A NEW YEAR OF TRAVEL AWAITS

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

It’s hard to imagine that we are already in the final days of December, another year having come and gone. When I reflect on the year that was, it is unambiguous that we are living in a dynamic, acceleratingly everchanging world. Within the dynamism, we are being forced to grasp new rules we could never have anticipated nor imagined a year ago.

So, what awaits us in 2024? To look forward, I like to begin by looking back.

After the moribund, endless, three-year span of the Covid pandemic, 2023 will be remembered as the first full year of recovery. In it we enjoyed growing confidence and excitement as ‘surge’ became the most frequently used term to describe the year’s travel world.

There are so many reasons to be looking up, and forward. But let’s not jump ahead of ourselves just yet.  All around us we see change. And it is not only the great news within our great industry. Nor is it all positive. However, our industry remains fueled by hope, hard work, and most importantly, the need for human connection.

Looking back, the world faced a collision of diverse challenges. Economically, despite the world being reconnected as travel and trade return to a strong position, rising costs of essentials of living – food, fuel, and other fundamentals – have put pressure on disposable incomes and freedoms to spend.

Environmentally, we have seen extreme weather events, distinct evidence of the climate crisis, devastating communities forced to face the worst heatwaves, fires and floods they have ever seen in their lifetimes.

Politically we have seen hurt and hardship like not seen in decades. Two wars are raging on at this precise moment while other geo-political tensions continue to brew from East to West. With elections taking place in many countries in the new year – an estimated 4.4+ billion people going to the polls – we can only expect the noise to get louder, the rhetoric harder to digest, and the risks of separation greater.

Despite these very real, very raw challenges that we as the wider global community have faced, our industry continues to provide people with reasons to be hopeful, holding on to dreams, and onto one another. We see it all around us, and we can have confidence that we will continue to see it in the year ahead.

Still, while we can deservedly feel a sense of relief that recovery is well under way, there is no doubt that as leaders of the future of travel, it is essential that we evolve. We must continue to make clear, conscious decisions that fully honour the responsibility we all have in doing the right things, the right way, for the right reasons, right now. 

What does this mean?

As an industry, we must recognise that as travel demand returned at rates that had us feeling proud of the resilience of our industry, we cannot deny the fact that the travel orbit caught the ecosystem of our industry flat footed in our ability to adequately service the revival. The short-sightedness of many in the industry – many critical links in keeping travellers across the world moving safely, swiftly and smoothly, along with all of their luggage – resulted in severe disappointment of both travellers and the industry alike. The learnings must be taken forward, for as confident as we may be in bookings returning across the globe, if the airlines are not flying, or airports not operating airbridges, or the trains not connecting, no one is moving. Add weather disruptions into the mix and the damage to movement and motivations is intensified.

As a business and as individuals, we need to evolve our recognition of how travellers wishes, wants, and also worries, have changed in this new world of travel. Ultimately, we must never forget this simple truth: we are them. We as travellers are relooking why, how, when, where and with whom we travel. How we respond to our customers and partners, how we care for our guests, must never lose the human touch, the reasons we travel.

So, rather than trends, these are the specific forces of market evolution that I feel we need to be conscious of. These are the things we are preparing for, all the while being equally ready to adapt to the unexpected deviations:

1. Exceptional Demand, Everywhere: The desire to travel and experience new destinations will grow stronger than ever for one simple reason: the appreciation of travel will continue to inspire people to reconnect. Having been starved of travel during recent years, the hunger to broaden their horizons, gain new perspectives, explore new cultures, create lasting memories, and foster a sense of personal growth and fulfillment will need to be fed. We already see it. The UNWTO recently reported that from January to September this year, international tourism recovered 87% of pre-pandemic levels, with 975 million tourists travelling internationally in the first nine months of 2023, a huge +38% over the same months of 2022. And recovery was everywhere. Europe recovered 94% of pre-pandemic visitors, Africa 92%, the Americas 88% and Asia and the Pacific 62% (recognising that Asia only fully reopened in late Q1/2023). With the whole world now travelling, momentum is set to continue, travellers working around challenges that the world may be facing.

Traditional Patterns Are a Thing of the Past: Where we go will change. The evidence is clear in a move in travel patterns, with traditional warm-season holiday seekers looking to cooler climates and different travel periods. This change represents not only a call to action for us to recognise, but a huge opportunity for us to leverage. Which is why we are acting by adjusting inventory based on shifting demands and leveraging our 100+ years of travel expertise to craft trips that go both to, and beyond, the iconic and uncover the soul of destinations, stretching travel periods to meet new travel times of the year attracting traveller interest. Whatever the time of year, wherever we may be, we continue to make meaningful local connections – staying true to our core purpose to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER™ .

2. Beyond The Hustle and Bustle: Travellers are increasingly seeking out unique and lesser-known destinations, moving away from overcrowded tourist hotspots to enjoy travels off the beaten path. Guests are looking for authentic and immersive travel experiences that enable them to get up close and personal with local communities and cultures, landscapes, and lifestyles. This speaks right to the heart of our business and brands.

3. AI Accelerating Travel Tech Intelligence: AI is not happening, it has happened. And we must embrace its power as a source for good, while at the same time, taming its usage to ensure it remains just that. It’s ability to understand individual preferences and behaviors is truly remarkable, elevating our ability to make a meaningful connections and real impact with, and for, travellers. While we are still in the early stages of the generative AI journey, I believe that this technology will be transformative, likening its impact on creativity to the internet’s revolution. Our fears will only be addressed by making friends with this new force of intel, recognising and activating its power to help us grow our brands, our business, and importantly, our relationships with our guests, our partners, and amongst ourselves.

4. Global Caring: We all know, and feel, how the climate crisis is having an impact on the places to which we most want to travel. As mentioned earlier, extreme weather events and their increased frequency and intensity is disrupting travel plans. We are seeing awareness of environmental issues continue to grow amongst our guests, with growing prioritisation of destinations that minimise the negative impact of global warming. TTC has always taken our responsibility to Mother Nature seriously, recognising over a decade ago the role that climate change & environmental factors are playing in the world. Our response: creation of the nonprofit foundation TreadRight back in 2008. Our How We Tread Right 5-year strategy with its 365-day year-round travel focus and a defined a road map for Net Zero by 2050 has been moving our guests beyond the the icons and deeper into the places we go, throughout the year, for years. At the heart of our efforts is ensuring travel is as good for the visited as the visitor. In doing so, all of our trips now include at least one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER™ experience that advances one or more of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Vision, transparency, delivery – our ethos.

5. Near not Far: For all of the growth in international travel, domestic and regional travel continues to grow, lifting the baseline for destinations. The desire to get out and explore new frontiers, crossing borders, discovering new cultures and communities applies right at home as much as across the globe. This growing trend to discover our own backyards is vital to support local businesses and communities all year round, keeping the tourism economy and value chains active, creating new through-the-year habits with local travellers. The benefits, and opportunities, are immense, the avoidance of logistics of international travel aside.

6. Two To Not Overlook: Finally, there are two trends enjoying growth that, interestingly, can at times have one common bond, namely:

  1. Solo Travel: increased demand for people traveling on their own for various reasons, particularly women, and
  2. Workation / WFA (Work-From-Anywhere) Travel: once shy of showing personal time was being worked into work travel, employees and their employers are now encouraging combing work and play wherever in the world remote network connecting, and therefore working, is possible.

Ultimately, travellers are increasingly comfortable going solo as a planned holiday, or as an extension to work travel. Either alone, or combined, these two trends offer us great opportunity to attract travellers not needing friends or family alongside to fulfil their travel desires.

For all we can anticipate and wait to see, what I am sure of is that in 2024, travel and what we do will grow. There will however be unpredicted times, and unexpected trends. Our travel landscape will be more demanding; requiring us to frequently rebalance our energies and refocus our efforts. Which is why the spirit of flexibility and adaptability we all adopted in 2023 will continue to be a necessity for us, for travelers, and for the travel industry, as together we all navigate this now ever-changing travel landscape.

Whatever changes lie ahead, the constant remains that tourism can and needs to be a significant source of local revenue, stimulating economic growth and job creation. In a world that is becoming increasingly interconnected, travel plays a vital role in fostering global citizenship and promoting tolerance and empathy. And importantly, however and wherever tourism evolves, that it is done so responsibly. These are my givens.

And, as the twists and turns of 2024 unfold as a wonderful year to discover the world, the TTC community will ensure that travel continues to engender cultural exchange and understanding, enabling people from different backgrounds to come together, learn from one another, appreciate one another, and celebrate diversity and MAKE TRAVEL MATTER™ as a force for good, not just in 2024, but importantly for generations to come.

