Historically, marketing leisure travel has had a fairly straightforward purpose:
Use enticing imagery and feel-good language to encourage would-be travelers to
visit a certain destination, attraction or accommodation. The quantitative
measurement of “heads in beds” was both the goal and sign of success.
But times are changing: Across the tourism industry today, it’s openly
acknowledged that travel is responsible for a significant amount of carbon
emissions. And,
in destinations around the world, local residents are speaking out against the
impacts of
overtourism,
poorly behaved
travelers
and a housing crisis fueled by short-term
rentals.
In other words, “more” does not necessarily equal “better.”
Yet, tourism provides meaningful financial support and social agency for
marginalized
communities.
And it can also engage people in conservation
issues
and serve as a gateway for young
people
to become involved in pressing global challenges such as the climate crisis.
This complex web of impacts has left travel-related marketers grappling with
lots of questions: What is the point of tourism marketing if not to attract
tourists? How can marketing best be used to support the positive attributes of
tourism while mitigating harm? Is it even appropriate to promote tourism at all?
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Experts working in travel-related marketing weigh in with insight.
The holistic nature of sustainable marketing
Whereas the historic intention of marketing has been on financial success and
profit, “sustainable marketing refers to marketing principles and practices
that are aligned with a sustainable future and the long-term wellbeing of all
living things,” Charlie
Thompson — director of commercial
strategy and co-convenor for the Sustainable Marketing, Media, and Creative
online
course
offered through the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability
Leadership — told
Sustainable Brands® (SB).
This requires rethinking and realigning tourism marketing functions, so they
consider the economic, physical, psychological and ethical impacts of
promotional messaging. In other words, tourism marketers previously centered
campaigns around traveler desires such as pleasant weather and low prices.
However, they should now be considering not just what pleases travelers but also
how travelers’ presence impacts locals and the wider community, the local
economy, wildlife and the natural environment.
Additionally, sustainable marketing in the tourism context requires full
accountability for those impacts. “Tourism is one of the five areas of
high-impact consumption identified by
UNEP
— which means there is huge opportunity and huge accountability for this
industry to think critically about what it’s selling, how it’s selling it and
the impact this is having,” Thompson said.
Redefining the role of travel-related marketing
Sustainable marketing in tourism means that it’s no longer simply a sister
function to sales. Instead, it supports the wider ethos of travel companies and
destinations that operate with ethics and responsibility at the forefront. There
is a circular nature to the operational and marketing efforts.
For example, tour operators building itineraries should be considering things
such as how many domestic flights are
incorporated
and how local businesses can be better utilized and
integrated:
Marketers, for their part, need to think about the implications of promoting
tours that incorporate domestic flights versus train travel, and the economic
impact of encouraging travelers to stay at a locally owned accommodation versus
an international hotel
chain.
Together, the two support each other in creating and promoting a more
sustainable form of tourism.
As Mirjam Peternek McCartney —
founder and CEO of travel PR agency Lemongrass
Marketing — told SB, redefining tourism
marketing in this way also requires redefining success beyond financial profit:
“A company needs to be profitable; but we need to place value on the services
nature and people provide us with, and they need to be measured too,” she
asserted.
At Lemongrass, for example, the team measures profit — but it also measures
client happiness, staff happiness, the percentage of sustainable travel clients
it works with, and carbon-reduction targets. “All these KPIs carry equal weight,
and bonuses are only paid if we hit our climate and people targets — not only
our profit targets,” Peternek McCartney said.
Similarly, in 2022, 4VI made
waves
within the tourism industry when it shifted from a traditional
destination-marketing organization to a social enterprise. In this new capacity,
4VI directly invests in the initiatives and organizations that make Vancouver
Island, Canada a vibrant place to live, work and play. This, in turn, benefits
the local community while also making it an appealing place for travelers to
visit.
Why sustainable marketing in tourism matters
To be clear, sustainable marketing in tourism is different from marketing
sustainable tourism models, products or services. It requires critically
evaluating marketing’s purpose, but it still serves an essential function within
tourism.
“Marketers and creatives are storytellers, and this is where we can have real
influence,” Peternek McCartney said.
Keeley Warren, founder
and director of travel and tourism marketing firm
Mankind Digital, offered the following example:
“Marketing a low- to middle-income country grappling with complex environmental,
political and social issues as a luxury destination to visit purely for leisure
purposes is arguably unethical and irresponsible.
“Places and people have real stories to tell, and these shouldn’t be hidden
behind the façade of all-inclusive resorts and deceptive marketing campaigns
designed to attract tourists seeking a ‘leisure escape’ from daily life,” she
said. “Tourism and travel have the power to uplift, enrich and transform as much
as they can damage and destroy places and communities.”
In other words, don’t shy away from travel-related marketing because it is
important in influencing everything from travelers’ decisions to government
policy. As the full spectrum of tourism’s impacts is laid
bare,
so too is the role of tourism marketing. And with the rewriting of tourism
marketing comes an opportunity to reshape travel for the better:
-
Use the reach and influence of marketing to amplify the stories of people
and communities that have historically been sidelined by tourism.
-
Help visitors understand how their travels both negatively and positively
impact the environment, economy, and social and cultural fabric of
destinations.
-
Share messaging that demonstrates what it looks like to engage in richer
and more rewarding travel
experiences.
“With our business-as-usual way of doing things being the cause of so much
harm,” Thompson said, “sustainable marketing principles and practices are needed
now more than ever.”
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JoAnna Haugen is a writer, speaker and solutions advocate who has worked in the travel and tourism industry for her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted — a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact and storytelling. A returned US Peace Corps volunteer, international election observer and intrepid traveler, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel and support sustainability using strategic communication skills.
Published Jun 9, 2024 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST