How Companies Are Stepping Up Sustainable Travel in 2023

Treading lightly and being conscious of our impact on the environment and the places we visit when traveling has become more important than ever. Between the increasing challenges of climate change, biodiversity loss, and the immense amount of waste impacting the planet, there's never been a more important time to be thoughtful about how we explore the world.

A growing share of the traveling public is aware of this urgent responsibility. According to a YouGov poll from earlier this year, 53% of global consumers indicated they intend to look for sustainable travel options. The same poll found that 53% of consumers are also willing to pay for more sustainable holidays. Equally encouraging, travel brands are constantly reviewing their impacts on the planet and announcing new ways to address their global footprint.

With this in mind we asked a long list of travel brands-from well known tour operators to hotel companies, and cruise lines-what new sustainability measures they have in store for 2023. Here's what they had to say

The backbone of tourism around the world, destination marketing organizations (DMOs) are increasingly focused on not only attracting visitors but also encouraging all stakeholders to partake in activities that nurture the wellbeing of communities and the environment.

Sonoma County Tourism is one such example, said Jessica Blotter, founder of Kind Traveler. "Sonoma County Tourism announced its shift from a destination marketing organization to a destination stewardship organization (DSO)," said Blotter. "This shift represents a larger shift taking place with destinations around the world and is guiding the way a destination plans for its' future in a way that embraces sustainable and regenerative tourism."

Tourism board websites dedicated to destination stewardship initiatives are becoming more commonplace and the effort includes offering visitors activities and trip ideas that embrace responsible and sustainable travel options.

It's hardly any secret that train travel is more eco-friendly than planes. According to The Company of Biologists, using the train emits about six times less GHG emissions than flying. Luxury travel company Origin has taken this message to heart and in 2023 will be integrating train travel into itineraries over flights whenever possible, said Dean Hayter, the company's travel product manager.

"A lot of short-haul flights can be swapped out for train rides, which comes with so many benefits apart from being better for the environment," said Hayter. "Train stations are typically located right in the city center, there's no strict baggage limits as with airlines, and you get to fully experience the landscapes of the place you're traveling."

In 2023, Origin won't just be offering trains as a means of transportation, but will actively promote journeys where the train ride is the trip. Luxury train routes like the Venice Simplon-Orient Express and the Andean Explorer are worth planning an entire vacation around, just to experience the train itself.

The tourism industry is highly vulnerable to climate change and at the same time contributes to the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, said Jennifer Spatz, founder and CEO of the travel company Global Family Travels.

"We all bear responsibility for addressing climate change and reaching the net zero emissions goal before 2050. This includes individual travelers and the travel industry, both of whom must be active participants in achieving such a lofty benchmark," said Spatz.

For Spatz's company that has meant signing onto the Glascow Declaration, which is a commitment to a decade of tourism climate action. GFT has also committed to developing even more regenerative travel opportunities in partnership with local and global non-profit organizations that support destination stewardship. And the company has also signed onto the Adventure Travel Trade Association's Climate Action Pledge,which includes changing operational processes, reevaluating food supply chains, and more.

More than a few travel companies are increasing their emphasis on slow travel in 2023, including Global Family Travels and Origin. Slow travel, which means staying in one location longer, benefits both the environment and travelers themselves.

"Origin is encouraging clients to opt for visiting fewer locations and doing day trips rather than moving around constantly," explained Hayter. "When you're traveling a long way from home, it's natural to want to squeeze in as many places as possible, but your carbon footprint gets bigger the more you move around."

Staying in one or two places not only reduces the environmental impact, but it's also a central tenet of slow travel because you get more time to connect with the local people and culture, allowing visitors to really get to know a destination instead of just passing through.

Travel company Say Hueque, whose journeys focus on Argentina and Chile, has committed to planting 20,000 trees in Patagonia by August 2023. To date, the company has already planted 5,000 trees in damaged regions of Patagonia as part of its effort to help restore native forests.