2023: AN ALARM HAS BEEN SOUNDED – BUT HAVE WE HEARD? 

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

The final quarter of 2023 is here. The final 100 days of the year are underway. Looking back to 2023’s early days, finally we see a year of steady, sustainable recovery. Finally, after almost 1’000 days of global border restrictions all regions of the world were open to travel, open to recovery, open to unity, and open to growth.

Finally, a time to prosper. Or so we supposed.

None of us had on our radars the crises that were to follow. As I reflect on this past Northern Hemisphere summer, it is one which will be indelibly imprinted in our memories. It was a summer that showcased the new realities of travel, realities grounded in the global climate crisis that we, as a global community, face today and for generations to come. I wrote about it in August – as it’s becoming tougher to maintain my diplomatic filter. The times then, and now, necessitate both honesty and transparency. They also, critically, demand action. 

We now know that July was the hottest month on record, the period from June to August was the Northern Hemisphere’s hottest-ever summer. As temperatures soared, parts of Western Europe sweated through long-running drought conditions. And then there were the tragic wildfires in Maui and Canada, as well as through France, Portugal, and Greece. It was a summer of extremes, and a summer of lessons for the travellers and locals who encountered them. 

Then we finished September, and read that for Austria, Germany, Poland and Switzerland, the month was the hottest on record. This in a year already expected to be the warmest in human history as climate change continues to accelerate. And the intensity and suffering hasn’t ended. Spain is currently searing in late summer heat, while across the central USA, the week ahead is expecting a new wave of heatwaves. Heatwaves, in October?  On the other end of the spectrum, New York City is bailing itself out of flood levels that have saturated JFK, La Guardia and Newark Airports with over a foot of water in the terminals. The city’s subways seeing water pouring down the stairways while bridges, roads and paths are closed. And it did not stop there, from Vermont to Cape Town and the Himalayas, all were inundated with floods or landslides. 

Closer to my home, here in Switzerland, I can see the glaciers evaporating before my eyes, 10% gone, in just two years. So much is changing, so many new challenges are emerging. Terrifying challenges. The climate crisis is only one of them, one that impacts us all. No one is immune to the weaknesses our world is witnessing, weaknesses that are eroding who we are as a global society, community, and economy. We are literally burning our planet, our livelihoods – yet as a collective we remain idle.

At the UN General Assembly days ago Secretary General Antonio Guterres addressed more than 140 world leaders, he too dropped his diplomatic filter, choosing to speak with rawness unfamiliar on such a worldwide platform. His words were searing, and imploring. 

Excellencies,

Our world is becoming unhinged.

Geopolitical tensions are rising.

Global challenges are mounting.

And we seem incapable of coming together to respond.

We confront a host of existential threats – from the climate crisis to disruptive technologies – and we do so at a time of chaotic transition. 

It was a start to an address warning of an end.

He continued further on to speak specifically of the climate crisis.

We must be determined to tackle the most immediate threat to our future: our overheating planet. 

Climate change is not just a change in the weather. 

Climate change is changing life on our planet. 

It is affecting every aspect of our work.

It is killing people and devastating communities.

Around the world, we see not only accelerating temperatures, we see an acceleration in sea levels rising – glaciers receding – deadly diseases spreading – the extinction of species –– and cities under threat. 

And this is only the beginning.

We have just survived the hottest days, the hottest months, and the hottest summer on the books.

Behind every broken record are broken economies, broken lives and whole nations at the breaking point. 

Every continent, every region and every country is feeling the heat.

It is clear that to protect the future we must adopt and activate the lessons from the climate change upheavals of the past few months. The immensity of these events, such as fires, heatwaves, floods, over-tourism, a government shutdown, and global warming, will bring new realities to all aspects of our lives. 

What does this have to do with us as travel and tourism professionals and practitioners? Why such concern? Have the UNWTO not just released Summertime momentum results to be excited about, their global monitoring has revealed that: 

“Tourism demand continues to show remarkable resilience and sustained recovery, even in the face of economic and geopolitical challenges, the UNWTO Barometer showing that:

  • By the end of July, international tourist arrivals reached 84% of pre-pandemic levels.
  • 700 million tourists travelled internationally between January and July 2023, 43% more than in the same months of 2022.
  • July was the busiest month with 145 million international travellers recorded, about 20% of the seven-month total.”

Should we not just be rejoicing the recovery of travel numbers? What do we have to worry about? 

Everything. Because one thing is unambiguously clear: storms, heat waves and wildfires are anything but predictable. The cities and communities that travellers long to visit are under threat and consequently they are increasingly building in ways to change their plans on the fly and with it, travel is changing. 

With the increasing impact of climate change, certain destinations may become less desirable due to extreme weather conditions or environmental degradation. And with the increasing unpredictability of weather events and natural disasters, travel insurance policies may evolve to provide better coverage for trip cancellations, delays, and disruptions caused by climate-related incidents.

Within TTC we are already helping those guests seeking out alternative locations:

  • Destinations that offer more sustainable and climate-resilient experiences, 
  • Locations with more moderate climates, 
  • Iconic attractions with less congested sites and mobility arteries, 
  • Those off-season periods that offer greater value for money and richness of experience, and
  • Those times of the year that avoid risk of exposure to extreme weather events, 

as well as those that truly make travel matter,

  • Engaging more closely with local communities,
  • Supporting more directly local economies,
  • Gaining more richly local learnings, and
  • Making genuine connections with the locals.

The summer of 2023 has highlighted the importance of resilience, responsibility, and disaster preparedness. As did the global pandemic, as did previous economic downturns, as have acts of terror and natural disaster. We need to relook at our strategies, structures, and systems for an increased focus on [DM1] minimising disruptions, maximising confidence, and sustaining travel momentum. 

Which is why in November I will meet with our operations teams to ensure we adjust to this new unpredictability, to review and plan for how we need to be structured to expect the unexpected. What are our options?

Operationally, there are many levers we are able to use as powerful tools for building resilience across our businesses and to continue to embed sustainability into the DNA of our brands – both through our guest’s experience and the support we can offer to the communities and locals we visit.

Sustainable travel will become mainstream. It must. Why? Because there is no alternative.

What is the alternative to sustainable wildlife? Extinction.

What is the alternative to sustainable communities? Eradication.

What is the alternative to sustainable business? Closure.

This is not happening only on the supply side of the industry. It is happening on the demand side. Travellers want to ensure that their travel has a positive impact, supporting the people and places they are fortunate to visit. They are conscious of their carbon footprint. Sustainable practices such as reducing single-use plastics, promoting renewable energy, and supporting local communities, will become the norm. Soon. And, as we have seen with our TreadRight Five Year Sustainability Strategy, travellers are asking us how we tread right, how we preserve and protect destinations across the globe, for all, for generations to come. 

But we cannot do it alone. Collaboration is critical if positive impact is to be exponential. Governments, travel companies, and local communities must join together to develop forward thinking viable, responsible, and sustainable tourism practices. But someone needs to take the lead. Which is why it was pleasing to read that on 27th September 2023 – World Tourism Day – the UNWTO launched an important new global campaign, the ‘Tourism Opens Minds’ initiative – https://www.unwto.org/the-tourism-opens-minds , to encourage governments, businesses and travellers to embrace new destinations and promote a more connected, curious, compassionate world. At the heart of the initiative was a recent YouGov survey that revealed that only a minority of travellers intend to seek out new or different destinations. Despite five in six respondents (83%) saying new destinations changed or broadened their perspective, the poll found that two in three (66 %) tourists believe familiarity with a destination is a crucial factor when choosing a holiday spot. 

What does this mean? Making travel matter must go wider. Our efforts must ensure that travellers are able to adapt their choices to seek out destinations and experiences that prioritize environmental stewardship, sustainable community economies, and minimisation of the negative impacts of tourism. In so doing, today, tomorrow and for generations to come travel will remain a powerful vehicle for fostering cultural understanding, strengthening bonds between societies, broadening their horizons, and championing environmental preservation. 

Herein lies the power and relevancy of our tours and the wanderlust they fulfil. We have the power – and the businesses, and the brands, and the people – to be able to leverage our expertise in new, creative, remarkable ways that offer an extra level of strength in these times of growth, and an extra layer of support in the event of the unexpected. 

I sincerely hope that this initiative focuses the global travel community to openly, honestly, and transparently prioritise sustainability and responsibility, inspiring growth through greater destination discovery, greener action, and the elimination of green washing. I believe it can. But it’ll occur only if we hear the alarm and take action. Now.

We have work to do. 

Let’s go.

HOW QUICKLY WE FORGET. A CALL TO ACTION.

