How to reach the sustainable traveller 👩‍🌾

Who exactly is the sustainable traveller, and how do you reach them? 🎯

In this week’s episode of Sustainable Today, Successful Tomorrow, we unpack this big sustainable marketing question.

We explore why “sustainable traveller” is not a one-size-fits-all label and how getting specific is key. 🧭

We break it down into practical strategies, including:

👥 Defining your ideal traveller 

🔍 Understanding traveller motivations

🎯 Finding your niche (and sticking to it)

🌊 Reaching bycatch customers 

Because reaching the right people matters more than reaching the most.

 If you want to market with more clarity, purpose, and confidence, this episode is for you. 🎧

Want to learn more about identifying your ideal target group? Read our article on: 📚
https://goodtourisminstitute.com/library/identify-ideal-target-group/

Transcript

Rik: [00:00:00] One of the first things that you need to do is trying to tap into who it is that you're actually trying to reach.

Rik: personalization is key in marketing and you really need to realize that if you're trying to reach everyone, you'll most likely end up reaching no one, 

Rik: Welcome back to Sustainable. Today's Successful Tomorrow, where we explore real world sustainable tourism stories that actually work. Today's episode is all about targeting the sustainable traveler, but is that even a real category? And can you really group such a mixed crowd under one label? So if you're a travel business trying to reach the sustainable traveler, where do you start? That's what we'll be unpacking in today's episode.

Rik: Start off, Anne, if I were to ask you to describe the sustainable traveler, what would you say? 

Anne: I would say that's a difficult question to [00:01:00] answer because there's a very large spectrum of sustainable travelers. So, for example, you have the Jacada traveler looking for luxury.

Anne: but on the other hand, you have my dad who travels to Scotland to go hiking for a month with just like his tent on his back. So I would say there is a large spectrum of travelers, interested in sustainability. But if I really have to focus on characteristics, I would say it's a traveler that loves to travel but is aware of their impact, who.

Anne: Loves to exchange with, local, communities who supports the local economy, cares about wildlife, that does fly, but is conscious about flying. focused on public transport. yeah. Doesn't eat, or reduces meat. doesn't, I use plastic water bottles. Like it's all about the small characteristics of a traveler that I would say, yeah, give it the name of being a sustainable traveler.

Rik: Yeah, 

Anne: there's a lot to it. 

Rik: Agree. There's not one type of sustainable traveler. 

Anne: [00:02:00] No. 

Rik: But we'll dive a little deeper into that later on. First you have any news you'd like to share? 

Anne: not really news, but I guess kind of some LinkedIn, frustration. And it's very related to today's topic. so targeting specific travelers, we're quite active on LinkedIn posting, B2B content, so we target travel businesses interested in sustainability and marketing.

Anne: But what often happens is that travel businesses then comment on our posts. and then promote their own tours, but then they clearly You have no idea that we don't target travelers. So posting there doesn't make any sense. And I'm also questioning do they know their target group is because if they feel this is the right place to promote their tours, kind of feels like they're shooting blanks, 

Anne: it does not make any sense. 

Rik: No. They seem unaware of who their target audience really is. Very unaware, or they are. They are unaware of who [00:03:00] our target audience is. 

Anne: That's also a conclusion. Yeah. So we have to focus on that as well. But I. Yeah, no, I think for a lot of these businesses they just really share, yeah.

Anne: Packages of their tours and sometimes it's not even related to sustainability or, what we talk about. So yeah, that's my frustration of the day. 

Rik: Yeah. So if this is you listening, I. Continue listening and you might learn a thing or two about your target audience 

Anne: Yes. And where to promote it. Yeah. 

Rik: And related to that, I have something I wanted to share as well, which is, something I read about in everything, AI in travel, shout out to them. Okay, cool. And that is something, that Expedia just launched, which is an AI tool, and that's pretty interesting. so what they're doing is that they have this option to forward them a video on, Instagram. So send them a direct message.

Rik: And based on what you send [00:04:00] them, they will give you booking options. So let's say you've just viewed a video of a traveler influencer that you're really interested in, you can just forward that video to Expedia and based on the content of that video, they will give you booking options. 

Anne: Like flight and accommodation?

Rik: Yeah. Or that 

Anne: location. 

