How to handle overtourism? 😰

How to handle overtourism? 😰

In this season’s final episode of Sustainable Today, Successful Tomorrow, we unpack one of the toughest challenges in tourism today: overtourism.

• 😬 Is overtourism becoming impossible to ignore?
• 🤔 When does growth stop being a good thing?
• 🙂 What tools do businesses and destinations need?

We explore the causes and ripple effects of overtourism. From too many people in the same spots to rising pressure on local life and nature.  

Plus, we share practical ideas for travel businesses and destinations to reduce pressure, guide travellers more consciously, and design better experiences for everyone involved. 🙌

 If you’re looking to combat overtourism with strategy and impact, this episode is for you. 🎧

Chapters

• 0:00 Understanding overtourism
• 1:25 Personal experiences with overtourism
• 5:49 Defining overtourism and its causes
• 8:42 Who should lead the way?
• 11:31 Saying no to more tourists
• 16:14 Solutions for businesses and destinations
• 20:56 Raising awareness about overtourism
• 25:48 Practical tips to get started

Transcript

Rik: [00:00:00] the sustainable audience is so critical and you, you have to do perfect. And if you don't do perfect, you're not sustainable.

Rik: Which I feel that is not true at all. 

Anne: No, exactly. And. What we want travel businesses to do is kind of let go of that perfectionism. 

Rik: Welcome to season two of Sustainable. Today's Successful Tomorrow, where we explore real world sustainable tourism stories that actually work. This season, we're focusing on how to communicate sustainability because doing it is one thing, but telling that story is a big challenge. That's why we're opening this season with an episode on the most common challenges of sustainable marketing in tourism.

Rik: So Anne, looking back on season one, was there a conversation that really showed you the power of good communication? 

Anne: I think definitely, I think that's, Jata travel. but also the other interviews [00:01:00] where we, I think we really noticed that the way of communicating, uh, is really important. So the way, of how you're telling your sustainability, story and that it's all about making sure the traveler feels addressed.

Anne: So with Jakarta travel, uh, so luxury two operator that we interviewed in seasons one where we talked with, with Natalie, um, where she said that after they attended our sustainable marketing workshop, during the GSEC conference in Stockholm, is that they really, well they would adapted the way they're communicating, to their clients.

Anne: And, wait, I wrote it down, she said. through an increase in our understanding of the client's understanding of what sustainability looks like and the benefits to them, we've been able to increase client interest in our positive impact collection. So what they've done is they're really determined. Okay, so what does our client know about sustainability?

Anne: How do they think about it? What interests them? Yeah. And how do they see the benefits for them? [00:02:00] And they started from that. So they used all that information and then tailored their marketing to make sure that they were really speaking to, their specific client and what they were interested in sustainability and.

Anne: I think that's a really interesting example because Jakarta travel is a very well established two operator, uh, in the uk. They're very sustainable, they have really amazing, projects, sustainability implementation, but that they still struggle to communicate that part, to their clients in a way that they were really interested.

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: They really tailored it to their target audience, which I, I think is really good. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. They really tailored to the audience and they also started with the traveler. And she also said that when they, changed that they also saw a very big increase in, uh, the signups for their positive impact, collection newsletter.

Anne: So they really saw, the direct benefit as well. Yeah. So yeah, I think Jakarta travel really showed, that the way how you communicate about your sustainability. [00:03:00] It's really important. 

Rik: Yeah. Cool. I knew Natalie was there at the GSTC Congress, but I didn't know she put it into practice like straight away.

Rik: That's, yeah. That's nice to hear. 

Anne: Yeah. It's a good recommendation. 

Rik: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. And do you feel that there's clear missed opportunities among travel businesses where they could have easily done better? 

Anne: I don't really think it's a missed opportunity rather than more of the realization that.

Anne: It's all about, well, tailoring your communication to the client. And I'm not sure travel businesses understand how important that is. Communicating sustainability is not about just thinking about what do we do about in terms of sustainability and how can we share as much of that as possible.