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

My questions are simple…

What needs to happen?

What is it going to take?

How much damage needs to be done before we finally stop and say ‘enough’?

I ask these with immense frustration, and sadness.

Last week, on the day I was meeting to review the successes of our Switzerland Tourism, ‘’Swisstainable’’ partnership, the CNN headline ‘This month is this month’s hottest on record’ came across my news feed. With the highest temperatures in the past 120,000 years, its incomprehensible to know that we are watching, in accelerating motion, our shared world burn.

We are leaving a legacy for future generations literally in flames. It is real, it is happening now. It is shameful.

It has been a while since I last wrote, but this advancing unforgiving reality has provoked a visceral reaction to once again re-examine the actions, or better said, inactions within the travel industry to do what it can to arrest the speed of climate change.

I looked back; the last time I wrote my personal reflections on the world reopening to travel after the pandemic and the devastating grounding we all endured, I had hope in my heart. And confidence in a new future. I was confident that we, the world’s travellers and travel industry, would welcome the “new” with our eyes open to the responsibility we all have to ensure that our industry reconnects people and places carefully, thoughtfully and sustainably. I was confident that all the lessons we learnt over the almost 1000 days of global grounding would carry us forward. I was confident we would do better, be better, build forward better, together.

I was wrong. 

How quickly the lessons are forgotten. Think back to a year ago. We all eagerly projected, in a way prayed, that our travel volumes in 2023 would return to those of 2019 when travel dreams were last fulfilled, and bookings were strong. Based on current trends, as well as booking and activity indicators, it is expected that 2023 will not only reach but outperform 2019. This is remarkable, especially considering the worldwide travel ecosystem is still struggling to fill staffing shortages across airlines, airports, restaurants, hotels, and other essential links in the visitor experience chain.

The reasons for the surges vary: pent up demand, past milestones being fulfilled, unspent holiday budgets now being used, the recognition of travel as a vital part of our mental and physical wellbeing, work-from-anywhere lifestyles, new connections. The reasons are numerous, the impact of demand, immense.

But with it, we are witnessing, once again, the increased reality of overtourism. How many times did we say during our COVID-times online meetings, webinars, calls and conversation that we must absolutely, not, find ourselves in that position again? We know that overtourism is an enduring risk to, and a bruise on, the immense good our industry can do. We know it is a result of not only bad management of traveller numbers and bad management of resources by the industry, but also bad manners of travellers. We know how it results in tourists, rightly, being pushed out of the places and spaces locals call ‘home’.

The universal laws tried to help us avoid the risks of falling into the overcrowding, entitlement trap again. Increased alarm about overtourism in 2019 was countered by the emergence of undertourism, and even no tourism, during the COVID-19 pandemic. With the world’s pause, Mother Nature shone the spotlight on the aspects of the industry we knew we needed to focus on, own up to, and correct.

We saw La Serenissima’s waterways of Venice transformed, with a return of blue waters and sea life.  Greenhouse gas emissions fell 10%, leatherback turtles laid their eggs on the Phuket beaches. As the world reopened and the industry recovered, we established the need to change.

Yet today we see that somehow, somewhere over the last year the guiding light has been lost on so many, as the focus, selfishly, on the here and now.

The consequence, all the lessons learned, are rapidly fading into obscurity. Overtourism, driven by my descriptor of the ‘ice cream tourist’, or simple crowd pollution, has once again started to spread. And as expected, the locals are pushing back on the many negative impacts unsettling local economic, social and environmental balance caused by throngs of tourists doing nothing more than stopping to take selfies and leave their litter behind. Just last month Amsterdam took the decision to close its city centre port, effectively banning cruise ships from docking, accepting the economic losses in order to protect the city’s communities, natural spaces and dignity. Amsterdam is not the first. Venice and Dubrovnik are already actively applying their cruise ship policies to ensure very limited arrivals. There will be more, of this I am certain.

The damage of the travel industry must stop. The good intentions of the industry must restart. Tourism can and should be a force for good once more:

  1. Protecting the environment, its natural resources, and wildlife,
  2. Providing socio-economic benefits for communities who live in and outside of tourist destinations,
  3. Conserving cultural heritage and creating authentic tourist experiences, and importantly,
  4. Creating genuine respect and understanding across borders, cultures, religions, ages and communities, for generations to come.

This raises the question: Can the industry innovate and find its place in solving this problem in the future?

Yes, but it requires active thought and action. Tourism itself can be the part of the solution. Beyond merely minimizing harm, but rather a regenerative force with the potential to create positive impacts.

While this concept is said to been uncorroborated, numerous examples illustrate that creative approaches within this transformative journey are achievable. These include initiatives that focus on revegetation, minimizing disturbances to nature and vulnerable species, and promoting a more equitable distribution of economic benefits by redirecting traveller flows off traditional tourist trails and toward year-round travel rather than just peak season. It’s a journey, but as Lao Tzu’s wrote, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step“. This is a crucial reminder of the imperative of taking that first step, regardless of the obstacles that lie ahead.

But importantly, these ideals are not simply ‘we could one day…’ mindsets. They are impacts, required, now. Proudly, I can say, unconditionally, we are proactively advancing with these within TTC, across our brands, our teams and our travellers.

TTC’s recently released second Impact Report shows how transparently we look to where we are making a difference through our operations, projects,  and people across the TTC network, as well as acknowledging where we still have work to do.

Accountability is vital. As an industry we must, absolutely must, think more holistically and develop more sustainable practices and diversify our sector. But it is not easy. Embrace this, know this.  At TTC, we are committed to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® throughout How We Tread Right (HWTR) 5-year sustainability strategy and our not-for-profit Tread Right foundation.

At the end of 2022, we shifted our focus to prioritise decarbonisation, by both innovating our operations and investing in nature-based solutions projects developed to address climate change as well as the rapid loss of biodiversity. Our Climate Action Plan outlines how we will reach net zero GHG emissions across the value chain by 2050 from a 2019 baseline year. We are the first tour operator to have near-term, long-term and net-zero targets validated by the Science Based Target initiative (SBTi). We understand how critical these steps are in securing the future of our industry.

Correspondingly, central to our HWTR efforts are our MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences that as of 2023 are included on 100% of our touring brands trips. When I engage with Tasha and Lucie, the team members who help find these immersive impact experiences for our trips, I’m immensely proud that today each and every one is chosen specifically for the positive social or environmental impact they have on their communities and those who experience them. We use a proprietary assessment tool, endorsed by industry experts and developed exclusively for TTC’s family of brands, to assess our advancement against a robust set of criteria directly tied to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s).

Each experience contributes to improving challenges faced by local people and places in the destinations we visit.

In Brussels, refugees seek access to the labour market as a fundamental core to prospering in their new lives. On our Insight Vacations tours, guests enjoy a dinner at We Exist, a restaurant managed by those who lived through and fled the Syrian war.

Their aim is to share the love of Syrian cuisine and warm hospitality, and create a world based on mutual respect. They facilitate refugee integration and provide training and work opportunities for people who have fled conflict and persecution. This experience advances SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Depopulation of rural villages in Italy is dramatic, entire parts of the Italian culture, crafts, recipes, traditions are disappearing. Grottole, a small Italian village just 20 minutes away from Matera, one of Italy’s most visited sites, has seen a decrease from 2000 to 300 inhabitants in recent years, mostly due to lack of education and work opportunities for young people, aging population, loss of interest for regional cultural heritage. A couple of years ago, the historic centre had over 600 empty homes.

Our Insight Vacations guests enjoy a village visit, organised by a social enterprise to promote urban regeneration, which has helped keep Grottole on the map. We not only create new employment opportunities for the locals to become tour guides, but we’re also creating new economies. The village has now an apiary, a ceramic workshop, a cultural centre, a communal garden and a small wine cellar. This experience advances SDG 11: Responsible Cities and Communities.

Scotland has seen its biodiversity decrease at an alarming rate over the last century and is just about recovering from years of environmental damage caused by sheep, goats and deer gazing, extensive farming, and the accelerated impacts of climate change. This is not only disastrous for the local wildlife and biodiversity, but also taking away a huge part of the Gaelic culture which is deeply rooted in the natural environment, especially in the Highlands. Our not-for-profit TreadRight foundation has invested in Trees For Life as a Nature Based Solution (NBS), which guests can visit on our Trafalgar trips. This investment is the third NBS that TreadRight has invested in, and part of our Climate Action Plan and our efforts to restore the lands to combat global warming.

