unique experience. Thus, promoting sustainable tourism will not only bring significant environmental and cultural benefits but will also forge links with travellers. And obtaining a number of loyal tourists with high probabilities of travelling with the same travelling company is a huge competitive advantage.
For this, you need a professional capable of managing strategies and action plans to sell the complete experience, at the right time, and to the right customer: a Revenue Manager or a Destination Management Organization. Revenue Managers are in charge of selling the right customer service at the right time, with the right price and the perfect channel. This profile is based on Big Data statistics and studies to act upon previous functions, segmenting the market and setting corresponding prices. In this way, the Revenue Manager helps the company to define service by focusing on the unique customer experience.
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Reduce costs and energy consumption
Sustainable tourism makes use of renewable energy and energy savings. Experts gathered in the Spanish capital for the COP25 (United Nations Climate Change Summit of 2019) estimate that climate change acts as a negative factor to the promotion of tourism. Therefore, tourism is in charge of changing this preconception, through the use of renewable energy within companies. This will not only make it easier to reduce energy consumption but reduce costs as well, through the implementation of sustainable measures and the reduction of unnecessary spending on water, electricity and energy.
This requires a profile that can optimize the results of cost reduction, which in turn contributes to energy saving. One of the professionals able to perform this function is a JavaScript or Python developer. A developer is not only capable of providing digital solutions related to security, smart cards or mobile apps, but can also program a system with a sensor for adequate lighting, turning off lights if it does not detect movement and thus reducing the light consumption.
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Generate local employment and encourage local consumption
Sustainable tourism is a commitment to local employment and contributes to spreading cultural and natural culture. This also contributes to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and can be tapped as a call to action for customers. Indeed, tourists are increasingly interested in living real, native experiences offered by the different places they travel to.
You need someone to give that call to the quality customer. A copywriter specialized in ecotourism or sustainable business would be the right professional for the task since its task is mainly to generate content that attracts quality customers and that has a strategic vision capable of adapting to the new trends of the public in order not to lose sight of their interests.
These three reasons act as a boost to supporting sustainable tourism, necessary to contribute to society. However, in addition, they also generate the confidence necessary to make the tourist customer a loyal customer of the company and offer a possibility of innovation to attract new jobs and professional profiles, essential to meet the specific needs of today’s tourist customers.