"Our plan is to plant," said Say Hueque owner Rafa Mayer, who has participated in two native tree plantations since September 2021. "Doing all that we can to respond to the climate emergency is the most important thing," added Mayer. "We need to go beyond sustainable, by compensating for our travelers emissions and then taking bold steps to generate a positive impact. We believe in the power of regenerative tourism, and are doing everything we can to achieve this."

Uniworld was recently the first river cruise company to introduce verified net zero targets that have been validated by the Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi). The targets were specifically designed to align with the scale of carbon reductions required to keep global temperatures below an increase of 1.5 degrees celsius. Uniworld's goal is to achieve net zero by 2050, replacing its original plan to be carbon neutral by 2030 as the company takes a more ambitious and aggressive approach towards addressing climate change.

"Decarbonization has proven to be the single most effective means to addressing the climate crisis and thus an immensely important priority," said Uniworld's Sustainability Officer, Julie Higgins.

The cruise line's reductions will come through a combination of operational, product, and technology changes.

Uniworld also plans to step-up efforts to reduce food waste over the coming year, the methane emissions from which are another significant contributor to climate change. Uniworld is on track to reduce food waste by 50% by 2025 by employing Leanpath food waste measurement and prevention solutions to improve kitchen efficiency. Uniworld has already prevented 13,156 kilograms of waste from occurring and as a result, avoided nearly 100 tonnes of carbon from being emitted across six ships since first adopting the program in 2021. In 2023, Leanpath will be implemented across Uniworld's entire fleet.

"Leanpath is an incredible, cutting-edge technology," said Higgins. "In just three months of using it, we saw a 15% reduction in food waste on the first pilot ship, and have increased that percentage ever since as we rolled it out across our ships."

Wildlife-related tourism has long been a major focus for Intrepid Travel, the world's largest B-corp-certified travel company. For 2023 the company will introduce a new line of ethical wildlife adventures that expand beyond traditional game drives to include outside-the-box experiences that responsibly engage with, and protect, the endemic species and natural habitats of every destination.

"In addition to launching 16 new experiences and trips, Intrepid has reviewed and refreshed all 140-plus existing wildlife tours to include more opportunities for travelers get closer to nature and ensure the company maximizes its positive impact on the communities and environment," said Matt Berna, Intrepid Travel President, North America.

Plant-based diets offer a major opportunity to help mitigate climate change. This is largely due to the fact that plant-based foods have a much lower carbon footprint than animal-based foods. With this in mind, Intrepid has committed to including a greater emphasis on plant-based meals on some of its journeys.

"Every Intrepid Real Food Adventure includes at least one plant-based meal that showcases local fruit, vegetables, nuts and seeds as we continue to innovate in ways that promote and support sustainability and invests in the health of our planet," said Berna.

In October, Royal Caribbean began testing alternative fuels aboard Navigator of the Seas, making it the first cruise company in the United States to sail using renewable diesel fuel. The testing will continue into the first part of 2023.

"We are committed to investing in technologies and innovations that will help us reduce emissions and fulfill our purpose to deliver great vacations responsibly," said Laura Hodges Bethge, Royal Caribbean Group's executive vice president of shared services operations.

The renewable fuel being used by Navigator of the Seas contains less carbon than traditional marine fuels and is produced from renewable raw materials. Royal Caribbean hopes to expand the use of the fuel to other ships across its fleet.

In the summer 2023, Royal Caribbean Group's ultra-luxury brand Silversea Cruises is set to debut as the cruise industry's first hybrid powered ship. The new class of ships, known as 'Project Evolution,' will operate using a trio of power sources including a fuel cell system, battery technology and dual fuel engines using liquefied natural gas (LNG) as the main fuel. This hybrid solution, using fuel cell technology, allows the ship to be free of local emissions while at port- an industry first.

Another longtime leader in the travel industry effort to protect the planet, Natural Habitat Adventures, will offer special climate-focused itineraries in 2023.