A visit to the Dundreggan Rewilding Centre supports the active reforestation of the native Caledonian pine forest and reintroducing Scottish animal species that were on the verge of being extinct. Thanks to the close collaboration with the landowners in the area they’ve been able to carry out those rewilding activities in the most organic way, helping the trees to naturally regenerate and using ways that are the least harmful to the habitat. It has not only been bringing the community closer together and educating the locals around preserving the land for future generations, it has also given impetus for the Gaelic culture to be revived and getting engagement from the local community. This experience advances SDG 15: Life on Land.

The power of these experiences is juxtaposed against the fact that our contracting teams, are united, frustrated with the current reality, that many partners continue to operate with short term vision. But I then reflect on this year, one in which we actively looked to see how we can move trips beyond peak season, to spread the tourist dollar to support local livelihoods throughout the year. Today, I have immense pride that our highest percentage growth in 2023 will be in the months of April and October, as we have worked hard to help our guests to see the benefits of traveling in these months, rather than only May and September.

This is the reality, the question is therefore simple, “What difference can we really make”? “What impact can one person, or one company really have”? Whenever I get asked this, whenever someone pushes back on the climate crisis being beyond our control or influence, I always think of a favourite African proverb which says: “If you think you are too small to make a difference you haven’t spent a night with a mosquito.“.

Every person, every business matters because every action matters. Every moment is a chance to change course off the destructive path that we are firmly travelling. The future demands we journey along a new path.

We must never forget the difference that travel can and does make for those people and places that we visit, when we do it right. What does this modest word ‘travel’ define? To me, it’s about learning new things, embracing the unfamiliar, gaining understandings from others, uncovering different realities, shaping fresh thoughts. Travel is living. Travel is fulfilment. We talk about the difference that travel makes to people’s lives. The impact that travel has to travelers, changing perspectives, changing mindsets, changing attitudes, changing opportunities, and changing the excitement that one feels for the future.

We have the opportunity, and the ability, to go far beyond unlocking local pride, as well as critical economic and social activity in communities through our ongoing efforts. I am thrilled to see that demand for travel returned rapidly, strongly, and with the spirit of faith and determination that can only be credited to be the spirit of the travellers. We can unlock a sense of stability, security, and hope.

We can, must, make a difference not only to the economies, but to the homes, hearts and hopes of the people and places we visit. And we must do it now. Not later when we are less busy, not later when we are confident travel recovery is achieved. Now.

The choice is ours. This is a moral issue, not simply an industry issue. This is our call to action, our duty. Mother Nature, a world of travellers, and children of generations to come, are watching.

The time is now. Your time, my time, is now.

NEW YEAR, NEW HOPE, NEW POSSIBILITIES – IT’S TIME

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

2023 is here. And thankfully, for the first time in far too long, we can look forward to a world of discovery and possibility without restrictions or restraints. Finally, we can allow our wanderlust to feel the warm sun of a new year’s sunrise, allow our long-awaited plans to confidently take root, and our dreams to blossom. It’s time.  

We enter this new year of travel, and our new world of travel, with gratitude. 2022 was a wild year for both travellers and the industry alike. While we rediscovered the travel bug, we also felt its bite. The surge of pent-up travel demand, further fuelled by pent up travel budgets, revealed very real challenges across the global travel and tourism ecosystem. After standing still for so long, the industry was simply unable to cope with the huge, almost immediate rise in pressure on airlines, airports, and other critical networks. This, combined with the huge drop in traveller patience and sympathy, made for a heady cocktail.

Across the industry hard lessons have been learnt, linkages across the experience chain have been established, and critical investments in infrastructure and human capital have been made. No one, absolutely no one, wants to see the incredible opportunity for global recovery be wasted. Everyone is wishing for a 2023 in which we can all celebrate travel, travellers, and travelling.

Which is why, as I look at the year ahead with its very clear growth in travel spread, spend and momentum, I feel we need to not only take full advantage of the opportunity of these times of high demand, but also full responsibility for ensuring the opportunity is wholly embraced. Defaulting to old ways of thinking and doing, old models of business and brand building, and old ways of market attraction and conversion, cannot be our response.

We need to honour the changes that have occurred in not only WHERE, WHEN and HOW people wish to travel, but WHY, which has a direct impact on WHAT they seek to experience.

We need to respect the desire of travellers to reinvest not only their personal time and money, but their personal dreams, into reconnecting with the world despite the looming risks of global economic difficulties and logistical complexities.

We need to be their guides into the new world of travel.

With this foundation, the following are what I firmly believe we will see in travel in the year ahead. Some may call these ‘trends’. I prefer to call them ‘truths’ as we are too early into a new, post-pandemic world of travel to have trustworthy, trendable data.

The below are shared with you based on my observations of how I see the world reopening, my projections of the developing runway based on current demand and desires, and as a passionate practitioner in our great industry:

1. FOLLOWING AMERICA’S LEAD: In 2022, Americans were the first to return to international travel. In 2023, the rest of the world will join too. Why? Not only because of their growing confidence in the safety of travel, but because it’s also now clear that if they do not resume travel again, they will miss out on a very special time of global invitation and inspiration. Importantly, this will include the outbound Chinese travelling market – a market of over 150 million international travellers in 2019. The global travel industry is acutely aware of the immense pressure this will put on the ability to move millions upon millions safely and smoothly across the globe. For this reason, increases in air capacity and stabilisation of air fares are an absolute priority. We saw it during COVID: no aviation, no travel, regardless of demand.

2. PAYING THE PRICE: Travel costs will continue to rise. It is impossible for them not to. And it is not because of industry opportunism. Quite the contrary. The industry is doing all it can to eliminate barriers for travel to meet demand, however inflation, threats of a looming recession, the global energy crisis, reduced supply, labour shortages and rising costs are resulting in the cost of travel increasing. And as we all know too well, the same is true with the cost of living. As such, the opportunity for travellers to reconnect to their travel dreams within a known pre travel budget will bring confidence; meaning the relevancy of pre-packaged, pre-planned, inclusive holidays or tours will be on the rise.

3. SEASONAL SILVER LININGS: With increased travel prices especially in peak travel periods, we will see the expansion of both shoulder and off-season travel as travellers adopt ways of stretching their travel budgets by stretching their holiday planning outside of traditional holiday seasons. This is a very good thing. The sooner we can recalibrate travel to being year-round, the better it will be for local economies desperate to sustain economic activity. And of course, evolving travel to be outside of traditional high density peak times and top-of-the-list destinations makes for a better travel experience for the visitors and the visited.

4. SUSTAINABILITY DELIVERED, NOT JUST DISCUSSED: In conference halls, meeting rooms, virtual meetings, and a myriad of other ways and means of discussing and debating the future of our global industry, the most talked about issue has been ‘sustainability’. Every leader, everywhere, has been vocal about sustainability being critical to economies, communities, cultures and environments worldwide. They are talking, talking, talking and talking – but where is the action? The travel sector continues to move at varying speeds when it comes to looking at what can be done to address the imperative of sustainability. What does all this mean for travellers? They are growing impatient. They want to see delivery, not press releases or policy or people on stages, or empty promises. The travel industry is hearing their frustration. Ideas are being tested, investments are being made. In 2023 and beyond, travellers will be doing their research to be able to make informed decisions on travel that aligns to their own personal sustainability commitments. We as an industry must be ready to help them fulfil their dream of making travel matter.

5. THE JOY OF THE JOURNEY: As travellers look for ways to be more eco-friendly, less costly, less at risk of disruption, and more conscious of their carbon footprint, the beauty of train travel is re-emerging. Similarly, the value and ease of touring is being rediscovered. This is wonderful on both accounts. We all know that train travel was always seen as the poor cousin of air, and that there’s been snobbery around touring for decades. The convenience of being able to just go and discover the soul of a destination, without a worry, with incredible comfort and beauty of in-depth experience, and with a greater sense of control, has never been greater. We are seeing this in our booking numbers that are at an all-time high – with 76% of guests new to brand, coupled with the continued highest industry repeat rate. Travellers are making smarter, new world travel choices where they can travel with confidence and complete ease, making touring the most relevant way to explore once more in this new, exciting world.

6. THE RENNAISSANCE OF THE TRAVEL AGENT: As travel reopens more widely, and uncertainties endure, the relevancy and need for an outstanding travel agent will be essential for fulfilling travellers’ dreams. The imperative of having an expert who will ask the right questions, research every option to meet distinct travel needs, and then select the right suppliers, has never been more relevant. And if anything should go array, their ability to lessen the stress and time of adapting and changing bookings to the right possible variations is priceless.