Rik: Exactly. 

Anne: Okay. 

Rik: The thing they don't do though is they don't mention where the content came from. They don't give them credit, they don't give them any compensation. So there's two sides to this story. I think it's a really interesting way to use AI because on the one hand, social media and especially Instagram is an inspiration for travel and people use it as inspiration and it's an easy way to.

Rik: convert this inspiration to actual bookings. 

Anne: Yeah, it's very convenient. 

Rik: But on the other hand, who is benefiting most from these kind of innovations because the [00:05:00] creators are putting in the work, but it's the big players with a large budget who are profiting most and not giving any credit to the creators.

Anne: yeah, that's a good point. Yeah. So I do think it's a very interesting. Use of ai, like it's using public space basically, and really targeting, travelers who are interested in visiting a specific place because they follow an influencer who traveled there, to in a convenient way find out how to get there.

Anne: but I do have questions about would that mean that there will be an increase in, visiting these highlights because to say influencers usually. Travel,if you talk aboutlarge influencers, it travel to the highlights to the overcrowded, destination. So just curious to see how that would impact.

Anne: and then for the compensation part, it would make sense if they connected to an affiliate system. So if that affiliate come from you from as a specific influencer that you. Receive a part of the booking fee, when a traveler books the exact, 

Rik: yeah, that would make [00:06:00] sense. On the other hand, I think that would be complicated because they, you can basically forward any video.

Rik: So yeah, you can 

Anne: repost it. 

Rik: You're not part of an affiliate program. They're just using all available content and public content. Public content. So I don't think there's any copyright, issues involved, but. There's moral issues involved here. 

Anne: yeah. I guess I have to see how that plays out, but it's a very interesting tool.

Rik: We'll see how it develops and we'll also see what more, AI tools we'll see in the future, because I. To be honest, I think this is just a start. 

Anne: Yeah. I have to say this is better use of AI than like developing all these pictures of you traveling somewhere with your cat, like all these visual 

Rik: fake visuals.

Anne: Yeah. So I would say I really applaud using AI for the better. but then we should really make sure that it actually does, do better. 

Rik: but let's dive into the main question of today. How can you target the sustainable [00:07:00] traveler and tourism? Marketing can be overwhelming. There are so many strategies and channels to explore and it can really feel overwhelming to. Try to do everything, but one of the first things that you need to do is trying to tap into who it is that you're actually trying to reach.

Rik: personalization is key in marketing and you really need to realize that if you're trying to reach everyone, you'll most likely end up reaching no one, which will cost you time and money as well. 

Anne: Yeah, no, absolutely. And I think this is one of the first things that you taught me as well in marketing is that.

Anne: Yeah, if you try to speak to everyone, you'll basically reach no one. 'cause travelers really need to feel connected to your story and really, yeah, feel addressed, in saying okay, this company offers exactly what I'm looking for. And I was actually, looking for, I'm not sure if I told you yet, but a trip to the Komodo Island to your name, and of course you were.

Anne: and there are a lot of different operators who offer the same [00:08:00] thing, so They all offer three day, two night, sailings were through the Komodo Islands and. I had a look at a lot of them, and there was actually only one or two that kind of stood out to me that I would be, interested in booking with.

Anne: And really because they focused on, that they take a different route to ensure that you're not really in the crowds. they focus on, the food. So they really highlight what they'll be serving you. And as a foodie, I really, I want to have good food, otherwise I'm not going. they really.

Anne: Address these, not really issues, but highlights that they offer. So alternative roots, food, comfort, that they do in the very small groups. instead of going up for, sunrise with everyone else, you go for sunset. So you have this view like in a very different perspective.

Anne: and basically everything I'm looking for in a trip. But what they've done very smartly is really addressing specific, highlights, that speak to me. Yeah. And that would make me choose them over, another operator. yeah. 'cause they really addressed it to [00:09:00] me. That's what it feels like and that's what you have to achieve in good marketing. 

Rik: Yeah, definitely. That's a good example. 

Anne: And then, so for example, I'm one type of traveler obviously. So how many types of travelers do you think there are? Like, and also in sustainability, what are we talking about in numbers? 