Anne: It's really going back to looking at the traveler, and it's not just what you share, but how you share it. And that might be that, you're leaving some parts out or that you [00:04:00] rephrase it differently. So I think it's all about how you're getting your message across. In a way that the traveler, wants to read it.

Anne: I think, yeah, it's not really a missed opportunity. It's the realization that how important it actually is. 

Rik: Yeah. I do feel that people working in sustainability sometimes tend to go a bit overboard. Because they're so deep into it, it can be a bit too technical or maybe it's just not that interesting to the client.

Rik: Yeah. So it's really about taking it back to your target audience and like finding out what's interesting to them. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. It all starts there.

Rik: What do you feel are other main challenges when it comes to communicating sustainability? 

Anne: well, in the years I've worked with a lot of travel businesses and destinations and they all kind of shared the same challenges. well, the first one being that they don't really know what [00:05:00] to share about sustainability.

Anne: Second that they're afraid to greenwash and also to be called out for being a greenwasherand the third is the feeling that their travelers are not interested in what they have to say about sustainability and basically all the challenges really, before for about these, these three aspects.

Rik: Yeah, I agree. I think that people working on sustainability practices. are insecure about these things because they don't have an a marketing background, which makes sense of course, because it's a different job. And what you see in larger businesses and destinations, for example, is that the sustainability team and the marketing team aren't really talking.

Rik: Yeah. So it's not really working for either of them. So they kind of need to. Come together on this. 

Anne: Yeah. Yeah. I think it's really, a collaboration effort. 'cause you have the sustainability team that knows everything that they're doing, but if you let the sustainability [00:06:00] team promote it, yeah, it's gonna be, 

Rik: yeah, 

Anne: probably a cat boring.

Anne: but if you let the marketing team decide what the share about sustainability, they might actually go into the greenwashing, uh, spectrum because they don't really, 

Rik: They don't know what what's actually happening. 

Anne: Exactly. So what you just see a lot is that these travel businesses are kind of shooting blanks in, um, their sustainability communication, what you said, no clear strategy, no vision on how to share it.

Anne: And you kind of get into a loop where travelers are not interested in that kind of communication about sustainability. So the travel business think, okay, they're not interested, I don't know what to share. And you stay there. So I think, It's really important to, uh, it to break that cycle. Yeah.

 How well are you actually communicating sustainability? We see many travel businesses and destinations working hard, yet they still struggle to talk about it, 

Anne: and maybe you feel the same. You're afraid of being seen as greenwashing, [00:07:00] unsure what to share, or just not really connecting with your travelers.

Anne: We've been there with a lot of travel brands and we get how frustrating it is. So with years of experience in sustainable tourism and marketing, we've created something simple to get you started. 

Rik: It's called the Sustainable Marketing Scan. You just answer a few quick questions. We'll take a look, and if it's a good fit, we'll invite you for a short call to go through your opportunities.

Anne: You can start today@goodtourisminstitute.com slash scam and turn uncertainty into a clear, compelling story.

 Yeah.

Rik: Let's have a closer look at these individual challenges because as you said, it is about insecurities, and I think once we address those, it can really open doors to better communication. 

Rik: Yeah, absolutely. So a few years back when we were, uh, researching our sustainable marketing program, we broke down the main challenges that we saw in travel [00:08:00] businesses and destinations.

Rik: And you've already mentioned them, but I'd like to go into them individually. So let's start with number one, which is not knowing what to share about sustainability. Why do you feel this is a main challenge? 

Anne: I think it all has to do with the concept of sustainability that is very broad, very complex, and has a lot of different, definitions.

Anne: And I feel that a lot of travel businesses and destinations like tourism boards kind of struggle to identify which exact elements of their sustainability practices to share. Like are you talking about your environmental impact, about your, um. Social impact or how do you work with communities? Like, I think they're really, just not sure what's interesting.

