The distribution and sales partners of tourism service providers play a fundamental role in promoting change in the industry towards sustainability. For this reason, Dr. Fried & Partner has launched a sustainability initiative with the Lufthansa Group, AIDA Cruises and BWH Hotels. The aim is to strengthen the dialog between service providers and sales, identify the challenges in marketing sustainable travel services and jointly develop solutions for the future.
Joint workshops with travel agencies and sales partners
In October, travel agents and representatives from travel sales came together for the first time for a workshop in Hamburg. This was followed at the beginning of November by the second workshop as part of the initiative, this time in a location that is also focused on sustainability: the Community Kitchen in Munich. The workshops were accompanied by representatives of the service providers, including Michael Nau and Tim Fischbach from Lufthansa, Konstantin Meier from Eurowings and Mirja Albers, Martina Reuter, Alexander Ewig and Hans-Hennig Beyer from AIDA. Carmen Dücker, Alexander Birk and Andreas Westerburg from BWH Hotels accompanied the workshops.
The two events focused on the topic of sustainability in sales, which we examined from different perspectives using various creative methods and panel discussions.
The challenges faced by travel agencies and sales partners are manifold:
- Lack of uniform standards and lack of transparency in the certification market
- Lack of information and knowledge about sustainable measures and travel services
- Lack of a central platform for travel agents that offers quick and clear access to relevant information
- Awareness of sustainable travel options among end customers
- Lack of incentives for end customers to book sustainable travel services and difficulties for travel agencies to communicate a topic that requires a lot of advice in a comprehensible way
Sustainability: necessity and sales opportunity
The workshops in Hamburg and Munich enabled an intensive exchange between service providers and travel sales. Valuable input was also provided by sustainability experts such as Ralf Hieke from “Fairweg”, Kerstin Schmidt from the travel agency “reisenneugedacht” and Andreas Kindlimann from LCC “Grünes Reisebüro”. There was a consensus that travel agencies that address the issue of sustainability NOW can gain a competitive advantage. The discussions about possible solutions and future sales opportunities were also particularly exciting. Transparent and always up-to-date communication from the service providers to the sales department plays a central role here, as does the provision of clear information in the booking systems and the creation of enthusiasm for the topic both in sales and among end customers.