Rik: To be honest, I don't think I could give you a number, and especially in sustainable traveler, I don't think there's just one sustainable traveler because there's so many types.

Rik: You have people who are interested in offsetting their flights. You have, people who refuse to fly at all. You have travelers who are interested more in the cultural aspects, but. You also have people who just like to hike or cycle, which is sustainable in itself, and I think there's just too many flavors to.

Rik: Kind of brand them all as sustainable traveler, even though they are. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So what I said, like this entire spectrum of [00:10:00] type of travelers and yeah, again, here is really important that you specify who to attract. So what kind of traveler are you looking for? And then also what kind of sustainable traveler are you looking for?

Anne: how would travel businesses move beyond the, we want to reach everyone mindset. 

Rik: I think one of the first thing you need to realize is that as a small, medium business, not the especially large ones, you really need to step into a niche. If you don't step into a niche, you'll end up reaching no one.

Rik: like I said earlier, you can't market to everyone. So what niche are you stepping into? 

Anne: I think that's a good question. And for example, I used to work with, Kenyan two operators and, Kenya has over, 3000, safari operators of which many offer, the Maasai Mara.

Anne: But then for them it's quite difficult, like how can they distinguish and how can they stand out from [00:11:00] this mass of competitors. So niche is really important here. 

Rik: And one thing you can do as a business, to. Get this a little more clear for yourself, who it is that you're trying to reach and who your ideal customer is to create a buyer persona.

Rik: Okay? And a buyer persona essentially is a fictional profile of your ideal customer. I. So what you're going to do is you're going to look at, who is your ideal customer? where are they from, what kind of travel do they like? who are they traveling with? Are they traveling solo or as a couple or with a family?

Rik: I. these kind of traits are things that you really need to look into and it helps to make it personal. You can give them a name or slap a picture on your office wall to kind of make it real and,get a feeling who you are creating for and, give that person's name and a photo that.

Rik: That really helps to think about yeah, who it is that you're trying [00:12:00] to reach. And it doesn't really matter if you are, creating a new experience or writing a webpage or sending a newsletter. It's always that person who you're doing it for, and you always have to keep them in mind while creating everything.

Anne: Yeah, exactly. So for example, I don't know German Jack who travels with his family and likes nature and birdwatching. I don't know, something like that, that you read. Something 

Rik: like that. Of course, you have to get more specific than that, but that's the start. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. So you really need to speak to this.

Anne: Buyer persona to this ideal customer, and to address them, and then also use that to create your tools and then your marketing. So that's, 

Rik: yeah, definitely that really helps to step into that niche that you're looking for and to get a bit more feeling about who it is that you're trying to target.

Rik: Because as you said, did MAs example with 3000, tour operators all offering safaris. It's going to be [00:13:00] difficult to stand out in a crowd like that. So you really have to get specific. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. And then how would a travel business really define the ideal customer? Because what I just mentioned is like generic descriptions, but how would a travel business really define it?

Rik: One exercise that we have done quite a couple of times is pretty interesting and, especially interesting in group settings. So what we do is we ask people to describe their niche using just one word. And as I said, niche and target group are closely related, so we ask him to write it down in just one word.

Rik: So after they've written it down, we ask him to read it out loud in front of everyone else. And what you notice is that there's quite a lot of overlap and especially the groups that we work with, are usually interested in sustainability. So one thing that they mention a lot is sustainable. So when [00:14:00] they hear 2, 3, 4, 5 people say that their niche is sustainable, they kind of look at each other like shit, we're all fishing from the same pool.

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: And. That's pretty interesting to see because after that we're having them expand, from one word to three words, and that's when they really start to focus on standing out from each other and getting more specific. 

Anne: Yeah. Okay. Give an example about, 

Rik: well, yeah, to stick with the sustainable, you can go from.

Rik: Sustainable with one word to, sustainable wildlife experiences or sustainable food travel. And that not only says something about your values because sustainable says something about your values, which is important, but it's a bit too vague,expanding on that, helps giving you more purpose and it says something about who you're targeting and what kind of experiences you're actually offering, so that really [00:15:00] helps.

Anne: Yeah. But then do you think we can still use the word sustainable in, in your niche? 

