carbonneutraltourism.co.uk

Consumer demand, in part, is leading operators to push their environmental credentials to the forefront of thier promotional and marketing strategies.  Look at Thomson Holiday and Vail Resorts.

A good research report (Tipping Point or Turning Point? Social Marketing & Climate Change) has been published by Ipsos MORI and it’s free to download.

Brands play a significant role in helping people to reduce their environmental footprint.  Brands, amongst other things, act as:

• Facilitators
• Educator
• Leaders

Guests are prepared to pay a premium tariff for the luxury ‘experience’.  I wonder how much it would cost to introduce some of the following energy saving devices:

• Small wind turbine
• Ground source heat pump
• Underfloor heating
• Rainwater collection
• Photovoltaic panels

“Lonely Planet’s annual Travellers’ Pulse survey, which polled over 24,500 people worldwide, showed 84% of respondents said they would consider offsetting their emissions in the future, where only 31% had done so in the past.”  Read more here.

Norwich Union have commissioned a piece of research which “shows over half (56%) now consider unethical living as much of a social taboo as drink driving, nine in 10 people admit  they tell “little green lies” to pretend to live more ethically. Three-quarters (76%) say conversations at the school gates and dinner parties are now being taken over by ethical oneupmanship, while nine in ten say they feel compelled to live more ethically.”  Read more here.

Defra (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs) has released research (2007 Survey of Public Attitudes and Behaviours) on the publics’ attitude and behaviour towards the environment.  “Of the issues people think the Government should be dealing with, the environment was the fourth most commonly mentioned behind crime, health and education.”

The Independent has published a short article on ‘green/eco’ friendly hotels and assessment schemes in the UK. It’s interesting to note that Scotland is considered to be five years ahead of England and Wales in terms of ‘green tourism’ - the Green Business Tourism Scheme has over 700 accommodation providers listed. Some of the greenest accommodation provides identified in the the UK include:

• “Old Chapel Forge, near Chichester, Sussex. B&B whose philosophy is ‘green tourism - a philosophy not a product’. Each guest room contains a detailed explanation of the environmental policy, including the systems and eco-products in use.”

• “Strattons Hotel and Restaurant, Swaffham, Norfolk. Countless green awards and standard bearer for eco-friendly boutique hotels. You will receive a 10 per cent discount if you arrive by public transport.”

You may be interested to know that at work we have recently launched our Audience Development Plan website.  Audience development plans are used to identify the needs of various current and missed audiences and the barriers (economic, social, cultural and physical) which prevent or discourage people from using products and services.

Approximately three weeks ago Paris introduced 10,000 self-service bicycles across 750 locations.  People who join the scheme pay £20 per year and leave a deposit which allows people to use bicycles for 30 minutes each day.  In the first week the bikes were used 1.2 million times!

Read more in The Times.