{"id":10003,"date":"2023-12-06T12:40:44","date_gmt":"2023-12-06T12:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.insightvacations.com\/blog\/?p=10003"},"modified":"2024-12-18T12:00:03","modified_gmt":"2024-12-18T12:00:03","slug":"2024-resolutions-sustainability-specialist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.insightvacations.com\/blog\/2024-resolutions-sustainability-specialist\/","title":{"rendered":"My 2024 Travel Resolutions, by Sustainability Expert Shannon Guihan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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From off-season travel to taking the train, hear how sustainability specialist Shannon Guihan will be accelerating her already ingrained sustainable travel practices in 2024.<\/p>\n

As TTC Chief Sustainability Officer and Head of the TreadRight Foundation<\/a>, she tell us what will lead the industry agenda next year, what TTC has in store, plus why we\u2019re saying, \u201cno to more stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Bleisure travel<\/h3>\n
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\u201cIn 2024 I’m going to be building upon the way I would typically travel, and that is that I often look for trips that align with my business travel destinations. I enjoy combining business and leisure with my family and stay either a little bit longer, or quite a lot longer in some of the destinations I have the privilege to visit. This means that we, as a family, are putting less time in the air, and staying for longer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bookmark for later: Insight investigates: Overtourism, and what you can do to help<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Off-season travel<\/h3>\n
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\u201cAnother way that I have always traveled and will continue to do so is to visit destinations in the shoulder season. On top of the financial benefits for most communities, I feel that we also then get a little more truth to the destination.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think choosing the off season is going to be the reality for more and more travellers, with many doing it perhaps subconsciously already. The changing climate is resulting in changing seasonal patterns, and guests are starting to respond with their behaviour. Plus, new trends for places like Eastern Canada which are stunning destinations, just less well known.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more: The sustainable benefits of traveling in the off-season<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Getting on that train<\/h3>\n

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\u201cI am currently based in Europe with my family, so I have the great fortune of having train travel available to me. It\u2019s both a sustainable way to get to your destination, and often a spectacular way to see the sights once you get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Switzerland\u2019s Glacier Express route is one such beautiful journey, through unforgettable scenes of ice-capped mountains, stone-built villages and lush meadows. You can ride a train along part of this route on: Country Roads of Bavaria, Switzerland & Austria<\/a><\/p>\n

You may also be interested to read: 7 reasons why shoulder season is the best time to visit Switzerland<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Mindful about with whom I travel<\/h3>\n
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\u201cIt’s always been important for me to be very mindful about with the companies you choose to travel with. I think that’s true of airlines, and it’s certainly true of tour operators. For example, I look at the airline to make sure that they have sustainability commitments, and the appropriate tactics in place, such as investment in new technologies and sustainable aviation fuel and other reduction practices.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hear from another sustainability specialist: MAKE TRAVEL MATTER\u00ae: Why developing meaningful travel experiences has never been more important.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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MAKE TRAVEL MATTER\u00ae<\/h3>\n

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\u201cOur MAKE TRAVEL MATTER\u00ae<\/a> Experiences are a really wonderful way to identify pre vetted experiences, that we know really benefit a community through either environmental or social justice. I always try to ensure that I can partake in a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER\u00ae Experience if I’m fortunate enough to be in an area where we have one (and our family of brands have a great many nowadays). That’s true of both my business trips and when with my family. We\u2019ve proudly seen this industry leading TTC initiative grow and grow across our brands.<\/p>\n

Insight Vacations now has a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER\u00ae Experience on every one of its tours offering a unique chance to leave a positive impact on the places you visit.<\/p>\n

For a taste of what these experiences offer: 5 MAKE TRAVEL MATTER\u00ae Experiences that will connect you to extraordinary people<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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What TTC will see happening in 2024<\/h3>\n

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\u201cMoving ahead, you’re going to see us really dive deep into our travel experiences and itineraries,\u201d says sustainability specialist Shannon. \u201cIt’s a seamless integration of even greater sustainability performance into the guest experience. You often won’t notice, but you can trust that we are constantly evolving our approach. For example, we\u2019re addressing the challenges of crowding, through greater offers on the shoulder season.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is addition to the gradual reduction of the carbon footprint through investment in our own infrastructure and assets and technology, all the while (and this is really important) not passing that cost on to our guests.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis time last year, Insight Vacations and our sister brands at The Travel Corporation announced a reset of our Climate Action Plan and a commitment to reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050. So, in 2024 we will be continuing our journey towards that goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

You can read all about it: Measure, Reduce, Restore and Evolve: Our journey to hitting Net Zero by 2050<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

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The big industry trend for 2024 – Investment in carbon reduction<\/h3>\n
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\u201cInvestments into carbon reductions is going to be the big trend across the board in 2024, there are more and more technological solutions coming online and investments are needed so that these solutions scale,\u201d Shannon says.<\/p>\n

“Some ways we have invested to date include ensuring that at our offices we are nearly at capacity in our ability to produce renewable energy. Looking ahead to next year we are heavily focused on our Scope 3 emissions, these are those produced by our partners and suppliers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are several ways we can reduce our scope 3 footprint, such as by favoring electric and or biofuels, and by changing our routes such that we are on the road a little bit less and staying in places a little bit more. We can also greatly reduce these emissions by saying \u2018no to more stuff\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Our continued journey to Net Zero by 2050 – saying \u201cno to more stuff\u201d<\/h3>\n

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\u201cFrom today (7 December), we will no longer buy branded merchandise as gifts for guests, our trade partners or internal team members and instead, will be making donations to nature-based solutions,\u201d Gemma Myhill, Sustainability Officer for Insight Vacations explains. \u201cCurrent stocks will be donated where possible and used up across our business throughout 2024 so as not to overwhelm charities or end up in landfill.<\/p>\n

\u201cAligned with our commitment to achieving Net Zero GHG emissions by 2050, we realized that there’s 2500 tonnes of emissions that go into the branded merchandise that we give away every year. Which equates to 6.5 million car-driven miles worth of carbon emissions.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen we asked ourselves, do people really need more stuff? And the answer is no. We could actually remove these emissions completely from our ecosystem, no longer buy branded merchandise and instead donate the money we would have used to nature-based solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The projects<\/h3>\n
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\u201cThe nature-based solution projects we have chosen to support are Project GreenWave\u2019s Kelp Climate Fund and Rainforest Rescue\u2019s Daintree Project,\u201d Gemma tells us. \u201cBoth existing partners of our not-for-profit foundation, TreadRight, the ability to leverage these strong relationships is a testament to how much sustainability is engrained in our core.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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