Rik: I wouldn't use it in myself to be honest. because it doesn't really, it says something about your values, but it doesn't necessarily mean that. It aligns with your target group's values. 

Anne: yeah, exactly. Yeah.

Anne: Your niche has to be short, so a better use of that, one of the three words. Should not be sustainability, but like something else that really makes you stand out. 

Rik: Yeah, it does. it's just an exercise of course, but I would advise you to keep it as short as possible while on the other hand also trying to be specific.

Rik: Yeah. And I think also, linking it back to the Ma Mara example, so you're not just offering a safari to the maam Mara, but you're offering it specifically for, solo female adventure travelers or. Families with children or 50 plus bird watchers, I don't know, but really? 'cause it's still the same, it's not the same safari, but it's [00:16:00] the same destination, the same activity basically.

Anne: But by niching it like that, you really make sure you speak to one specific, traveler. 

Rik: Yeah, that's a really good example of how to specify your niche going from safari to. Solo 50 plus bird watching is from going 

Rik: Super broad to very specific. Yeah. Which is really good.

Anne: Yeah. you taught me well, so that's good. 

Rik: Yeah. And it's not only important that you, only focus on that part of your target group. You can have bycatch as well, right?

Anne: Yeah, so bycatch is definitely another aspect of that, but, let me get back to that later. But first, when you have to find your ideal customer, how do you really know what drives them? Like how do you find out their exact interest and needs for traveling? 

Rik: Yeah, that's a good question because it's not only about who they are, it's.

Rik: Actually mostly about what they care about. So what gets them excited, but also what [00:17:00] challenges do they face and what do they struggle with. So one thing I would definitely advise is to really look at feedback and start with the positive feedback. So look for things that,what are they praising you for?

Rik: But. On the other hand also look at negative feedback. What are they struggling with? Why are they hesitating what problems are they facing? Because, really looking deeper into these needs, but also into these challenges 

Rik: this really helps you in pinpointing your opportunities, actually, and you can really use this to speak directly to your target group. Yeah. And you've worked with so many travel businesses. Do you have any more insights to share on where you can collect these kind of insights? 

Rik: what channels do you use?

Anne: Yeah, so definitely what you said, the feedback forms, the reviews, but also social media. like what they share about the trips. and then also the, local guides and [00:18:00] also office staff. 'cause they are really in direct connection with the traveler. and they can really find out like what do they like, what for example, what, Changes. Did they request in an itinerary or, did they like a very specific aspect? were they very enthusiastic about a certain point? I think that's really important. 

Rik: yeah, I agree. You should keep in close touch with the people who are in direct contact with the customers. Yeah. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly.

Anne: And I think it's also not focusing on one channel only, so it really get your information from as much channels as possible to get the best overview that you can get. but then when you have collected this data, how do you turn this into your marketing? Like how do you make this connection?

Rik: Yeah, that's the logical next step to bring these data points into your marketing. And you need to do that in a way that actually resonates with your customers. So what you need to do is to bring this data to your buyer persona and you really need to expand on [00:19:00] your buyer persona so you've written down who they are, what they like, what are their pain points, but also what gets them excited.

Rik: And you really need to think about what this means and how, does your ideal customer want to be spoken to? What language or tone of voice do you use? What visuals do you think that they will like? And you can use social media to get. That input, but you really need to write it down and make it a part of your buyer persona.

Rik: And whether you are writing a social media post or a webpage, again, you should always keep in mind this buyer persona when you're creating basically anything for your business. 

Anne: Yeah, 

Rik: They're the ones you're creating it for. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. So it always come back, comes back to that person, that bar persona that you're creating it for.

Anne: And then I think it's also makes sense to then pick the channels, that your buyer persona uses. And that also differs quite a lot. 'cause I. For example, I'm not on Pinterest or on Facebook. [00:20:00] but I'm on LinkedIn and on Instagram. but that differs per target group. Yeah, 

Rik: of course. If you, uh, are targeting the 50 plus bird watcher, they're on Facebook, they're on Facebook.

Anne: And I think, and this is also what you said about the bycatch, which is very important to keep in mind, is that even though you're targeting a specific traveler, you will always have travelers that do not a hundred percent fit that specific profile, who are still interested in traveling with you.