7. BLEISURE IS BACK, BIGGER THAN EVER: After over two years of people successfully working from anywhere, and being encouraged to value their me-time, ‘bleisure’ is back, and it’s on steroids. We ourselves experimented with enabling our team to add working from anywhere to their holiday plans. The response has been huge, and hugely successful. As technology and work from anywhere policies become normalised in the workplace, workers across the world will settle into an increasingly acceptable and easily do-able nomadic lifestyle, blending holidays with their work. Expect workers to not only spend extended time with friends and family, but extend the invitation to their loved ones to join them before and/or after their work is done. It’s a win:win for everyone.

8. TECH AND TOUCH IN TANDEM: AR (Augmented Reality) and VR (Virtual Reality) – this incredible IT is becoming a daily reality. Everyone’s talking about it, but not everyone is convinced about doing it. Why all the AR and VR discussion and confusion? Because not everyone is clear how it fits into their reality. And some are even concerned that AR and VR are a very real threat. The opportunities in AR and VR are, however, immense, if utilised to immensely enhance the experience of travellers right through the travel experience journey, from pre-travel inspiration to post-travel remembering and sharing. No reality will be as enriching, empowering, educating and touching than actually being in the destination, being with local communities, being part of making travel matter for people and places worldwide. AR and VR are tools to enhance the ease and excitement of travellers to understand all that their physical travels can be for them. Technology is and will always be a tool enabling greater touch. Together technology and touch have the power to be the greatest of travelling companions.

9. JUST IN TIME: Gone are the days of long lead-times. Shorter booking windows will continue. Why? Two important reasons. First, the past two years of living online have reduced our patience for waiting. We want to be where we want to be, doing what we want to do, now. And without question we can, through our keyboards, find someone in the world, somewhere, who can make it happen in seconds. Second, we have become highly alert to barriers to travel outside of our control – flight cancellations, new health regulations, border restrictions, unexpected positive test results. The closer one books to travel the farther away they can keep disappointment. While this can create huge challenges for us as an industry, it also offers huge possibilities as we can offer planning flexibility and creativity in our offers like never before. ‘Just in time’ can be just the thing we need to ensure sustained momentum through the year, and to support our ‘seasonal silver linings’.

And so we begin an exciting new chapter in all our travel lives, right across all our businesses and brands, as we enter the ‘next normal’. This time is ours to bring to life, and lives, all the joy of travel.

Join me on what I am absolutely sure will be an incredible adventure for us all.

A new year. A new start in 2023. Together, let’s embrace the opportunity.

REAWAKENING THE POWER OF TRAVEL

/ Gavin Tollman / 2 Comments

Every day across our great portfolio of TTC brands, we work tirelessly and passionately to reconnect the world back to travel. After two plus years of being grounded, we are inspired by a world of travellers keen to discover and explore new cultures and experiences once again.

Every day we conscientiously work at our computers, on our mobiles, and through our global networks, spending our time reconnecting others to travel; to the places they could go. Yet at this time of great change and transformation, what is being overlooked, is the need to reconnect to ourselves.

I am in fact writing this blog at 40,000 feet, traveling between LHR and LAX. A rare moment of quiet up amongst the clouds. I am on the tail end of a sensational six weeks. A period where I have had the privilege and the pleasure, to completely rediscover the gift of travel. And what a remarkably life-affirming experience it has been.

In the space of these few weeks, I have visited the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, Australia, and Singapore – trips that have distinctively been for both business or pleasure. But what was reaffirmed in both, was just how our planet and its people are more interconnected than ever. I will shortly return home, to the beauty of Switzerland, with a new invigorated way of seeing the world around me, and a powerful reminder of what I have missed over the last few years. How through travel, all our senses are brought to life.

The last week of September I arrived in Patagonia. From a travel industry perspective, the trip could be easily categorised as a ‘destination holiday’ – a few family members and close friends celebrating a milestone birthday. It was a place I had never been before, and aside from the itinerary provided by my host, I didn’t really know what to expect. It was extraordinary to see the openness of the big skies, the cool snow-capped mountain peaks, the crisp blue waters. All the landscapes around us were raw, and yet so inviting. They were so real.

Our view of extraordinary Patagonia, Argentina

The place was a dream – a perfect canvas for me to see how travelling the world reveals not only incredible beauty, but incredible meaning. In addition to being delighted to travel to honour a loved one’s milestone birthday, I was also able to do so through the culinary lens, or should I say the culinary palate, of a country. The planning was meticulous – every moment, every meal – crafted with great love and care.

Everything I saw, touched, smelt, tasted and heard, felt new, felt fresh, felt just for me, and felt to be an incredible blessing. I had forgotten how eye-opening, and heart-opening, it is to be exposed to our diverse world. When we see how people live, what they do and what they value, one instinctively desires to try new things. It broadens the mind and pushes new boundaries. This incredible, natural, humbling inspiration comes purely because you are in a different place, unknown to you. Soon, very soon, it becomes a part of you.  

Over the last three years, Teams has been our business saviour. And whilst calls on them can be convenient, reconnecting in person with both fellow team members as well as travel partners on three continents – Australia, Asia and America – over the last month has reaffirmed that there’s no denying the greater value of meeting in-person.

Experiencing Sydney with great industry partners

Arriving in each of my destinations, I was reminded of the distinctiveness of each – the greetings, the pace, the natural or man-made beauty of each place. Being together, discussing business seems less formal, less rigid and even with challenges, more fun. We shared stories, found out about each other. We smiled. We laughed. We recognised the power of human connection. A welcome change as we light heartedly untied the knots of our new world. Sitting across from one another, exploring the answers to the unknown was intoxicating. It was remarkable to feel that openness, that freshness, that purity of spirit once more, not just in a place, but in myself. It was a breakthrough in our post pandemic world. Being there, in an unfamiliar place, again reiterated for me the power of travel.

Reunited with our superb Singaporean team

Returning to the office, releasing the pause button on my new working world, what will linger with me is the acute awareness of just how limited our world had become because of the inability to travel. Being back out in the world again as a ‘leisure and business traveller’ it was remarkable to see not only how much I have learned about the travel experience, but by traveling somewhere new, how much I have learned about myself. Travel whether for work or pleasure gives us the rare ability to not only see the world more closely – to understand it, to appreciate, and to learn from it – but to see ourselves more closely with understanding, appreciation and learning.

Over the past covid years, we have each been so immersed in ourselves and our own daily lives, that we are only ever focused on today. As a result, we have forgotten that we can be somewhere, or someone else, simply by choosing to move tomorrow. And as we do, there are no limits to what we can discover in the places we can visit, as well as what we discover for, and in, ourselves.

REDEFINING THE FUTURE OF TRAVEL

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

The pandemic deprived of us both the wonderment as well as the stresses of travel. Yet finally, it’s happening; the transformation of travel we’ve spoken about for the past two years is taking place. However, it’s happening at a speed and scale that our industry never anticipated, nor is ready for.

We knew it would come, but we did not foresee the degree of the travel flood once borders and skies reopened. 

We are therefore all being tested – right here, right now.

Antiparos. Unsplash: Image by Alex Voulgaris

Many thought that this would be the year for travel – one in which the world would cast aside memories of being grounded and finally return to a normal freedom of movement.  But as this new world re-opens and rebuilds a ‘next normal’, it is now abundantly clear that, as I have said many times before, there is no going back to normal. There is no ‘back’ and there is nothing ‘normal’ about these times. 

Many across the industry are busy trying to predict what is ahead, what trends are emerging, what ‘new normal’ we can anticipate. Much time is being spent evolving words:

‘Responsible travel’ evolved into ‘sustainable travel’ and is now ‘regenerative travel’. 

‘Bleisure travel’ has become ‘blurred travel’. 

‘Staycations’, ‘workcations’, ‘schoolcations’ – pick a ‘cation, any ‘cations.

The list goes on and on. The language now, as in the past, is creating new labels for how the industry is rebuilding back – building back better. These efforts, while interesting and hopeful, are inconsequential and hollow. Clearly that is NOT where our focus needs to be right now. We cannot spend our time wordsmithing how we are building back better – we must build forward better, and adjust to the needs, wants and desires of the new explorers. 

We are all acutely aware of the horror stories emerging across the travel experience. Cancelled flights, varying admission policies to attractions, reduced access to iconic places, long queues and evolving options to move freely and easily. We continue to see people trapped in the breakdowns of our travel systems. As passionate travellers ourselves, many of us have experienced this first-hand.

There is no doubt that the travel industry is in the midst of “the perfect storm”, with multiple contributing factors converging at the same and with it, critical links in the chain cracking under the pressure of the immediacy in demand. We therefore must face this reality head on, because however turbulent the skies, travel is and will always be an extraordinary gift. It teaches us about ourselves and each other, broadening our horizons. It is and remains the perfect reset button after the COVID isolation years. Understandably, never before have travellers invested so much emotion in their travels, to create new memories, to connect with people, and to see new places.