Anne: What's, what do they want to share about what, and also like how in depth are you going? Yeah. with what you share. And I think because there is this broad definition, travelers also [00:09:00] have a different understanding of what sustainability means. Um, and then there's kind of this mismatch, or Yeah, mismatch in expectations, process communication where, yeah, the travelers expecting to, to read something about sustainability, that the destination or the travel business is not really, uh, delivering.

Anne: 

Rik: you really need an understanding, like a good understanding of your target audience. 

Anne: Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Again, we're back to, what does your, traveler want to, uh, to know about sustainability or to read about? What you're doing. So as soon as you pinpointed that, I guess you're kind of overcoming this challenge right away.

Anne: Yeah. because then you know exactly what to share. 

Rik: And do you feel that businesses underestimate how technical the jargon can be for travelers? 

Anne: Yeah, I think so. And it's not just a jargon, but it's really just sharing a lot of, of data, a lot of information, and vague buzzwords, uh, like travel sustainable with us, or, um, if you do this trip, [00:10:00] you could positive impact 

Anne: Like what does it even mean? and I think it's very difficult for travel businesses to really determine and Okay. What is actual credible information and what is easy to easy to understand? 

Rik: I think most people just don't really know where to start. 

Anne: no. And I think also what you said about the technical part, like.

Anne: What I said before, it's not only about what you do in terms of sustainability, because for example, if you are, if you've written a 2024 impact report, for example, where you share about all the things you've done, uh, a previous year where you created actual impact, you have all the data, you have everything, uh, everything there, everything out, checks out.

Anne: But if it's a hundred page document. Who's gonna read it? 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: So I think it's really about the transition of making that data or that information more accessible, more visible, and to communicate it in a way that [00:11:00] the person you wanted to read. So the traveler, is actually interested in reading it or listening to it, or watching it.

Rik: It's about making it practical and easy to take in. Yeah. And a hundred page impact report isn't going to win anyone over. 

Anne: Well, maybe, uh, a B2B partner. Then again, it's a different audience. So I think it, start again, it starts there. if you don't know what to share, just think about, okay, who am I writing this for?

Anne: Yeah. and what do they want to read? 

Rik: Well, I'm pretty sure if you go overboard. Nobody's going to read it, which actually reminds me of a story that I've told a hundred times, uh, about my favorite university professor. And what he did was he said a maximum number of words on his assignments, and when he went over just one word, he'd hand it back to you and said, too long, didn't read.

Rik: And every time that we are. Coming up with a [00:12:00] proposal or a presentation or whatever. It's one of the first things. I point out that if it's too long or to text Nicole, nobody's going to read it. 

Anne: Well, we've had this conversation before. It's like I always feel that you are a bit too concise in what you or what you write, and I am kind of more a lengthy, text.

Anne: So it's always about finding the middle way, I would say. 'cause you do want to share enough information. 

Anne: have different jobs, so I, I mean, I think we are complimentary in, in that sense.

Anne: That's exactly what, travel businesses should do, is to have their marketing and their sustainability teams, uh, work together 

Anne: and talk. because yeah, this is exactly, what's happening. Like, you want to share different things, I would. Um, so I think it's really a collaboration 

Rik: How do you think, like from your marketing perspective, from your experience, what would be a good example of sharing, sustainability in a way that really, connects emotionally with travelers or with the people that you wanted to read? 

Rik: That's an easy one. [00:13:00] Storytelling. It's all about storytelling.

Rik: And. For example, the story I just told about my professor, I'm pretty sure it annoys you because I've told you like a hundred times before, but 

Anne: I remember it. 

Rik: You remember it and you won't remember facts and figures, but stories connect emotionally. So storytelling is absolutely the way to go.

Anne: Yeah. Yeah, that's very true. It's also about with a story. Even if you want to tell someone else and you want to repeat the story, even if you don't remember everything word by word, you most likely grasp the core of the, of the message. Yeah. You can kind of fill in the blanks, but with data you can't really do that.

Rik: You can't, you can, but you, it's difficult to, to really repeat the story or to,well, data needs a story behind it to kind of come across. 

Anne: Yeah, that's true. So stories. Yeah, I think that's the key. 