"Several of our trips, including Churchill polar bears, the Great Amazon River Expedition and others, offer designated departures focused on the impact of climate change in those destinations," said Court Whelan, Nat Hab's chief sustainability officer. "Each departure will feature special guests from the World Wildlife Fund, who are experts on climate-related science and policy. We believe there's no better way to learn about climate change and its impacts on the natural environment than to be immersed in the vulnerable places that are witnessing the effects of a warming planet."

These special journeys delve into how climate change is affecting habitats, wildlife, and humanity and include discussions with WWF experts about what's at stake.

In tandem with Wilderness (formerly known as Wilderness Safaris), Nat Hab will soon be debuting a groundbreaking electric safari vehicle in Botswana.

"We've retrofitted a Toyota Land Cruiser to become a fully electric means for game drives, an important initial step in starting to decarbonize the safari industry," said Whelan. "The vehicle will allow for quieter, lower-impact wildlife viewing, and at the end of each day, its battery will be replenished from a solar-powered charging station at camp."

The company's ultimate aim is to utilize many electric safari vehicles and in so doing, transform the face of the industry. Now in the final stages of development, the new electric vehicle is expected to be put into action in the very near future.

Marriott International will continue its plastic waste reduction efforts in 2023. The global hotel brand's journey began with banning plastic straws and then shifted to eliminating single-use toiletry bottles from all of of its properties worldwide-a goal that's expected to be achieved by the end of 2022. For the coming year, Marriott has set its sights on doing away with still more plastic waste.

"We are already planning for the next phase, looking at large-format bottling options for sink-side soaps and lotions, as well as reviewing more responsibly sourced offerings of other single-use toiletry items such as shaving kits, dental kits, and make-up remover cloths, expected to be ready for purchase by hotels in 2023," said Denise Naguib, Marriott's vice president of sustainability and supplier diversity.

For 2023, Hurtigruten Norway will continue its ambitious green upgrade program, the largest environmental upgrade ever in Europe, said Hurtigruten's Anders Lindström.

"Two more ships, part of the Coastal Express fleet, will be upgraded to battery-hybrid powered ships during 2023," said Lindström.

The two battery-hybrid ships are just the latest green efforts from Hurtigruten. Sister brand Hurtigruten Expeditions introduced the world's first battery-hybrid powered ship back in 2019. Also on the horizon for the coming year, three other ships in the Hurtigruten Norway fleet, (MS Vesterålen, MS Nordnorge, and MS Polarlys) will be upgraded with selective catalytic reduction technology, which will cut nitrogen oxides by a massive 80% for the fleet by early 2024.

In 2023, adventure travel company Wilderness Scotland will continue on its journey to net zero. That effort has already included introducing carbon labeling across all of its trips and giving each trip a carbon score-empowering clients to understand their impact and take that into consideration when making decisions.

"Together with our colleagues in the travel and tourism industry, we believe carbon tracking across the industry can become standard," said Paul Easto, Wilderness Scotland's CEO and founder. "With the release of this new methodology as an 'open source' document, our hope is that others can use it as a guide in their own sustainability initiatives, with an end goal of making the industry as a whole a force for good in the conservation of our planet."

In the coming year the company's effort will also include introducing a low carbon trip on its regular line-up. The journey will minimize carbon impact by utilizing electric vehicles, trains, bikes, and walking to get around. In addition, each featured accommodation has been chosen because of its sustainability efforts.

Tour operator Exodus Travels has recently developed its own unique pledge to become "Nature Net Positive" in the next three years. For Exodus this means ensuring that its adventures give back to nature far more than they take. The effort will include creating and running Exodus trips in ways that not only reduce any negative impacts on natural ecosystems, but also proactively supporting nature's restoration and regeneration.

"Whether through carbon emissions, pollution, waste, or over-exploitation of ecosystems (through over-tourism, or the building of tourism infrastructure, for example) many aspects of our travel are currently harming our natural world," said Kasia Morgan, head of sustainability for Exodus. "Our sector not only has a responsibility to ensure we're proactively pursuing biodiversity preservation and restoration, but to start setting clear and measurable targets in this area."