Therefore, never before has there been an imperative for the industry to move from semantics and ensure we help travellers fulfil their dreams.

But there are no trends to lean on to shape the future. We must therefore recognise what must change not just in our analysis, but redefine in our actions, based on:

  • Changes in traveller motivations: the desire to travel has intensified, fuelled by not only people missing people and places loved, but the recognition of the importance of travel to their mental and physical health,
  • Changes in travel experience delivery: our need to ensure not only creation of good surprises for travellers, but careful protection of travellers from unexpected bad surprises especially as regards changes in regulations, travel mobility and personal security,
  • Changes in industry policy: governments, travellers and the general citizenry demanding our industry to take action around critical issues including sustainability, diversity, employment equity, and health and safety,
  • Changes in employee desires and wellbeing: workers across the travel industry world rightly expecting they be respected and rewarded for their commitment and contribution to brand and business,

and without question,

  • Changes in endemic challenges: working with the reality of crisis, be it medical, political or natural, being a fact of life that we must learn to live (and safely travel) with wherever we are in the world.

These are truly transformational times. Different yes, exciting too. 

This is why we cannot become intoxicated by all of the excitement for travel we are seeing around the world without actively stepping up the responsibility of travel. We must step up and roll up our sleeves, adjusting to this new reality. We must focus on what we can do individually to be the difference, and to ensure we do not, under any circumstances, build into the future of our industry the failures of the past.

This is where our TTC focus is, knowing our brands, knowing our systems, knowing our people, and knowing our shared passion in keeping the dream of travel alive.

As for me and my personal pent-up demand, my bucket list remains firmly in place. I have returned to my travels. I am in fact writing this blog enjoying a twice delayed trip, looking out at the the perfect Aegean Sea, relishing the tranquil beauty of the Cyclades Island of Antiparos in Greece. In the fall I hope to visit Patagonia, Argentina and then spend the year-end holidays season in Cape Town, South Africa. It is wonderful to again be immersed in the wonderment of being in a place, where I am the foreigner. 

So, in closing, I thought I would share a few of my practical tips on how I travel in these evolving times:

  1. Be a realist: Understand and embrace that travel today is an adventure. Anticipate that the unexpected can occur and that even the most certain plans can change. When something is time critical, build in caution – like recently when going to a wedding in Morocco, we built in an extra day. Bring patience. Be flexible. Be kind. Stay positive. 
  2. Be early:  Get to the airport early. I have been arriving three hours before an international flight, which has made the serpentine lines less stressful. Try and fly early in the day. Book early, and dream. The last minute deals are no longer there. Use airline apps, they seem to know that things are changing before anyone else. 
  3. The essential carry-on: Anticipate delays and absent luggage. Pack a carry-on with essential items for the first few days of your trip. And vitally, any necessary medications should always be with you. Always.
  4. Use a travel agent, someone you can trust: These invaluable individuals will be there to assist you navigate the obstacles of the domino effect of undesirable changes to your itinerary. 
  5. Buy travel insurance: There are so many moving variables that it is hard to anticipate what situations might arise, so be protected, and vitally, read the fine print. 
  6. Be travel-smart in these still-COVID times: I choose to wear a mask whenever I am in crowded indoor spaces. Why not? Everyone has to respect other people’s choices. A fundamental in travel is never being judgmental of others. This applies to mask wearing too. 

Yes, these travel times are testing. But the journey remains worthy of the adventure. It is said that the first leisure travellers were the Ancient Romans. Brave and bold in their quests, they understood and were deeply motivated by the fact that travelling was a way to discover other cultures, enabling the pioneering of advances in many areas of science and technology, creating tools and methods fit for need, inspired by the world.

As our world reopens, this spirit of motivation and inspiration is as true today as it was back then. The opportunity, and responsibility, to bravely and boldly reshape and redefine the travel world is ours once more. Our next great adventure awaits. Embrace it.

TRAVEL AT A CROSSROADS – THERE’S NO TURNING BACK

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

You can see it and feel it, all around us. It is simply wonderful. The travel world is on the move. Finally. Freely. Festively.

With immense excitement and expectation, travellers are once again taking to the skies, streets, rivers and even seas, turning their long pent-up desire and anticipation into action. And as they venture north, south, east, and west, it is very easy to feel a sense of massive celebration – a celebration reflecting relief in being released from restrictions on movement, a celebration of rediscovery, a celebration of our ability to reconnect once again.

The spirit of ‘because I can’ is everywhere. It is understood. It is being felt by the visitor as much as the visited. We can all empathise with it. How can we not? We ourselves are not only travel organisers, but also travellers. We have longed to travel. The exceptional levels of busyness in airports, train stations, seaports, on our coaches, across all methods of transport, feels liberating.

Simple things such as the airport experience – arriving at the airport whether by train or road, venturing through airport security, through the air-side terminal, through to the boarding gates, finding your way onto the plane – in many ways it can feel as if we’ve gone back – back to the old days, back to the old ways.

‘Back to normal’ many would say. Travel excitement, travel celebration, is a very good thing. Many would say it demonstrates how much we have all been missing travel, connecting to people in the places we’ve longed to return to or dreamed of exploring for the first time, and once again learning more about ourselves.

Making Chapati, Gurdwara Sikh Temple on Contiki’s Eternal India Itinerary

But just going back to what was, is not a good thing. Nor is it an option.

As both a global travel industry and as a travelling community, we must be very careful when we use the word ‘back’. In fact, we must remove it from our vocabulary completely. Why? Because if the past two years have shown us anything, it’s the enormous impact that our travels can have, both good and bad. The choice on the way forward will be ours.

We must recognise that pent-up demand can very easily and rapidly turn into reverting to bad habits that used to exist in the days pre pandemic. The busyness that used to consume us, spending our time going from A to Z, running through the alphabet while so often failing to recognise all the letters in between.

Pre 2020, still too many were travelling unconsciously, taking for granted the precious gift our planet gives us – the gift of travel, discovery, wonder. Now, as we stand on the precipice of a new travel age, unless consciously addressed these same habits will, sadly, endure. Instead, we must recognise that we are not the same people or industry in 2022, as we left behind in 2019. Travel has changed. Our industry has changed. And we have changed, on so many levels.

The reality is this: we need to be conscious of the fact that when we travel, we are always guests in someone’s home, someone’s city, someone’s life.

This means that as we experience the celebration of the gift of travel once more, we must not lose sight of gratitude for this gift, nor of the opportunity to make a meaningful, measurable impact.

Celebrating the return of travel deserves to be honoured, but this celebration must come hand in hand with gratitude in our hearts, for the blessing of being able to travel once more. We need to be honest; we need to be humble, and we need to act together to ensure that every day, on every itinerary, we book every guest with a commitment to fulfil their travel dreams in a way that makes travel matter.

What is important about this time of celebration is that we do not forget for one moment, what we have come through. For if we speed away too quickly from the past, into the present and out to the future, we will simply jump over all the lessons that we have learned; lessons that we must never forget.

It is unlikely that the coronavirus will ever completely disappear and immunity against the virus will always be imperfect. But we have equally seen that we can live and travel with it.

As we do so, we must never, never forget what these past two years of global grounding have taught us all in the tourism industry, and all of us as travellers – to never lose a sense of gratitude for the ability to venture out into the world, whether for business or pleasure.

We can’t fall into the ways of the past, a time when a spirit of entitlement to go anywhere at any time for any reason, eclipsed the sense of privilege that is, without question, at the heart of travel and tourism.

Which begs the question: how do we reimagine and rebuild global Tourism in a way that is sustainable and meaningful for both the visitor and the visited? We must all consider our impact. That is why in this spirit of responsibility, transparency and accountability, I was enormously proud when The Travel Corporation (TTC) released its 2021 Impact Report. https://impact.treadright.org/progress/. An honest, accountable representation of the positive impact we make to people and places worldwide

These are exciting times, but equally thought provoking and action-oriented ones too. We must never forget our core responsibility that as we re-emerge, we seek purpose, we seek passion, and we truly shift to more sustainable form of tourism, always ensuring that in all our actions, we in fact do MAKE TRAVEL MATTER.

HOPE – A CHOICE AND COMPASS FOR A BETTER 2022

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment
Eyestetix Studio image from Unsplashed

Thinking back to this time one year ago, I was confident that we were nearing the end of the pandemic. The new year and the fresh promise of 2021 lay ahead of us, offering a chance to rebuild again. But little did we know what was ahead. The virus did not want to go and instead, it became stronger. Now, we know that it will not leave, and rather we are going to have to adapt to live our lives alongside it.