Anne: so when I just graduated, I worked for a Dutch, tour operator, better places, and they're really focused on sustainable travel. They position themselves really well as sustainable tour operator. and they attract and they really focus on attracting, sustainable travelers. And basically what their key concept is that travelers can.

Anne: Taylor made their entire, travel experience, in almost any country, but then with a local expert and that speak their language so [00:21:00] often it's a Dutch person that moved to, uh, to Peru and who knows all the ins and outs of, all destination. but they can help travelers to really, in their own language, really just map out everything they want . And then of course they do everything sustainably. So that's the combination. And I remember doing a survey, once to really find out, what actually drives them, what motivates them to work with this two operator.

Anne: And it's actually very interesting that to see that sustainability was not the top priority, it was actually the ability to tailor your entire trip. In your local language because that combination is quite, unique. and even though better places position themselves as a sustainable two operator, they do this really well.

Anne: They not necessarily only attract sustainable travelers. So this is the bycatch, that really works for them. but it is always good to keep in mind to, You will have different travelers 

Rik: So do you think the sustainable travelers, the bycatch, or do you think the tailor made [00:22:00] is the bycatch?

Rik: Because if their own customers say in a survey that it's mostly about being tailor made in their, well, not 

Anne: mostly, it was like a ranking, but then sustainability wasn't. Ranked 

Anne: number one. So I think it's a combination. I think sustainability is an added bonus for them. but that's a good question.

Anne: but also like this has been, I dunno, eight years ago. I don't really know what's happening now, but I thought that's a really good, example of you can target anything you want. but it's not necessarily what you're always attracting.

Rik: your messaging can resonate with someone who you really haven't thought about that well. Yeah. But that's why you need to keep or use your own data to find out who it is that you're actually reaching. And you can change your voice or your target group as well based on what you find out.

Anne: Yeah, exactly. And I think for better places. See, the good thing here is that even though they might attract travelers who are looking for that [00:23:00] tailor made, experience they make sure they travel sustainably. 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: So there's not really anyone that loses here. 

Rik: No, definitely not.if you're actually targeting, and I'm not saying this is the case with better places, but if you're not necessarily targeting sustainable travelers, but.

Rik: Are attracting people who aren't that interested in sustainability, but are still traveling sustainably because they book with you. 

Anne: Yeah. That's the right, I 

Rik: think you've done extra well. 

Anne: Yeah, no, definitely. I think so too. And,yeah, I think better Places is a good example, but do you have another travel business that you feel are doing really well in targeting a specific traveler?

Rik: Yeah. And I thought about this and I think buy way travel is really interesting. And I have to say I haven't booked with them before, so this is just based on what I've seen on their website. 

Anne: They offer 100% flight free travel, which is quite a specific sustainable target group.

Rik: But, [00:24:00] they do it in a light and fun way in, in my opinion, because, offsetting carbon, usually is quite a heavy subject and people don't find it that interesting. And It can have like this negative context, and I think Byway does that incredibly well because it's light and fun and,all experiences on their website seem extremely fun to me.

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: And 

Anne: but then flight free, that means traveling by train. Yeah. Yeah. Train travel. Train 

Rik: travel. Yeah. 

Anne: I think this is also what we said in the episode with Natalie about Jakarta travel is that it's changing the narrative. So you're not traveling to reduce carbon, you're not traveling by train to reduce carbon.

Anne: You're traveling by train because it's a better experience. 

Rik: Yeah, I think they actually do both because I think they have quite extensive calculations. so it is about carbon offsetting, but they do it in a fun way, which I think is brilliant. Yeah. And I have to say, this is not an ad. I just [00:25:00] think they communicate brilliantly.

Anne: Yeah. But then because they're communicating, it's that specifically, they will probably also have a target group who's already interested in that. 

Anne: yeah, because they would need that target group for them to be able to, to be successful in this. Yeah. yeah. 

Rik: Yeah. Aside from being low carbon, it's also fun.

Anne: And once a travel business has defined their buyer persona, how do they ensure it stays relevant over time? Because it, yeah. Probably changes

Rik: yeah, you need to realize the market changes, people change. So your buyer persona should evolve as well. It's not set in stone, so you should revisit it every once in a while and figure out if your target group has changed.

