Sustainable Travel, Luxury Travel And Golf Vacations Are Getting Easier To Plan

03.08.2023 - 11:49 / forbes.com

In 2015, website Booking.com, the world’s largest online travel agency (OTA), released its first ever Sustainable Travel Report. 62% of respondents said they planned a trip staying in sustainable accommodations within the next 12 months. By 2021 this number had skyrocketed to 81%. The 2021 numbers, garnered from surveying 29,000 travelers, also showed that a substantial majority of global travelers (87%) want to travel sustainably and 61% said the pandemic had made them want to travel more sustainably in the future. The most common answer to the question of “What sustainable travel means?” was staying in eco-friendly or green accommodations, yet half (49%) still didn’t think there were enough sustainable lodging options.

This is where it gets complicated.

With huge dollar amounts up for grabs, travel related businesses have every financial incentive to portray themselves as sustainable, yet there is no definition of “green travel,” “eco-resort” or “ecotourism,” that hotels, cruise ships, airlines or tour operators have to abide by. The global travel industry is extremely fragmented, and hundreds of local, regional and global labels, including voluntary programs (often unchecked for accuracy) and third-party certifications have sprung up. Some are well meaning, while others are simply greenwashing for profit.

One notable exception is Beyond Green, a global consortium of hotels and resorts that are extremely serious about sustainability. Beyond Green designed a program with 50-plus sustainability indicators across three pillars of sustainable tourism: environmentally friendly practices that go beyond the basics; protection of natural and cultural heritage; and contribution to the social and economic wellbeing of local communities. Applicants are vetted using detailed standards that include the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and each property is re-evaluated in person every two years. As a result, Beyond Green won Travel + Leisure’s 2023 Global Vision Award.

However, it is owned and operated by Preferred Travel Group, which means it is composed of a select group of properties, many independently owned, that belong to Preferred Hotels. This seems limiting, but the upside is that they are mostly standout luxury properties, and all participate in the group’s I Prefer loyalty program. It is global, and most are outside this country, so you have everything from African safari lodges to renowned Relais & Chateaux properties like California’s Post Ranch Inn to over-the-top private islands like The Brando in French Polynesia. I’ve been to some of the properties, and am very familiar with others, and from an eco-friendliness point of view they have excellent reputations. That makes Beyond Green is