Throughout 2021, the global community demonstrated remarkable tenacity, creativity, and inspiration. Never before have we seen the speed at which a vaccine was both developed and distributed, offering the potential for the resumption of livelihoods and liberties, not to mention protection of lives. However, there was still too much holding us all back, and as we now reflect, we can see so many lessons learned.

2021 could have been a year that united us in triumph. It simply required an embracing of the collective call to action, to act in the greater interests of humanity. Woefully, too many individual agendas endured. Too many chose to continue to stand alone; to refuse the vaccine, to not wear a mask, or to still stand too close to strangers. Too many committed to the demands of the selfish ‘ME’, rather than becoming part of a shared selfless `WE’.

That being the case, 2021 held within it innate sparks of possibility that had the power to stir up flames in what can, and does, often feel like struggling embers in a dying fire. 

Through most of 2021, with people across the globe being impeded from people and places loved, the pandemic strengthened our collective desire to come together. We longed to make connections that matter; connections to our loved ones and to ourselves, all while learning about and appreciating the beauty of the world around us.

Despite an ever-shifting and challenging landscape, throughout 2021 our TTC portfolio of award-winning travel brands re-enabled people to reconnect to global travel. Not in theory, but in reality. With a clear vision for how to operate in a pandemic world, and with meticulous care and concern, our exceptional teams of dedicated individuals enabled our guests to restart protocol led, experience-rich travel across our tours, in our hotels and on our river cruise ships.

Despite impediments, with our industry leading expertise we navigated the pandemic’s labyrinth. Wherever possible we operated our experiences, doing what we love by bringing back the joy of travel. Together, the TTC community witnessed remarkable rebuilding of not just travellers’ confidence, but the fulfillment and reinvigoration of travellers’ dreams. We have shown and proven ourselves to be a necessary part of human reconnection.

So, as we look to 2022, what are our hopes? COVID-19 is not an obvious cause for optimism, and with currently less than 50% of the global population fully vaccinated the battle is far from won. But with a focus and shift on how we can live with the virus, we have already shown that, with care, it is achievable. And as we begin this new year of new beginnings, many Nations’ frustrations with the fight against that unseen and almost unshakable enemy, appear to be more resolute. Convincing the non-believers will be the biggest hurdle to surmount, but I feel a greater optimism in governments’ thinking and desire to take direct action to address it.

How we respond to the changes that are ahead of us is, ultimately, a choice. Our choice. For this reason, when I think of all that might be ahead in these enduring uncertain times, one word comes to mind and acts as my compass for 2022: HOPE.

HOPE, because where we are now is a very, very different place to where we were a year ago at this time.

This past year we have all been faced with so many unknowns, both professionally and personally. Crisis faced by each one of us has transformed who we all are. It has helped us discover who and what matters. It has inspired us to recognise our blessings, and our responsibilities. It has shown us what we are capable of. It has empowered us to make our lives matter. Omicron’s arrival should be a call to action.Therefore, as 2022 begins, I see it arriving with a new perspective on how, together, we have the power (and responsibility) to embed ‘humanity’ as a part of our global community DNA, with:

  • Governments working together to create clear, consistent policies that unlock strong, sustainable, healthy and inclusive opportunity, going beyond recovery to inspire renewed economic, social, cultural, and environmental possibility.
  • Business and industry collaborating to establish strong, smooth, sustainable ecosystems for advancement of circular economies that uplift communities.
  • Individuals proactively making decisions that benefit the greater good of the people and places that they not only call ‘home’, but also those they seek to explore across the world.

Clearly victory in 2022 depends a lot on collective work and sacrifice, because no matter how much effort is made by some, especially health workers, if the collective focus remains on the ‘ME’ rather than the ‘WE’, this tragedy will only continue unnecessarily for longer. The choice is ours.

And what of travel in 2022? It’s been a while since the simple question ‘where should I travel to next?’ has been met with a simple answer, thanks to the ever-changing landscape. This will not change in 2022. Travel will be different; the when, the where, unknown. But the quest, the desire, the love for travel, will not change. We are seeing, no matter what, that human nature is resilient. People from all corners of the globe want to reconnect to travel, their desire to get out and enjoy indomitable. And when they do, they will seek to experience more, proactively doing more than they did before, with more appreciation than ever before.

There is greatness to be unlocked in 2022, for as our late TTC Chairman said, “This too shall pass. And when it does pass, there will be enormous opportunities.”

Therefore, as we reunite in 2022, may we all, together, continue to discover the “new normal” for us individually and for the collective desire to travel too. All is possible, and all can be achieved in the coming year, if we choose to live in a way that more robustly, generously, and holistically holds humanity at the heart of progress. And in our travels, diversifying, shifting to more sustainable tourism models and investing in new technologies which will help shape recovery for both the visitor and the visited.

We do not need to be passive. We already have the tools to reduce the virus’s impact, if we choose to face it with solidarity and respect for one another, eschewing our personal desires. Because in the end, the agony of the pandemic will not be overcome by ‘ME’, but rather with unity, the hope of the collective, ‘WE’.

So, with HOPE, I look forward to sharing 2022 with you.

NAVIGATING CHANGE AHEAD: FOLLOW YOUR COMPASS

/ Gavin Tollman / 1 Comment

Change.

It must be expected.

It must be accepted.

It must be embraced.

It must never be feared.

Over the now almost two years of the global pandemic, society has been forced to deal with profound change – a shift that has altered each of our lives profoundly. This change hasn’t just blurred the line between personal and professional, it has erased it completely, and has become one of the defining features of the global pandemic that ultimately will continue to shape us in the future.

As we come to the near close of a second tumultuous year of dealing with COVID-19 and its traumatic impact on us as individuals as well as the global travel and tourism industry, I find that I have spent considerable time understanding the reality of the concept of change. I have seen that change can be painful, especially when we find ourselves in a constant state of uncertainty yet can also appreciate now that change is not a bad thing. It challenges and shapes us, but ultimately it is how we respond to it that is vital.

Why? Because there is only one thing we can be certain of as we face 2022: further change is inevitable. Currently in the Northern hemisphere as colder temperatures are once again driving people indoors, we are regretfully experiencing a disheartening sense of COVID déjà vu. Friday 19th November 2021 was both painful and thought provoking, as Austria announced a first European nationwide lockdown since the spring, coupled with the first national vaccine mandate on the continent from the 1st of February. These decisions could well be a pivotal moment in dealing with the ongoing virological chaos of lockdowns, mutations and border closures.

While we cannot yet know how 2022 will unravel, what we do need to consider carefully is how we are going to face the inevitable changes that lie ahead. We also cannot move forward without recognizing what we’ve come through as well as where we are right now, as these are the foundations for future progression.

It is now clear that the complete eradication of COVID-19, or zero cases, is unfeasible. The virus is simply too infectious and too entrenched.The surge in cases, hospitalisations and deaths is the result of the virus penetrating naive immune systems. As such, the long-term answer remains unchanged: when a sufficient percentage of the population have gained immunity, either through vaccination (herd immunity) or infection, we will transition from pandemic to what epidemiologists have termed “endemic”.

To me, there are a few key things we must recognize. We cannot simply release the pause button, take a deep breath and lunge forward into the busyness of rebuilding our industry. Of course, new bookings need to be made, new itineraries need to be created and marketed, and evolved protocols need to be embedded, but it’s important to remember that recovery will not be linear. Primarily, business momentum needs to be restored, yet while WHAT we need to do to move forwards is clear, what isn’t clear is HOW we do this.

So, what needs to be our focus? From my perspective there are three things I am focused on in rebuilding and restrengthening our business.

PhotoCredit: Jamie Street, unsplash.com

1 –  FLEXIBILITY in everything we do:

The most over-utilized word of the moment is ‘agility’, but there is a reason for its over-use. The single biggest challenge we have faced as an organization throughout the pandemic, has been our ability to adapt, at speed, to the mounting uncertainty and complications that have bombarded us. From the outset, the virus and the subsequent closures of borders and skies occurred at a speed never before experienced. We as a business had to respond and keep responding.

We were forced into new ways of gathering and processing information, creating unique experimental solutions and novel ways of informing and communicating these answers. What became obvious, and fast, was that if you lacked agility and didn’t move quickly, you were going to be left behind.

Having a global footprint and teams spread around the world enabled us to remain current on shifts and changes. Having access to real time analytical tools ensured that we were able to recognize shifting needs and sentiments. The power to, at an instant, convene a virtual meeting with all relevant stakeholders, to review, probe and agree the solution to an opportunity, was invaluable.