Rik: If the market has changed, does your tone of voice still resonate with the audience you want to reach? So it's not about reinventing the wheel as much as it is about, tweaking, tweaking and staying sharp and. we've talked about this with [00:26:00] Theo from Cara as well, who actually mentioned that he's made like small tweaks to his target group and that really made his business thrive so these small changes can really make a big difference.

Anne: yeah, exactly. And that's, I think also the same that we did with the Good Tourism Institute is that when we started, we really had to focus on. Supporting travel businesses being more sustainable. but we focused on, become a better two operator.

Anne: And we then learned that, for example, in the uk, two operators is very specific type of business.

Anne: While we were as a, from a Dutch perspective, focusing on travel businesses in, in general. 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: And also we learned that. the followers that we had, the people that were interested in what we're doing, were already focused on sustainability. Yeah. And didn't really need that much support in becoming more sustainable, but rather in how do they communicate sustainability.

Anne: So it was kind of following like the needs and demands of those that were [00:27:00] interested in what we were doing to turning that into services and content and, consultancy in actually helping them do that.

Rik: Yeah, for sure. And it's definitely done as well because I think especially the become a better tour operator part 

Anne: was not the 

Rik: right language.

Rik: No. It was part of the issue because we focused on becoming better and they all thought they were good. 

Anne: Yeah. Yeah. 

Rik: People who are into sustainability, Think they're doing really well and they are us usually. So telling them they should do better is not the way to go. 

Anne: Rookie mistake.

Rik: everyone has to learn and yeah, I think we, we did pretty well in this case, and you need to learn from the mistakes that you make and you won't. Shoot straight the first time. 

Anne: No, and I think really acknowledging that there is a mismatch is the first step. and there's no shaming going back to the drawing table, even for a travel business to kind of really go back and see, okay, what are we doing?

Anne: Who are we targeting? [00:28:00] And does that make sense? Is it aligned? so I think that's really, really important. 

Rik: as you do business for a number of years, you kind of lose track and. What you were doing in the first place and what you're doing it for. So a buyer persona may seem like a beginner exercise, but I really think that it's something that's very helpful to businesses who've been in business for, for a longer time because you really need to revisit it once in a while and see.

Rik: How you've evolved, how your client has evolved, and if that's still a match. 

Anne: Yeah. And I think that's, essential to be successful in the long run, you have to keep moving with your, your target group. And before we wrap up, any final thoughts on how to target the sustainable traveler? 

Rik: Yeah. Well, as I mentioned before, there's not one type of sustainable traveler, so you really need to get more specific than sustainable travel. Yeah. You really need to figure out, what it is that people care about and not try to target anyone that vaguely cares [00:29:00] about sustainability. It might be different things, why people care about sustainability. It might be offsetting carbon, it might be, community based experiences. the, these are different types of travelers and that's something you do need to realize and you need to use in your marketing to.

Rik: Kind of resonate with your audience more, and it's also important not to just talk about sustainability. You need to make it easy for your target group to understand easy and fun actually, because as we've mentioned before, for example, carbon offsetting to a lot of people. Isn't something that they think difficult.

Rik: Yeah, it's difficult and they don't think it's fun. Yep. But there's different ways to talk about it and make it fun. For example, train travel can be amazing and it can be such, such a good experience, and that's something that you need to realize that you should. Talk about sustainability without talking about sustainability.

Rik: And if you do that right, [00:30:00] you are able to build trust and loyalty within your target audience. 

Anne: yeah, exactly. So there are sustainable travelers on the entire spectrum, of travelers, and you really just need to pinpoint, okay, who's my ideal traveler? Yep. And how do they feel about sustainability?

Anne: And then go from there. 

Rik: Yeah, definitely. 

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: Thank you everyone for listening and we really hope that we've given you some practical information to really get going with, targeting your ideal customer. We've actually written an extensive article on this, how to target your ideal customer, and we'll link to that in the description as well.

Rik: And aside from that, we're also really interested in hearing from you what are the challenges you are facing when targeting your ideal customer. So we'll hope to hear from you 

Anne: and if you like this episode and learn from it. like and subscribe to not miss any future episodes. for now, thank you for listening and we hope.

Anne: See you next time. 

Rik: Bye bye. 

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