Throughout the pandemic I have been immensely proud on how we led, with decisions made on everything from our on trip protocols to which destinations our guests would like to travel to. But I am most proud of our Company’s leadership, who fiercely rose to meet the challenges of today. Not in their titles, but through their adapting to new ways of working, their inventive thinking, and their committed actions.

Accelerated change is our new normal, but so too is our team’s agility, quick and impactful decision making, and unwavering commitment.

2 – PRIORITISATION:

It’s a real discipline. In times of rapid, dramatic change it is so easy to mistake the busyness for the business. The temptation to take action, respond instinctively and do something – anything, and everything – can be overwhelming.

We quickly discovered that in a virtual world, the amount of information that was being circulated became excessive, to the point of simply becoming “noise.”

As such, our focus became one of ensuring we took a step back, looked at the big picture, and instead considered exactly what we were trying to address. Our focus was clear – we must consider the things that matter. Ultimately, in an extremely challenging environment, what will drive results.  

This new application required innovation, driven by new ideas for new opportunities. For example, if you are focused on sustainability, do one or two things that are going to make an impact, don’t try and fail at 22 different things. Or, if you are focused on your profitability, have a linear focus on what willactually make the difference. How can one focus and prioritize when so much change is happening, with all of its natural distractions and drama? Instead, find the eye of the storm – that quiet, steady place that will give you the clear, confident perspective needed to see through the implications of your actions.

This disciplined approach has served us well to this day. Despite the challenges we have maintained a collaborative environment, high engagement and a forward-looking mindset.

3 – ALIGNMENT:

Early on in the pandemic, I asked the question, “who said the new world couldn’t be materially better than the old?”. And indeed, over the past almost two years the pandemic has forced us to find new ways of doing business that are significant improvements on the old.

However, in this environment of change and with so much new, what became imperative was a need to align all team members with our decision making, as well as ensure we were always focused on our principles. Transparency around the known versus the unknown, what actions were being taken and our anticipated outcomes, became our norm.

In times of change when it can be so difficult to know how to move forward and even establish which direction is forward, a foundation of consideration, prioritization, decision making and defined accountability and responsibility, combined with our principles, became our inner compass.

Facing uncertainty demands conviction – something that is grounded in principles – and it was these principles that pointed us towards our true north. We discovered that when you surround yourself with others whose compasses are all pointed in the same direction, confidence is elevated, and you never walk alone.

As we now look forward into 2022, a year that will no doubt challenge us with continued change, the above three areas remain my focus. As simple as they may seem, they offer profound, proven importance. They will be our foundation as we look forward knowing that;

  1. There is light at the end of the COVID-19 tunnel. The travel sector is beginning to bounce back. but our recovery still has a long way to go.
  2. As a global community we are going to have to learn to live with the virus. In other words, we can’t avoid it for the rest of our lives. We can live with it but will need to minimize its impact.
  3. Managing an endemic COVID-19 will require a change of rebalancing the health impact of the disease while normalising society to the greatest extent possible. 

Through managing change, TTC has shown unequivocally that we can in fact both live and travel with the virus. Our decision to only take vaccinated travelers combined with our leading protocols, have despite a hand full of cases enabled us to successfully continue to complete every single one of the trips we have operated. Together we have navigated the labyrinth of change and through our actions, our guests have had the opportunity to rediscover the wonder of travel.

As I share this with you, at this crucial time of transition, I am filled with confidence that they will serve you as well as they have guided us in our past, and into the new.

THE NEEDLESS PAUSE INTO THE BRAVE, NEW WORLD OF TRAVEL

/ Gavin Tollman / Leave a comment

Travel has always been a remarkable gift: the opportunity to venture out and explore the world, discovering new cultures, customs and people in places, celebrating the freedom movement. Nevermore have we felt the value of this gift than now. After almost two years of restrictions to our mobility, people are starting to venture out once more. The desire for connection to people and places through the wonder of travel has never been stronger.

And now, once again, we are currently experiencing approximately 25% of guests cancelling their 2021 travel dreams at the last minute. Their heartache is palpable. Their frustration understandable. As is that of those who are now also delaying their 2022 dreams.

The reason for the change?  After months and months since our world was gripped by the global pandemic, with millions of losses of lives and livelihoods later, we are once again reading about hospitals reaching breaking point. Curves are spiking, virus strains are strengthening, cases are spreading. This time the people at greatest risk of spread and suffering are the under 50’s and breakthrough infections.

With every passing day, we appear to be heading towards a fourth wave. But, this time, it was avoidable. Why the resurgence of risk? Of restrictions?  Not enough people have been vaccinated, and not enough people are wearing masks.

I fundamentally struggle to comprehend how we have reached this point as a global community. We literally have had a choice between safety and spread. Between freedom and fear. Between responsibility and selfishness. Millions sadly continue to choose to spread, fear and selfishness.

There will be no COVID-free world. Like the common flu, we will live with COVID as part of our lives. It need not, however be the deadly pandemic we have experienced these past almost two years.

And we can do it safely if we act responsively and collectively, taming the virus into post-pandemic, manageable status. I have seen firsthand that we can live with the virus. Across numerous TTC brands we have been successfully operating trips, domestically and internationally, for the larger part of the northern hemisphere summer.

Our innovations in guest wellbeing have made it possible for us to safely showcase the beauty of people and places that travellers have longed to see once more. Our vaccinated guests, our Travel Directors, our Wellbeing Directors and people and places we visit have become trusted travel partners, sharing the joy of exploring the world once more.

We firmly believe that a world of safe travel is possible now. With immense thoughtfulness and investment, we cautiously reopened, knowing how important safe travel was to not only the lives of travellers but the livelihoods of those in the industry, including the locals and their communities we visit. Our efforts were not naïve, nor were they in vain. What we immediately discovered was with vaccines and protocols, the first semblance to a return to a life with confidence in wellness, and the pleasures we seek, can be achieved.

We know that the concept of a post-pandemic world is one still far off. We must not, however, stop living until such time as the pandemic is a thing of the past.

This completely unnecessary latest wave of COVID that is spreading across the globe has me angry and frustrated as I know it could have been avoided. The dangerous minority voice of anti-vaxxers, the indecision of the vaccine procrastinators and actions of anti-maskers, are putting others at serious risk and crippling the recovery of businesses and communities.

Likewise, the inconsistent, lack of government leadership with their often-impulsive rules and regulations. Through their dithering and playing with arbitrary, unpredictable and constantly changing policies, they are creating confusion, choking tourism and leaving businesses struggling to work out who can do what and go where. This untrustworthy leadership is severely restricting economic, social and mental health of nations.

I have seen the impact, the enormity of the stress on individuals emotionally and financially. The longer this continues, the result will be unsalvageable damage to both lives and livelihoods, ultimately a crippling of human tenacity and spirit.

Please do not think that I do not respect the virus. Quite the opposite. I have seen first-hand that COVID kills and kills young. Yet a minority of too many are not taking it seriously, feeling bold in their false sense of security in being young, being strong, being able to get through it if they get it. I am astonished that the estimate of the current 4,500,000 souls lost isn’t enough of a red flag.

The crisis of the past two years, with its global grounding to travel, brought to an abrupt halt the remarkable rates of movement and momentum of our industry. Pre-pandemic, we saw year after year of growth in not only traveller numbers, but growth in travel related jobs. Then came 2020. It was due to be a year in which we all celebrated our industry seeing over two billion travellers crossing international borders. We at TTC were looking forward to celebrating our centenary. Instead, at the peak of the global pandemic we saw the closure of 100% of international borders, and the loss of over 100 million travel and tourism jobs. The devastation to the industry has been beyond imagination, and in some cases, even calculation.

It is all about choice – taking personal responsibility for doing what is needed for the greater good of the global community so we can all resume safe, secure, socially enriched living. When anyone rejects their vaccine or refuses to wear a mask up, they’re increasing the risk of others catching a potentially deadly or disabling disease, and as well as prolonging the social and economic costs of the pandemic. If they have cultural or ideological reasons, they should simply be excluded from participating in the greater society. The remaining irresponsible minority who choose to selfishly reject vaccines and protocols are depriving the rest of us of living life, freedom and our pursuit of happiness.

It is clear that only when the world is adequately vaccinated will we find our new normal. Vaccines have the proven ability save lives, restart economies, and meaningfully rebuild the travel industry. I am currently in France, and I have seen how electronic vaccine passports and masks where necessary can work. I can now see now that with them, how we will be able to ease travel restrictions. Vaccines are the cure to getting all of us safely out again, travel freely, living fully. Living in a sustained state of a pandemic is nonsensical. Right here, right now, we have a choice. This time it’s in humanities hands. So, let’s do the right thing, for ourselves, for each other.