Rik: Yeah. But you do need data to back up your stories, especially in sustainability, because you don't want to be making false [00:14:00] claims.

Rik: So stories are a way to get your point across, but you do need to data to back it up. 

Rik: Let's move on to challenge two, which is the fear of coming across as greenwashing. To me, this one is firstly about missed opportunities, and secondly, it's about another big point, which is the EU bringing in these directives, maybe canceling them, who knows?

Rik: But aside from losing customer trust, you can now also face legal consequences. 

Anne: yeah. And I do think it's. That's a good thing. we see a lot of greenwashing, throughout, the travel, industry. Like there's so many businesses that fluff up everything. Yeah, they do. They claim to be carbon neutral when they planted one tree.

Anne: Like I think there are really a lot of businesses that need to be hold accountable. Yeah. Or, um, whatever they're communicating about sustainability. But the challenge here is [00:15:00] that travel businesses are afraid of greenwashing, um, and therefore kind of undersell what they're doing. Yeah. So their green hushing is what it's called.

Anne: So 

Rik: greenwashing and green hushing. 

Anne: Yeah. Yeah. So they do a lot in service sustainability. Um. But they're afraid to share it, um, because they feel yeah, they'll be, accused of brainwashing. Yeah. And then with the directives coming in, then I might actually be facing what you said, legal, uh, legal consequences.

Anne: in my opinion, the directives are a good thing, but it can lead to green hushing as you said. But do you think people hold out? Because they're afraid of criticism. 

Anne: I think, yeah, I think there are definitely travel businesses that fear, 

Rik: Because it's not only the legal consequences, it, there's a lot of criticism.

Anne: Yeah. Travelers are very critical. So it is really important that, and this is exactly what the green claims directive or the empowerment, uh, [00:16:00] directives are about, is that when a travel business sells something as green, it is actually. So to build customer trust and to really build that traveler confidence that if they're looking for something sustainable and they book something sustainable, um, that it actually is, sustainable, 

Rik: with the, uh, with the start of the, or the introduction of these, uh, directive is that I think the group that is holding back in terms of what they sell, what they share about sustainability is growing. because like some travel businesses might've been sharing some things.

Anne: and then if they don't really understand these directives, they would rather just call back than to risk being perceived as greenwashing or to be called out by travelers. and I also feel that, and this is also some travel businesses I've worked with in the past who are so embedded in sustainability is that they just feel it's normal to care about local people or to protect wildlife, and they don't share [00:17:00] that because they feel.

Anne: It should be there by the full. Yeah. And they don't understand why others are not really doing it. But by not sharing all of that because you feel everyone should be doing it, you kind of risk, one, not being recognized as sustainable business, but also not speaking to your, uh, to your travelers. So I think there should always be some part of your communication that talks about sustainability.

Anne: But always in the way that connects to the traveler. 

Rik: I do feel that the group of businesses that is underselling because of fear of criticism is bigger than the ones who think it's like, yeah. Default. Yeah. Because especially around sustainability, there's so much criticism and people feel that they have to do perfect.

Rik: And if they don't do perfect, the They'd rather keep quiet. Yeah. Which in my opinion, is such a missed opportunity because. Nobody's perfect. And I, I think that travelers know that nobody can do perfect, [00:18:00] but you have to be honest about it and you have to be upfront about it. If you, you can talk about the things that you are doing, but you can also point out imperfections that you are working on, which is completely fine.

Rik: And I think showing that vulnerability actually builds trust. 

Anne: Yeah, no, absolutely. I also remember, um, when I was working for a two operator a few years ago. That they had a really nice, extensive, um, sustainability, uh, survey. Mm-hmm. What they really wants to hear from their clients. Okay, we are doing this in terms of sustainability.

Anne: How do you feel about that? How did you experience sustainability during your trip? And there was this guy who just responded, I flew there. This is not sustainable. And he did that. He answered that for every. Question. 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: So I think, and that's also where I feel that's mismatch, that this traveler is super critical about sustainability.

Anne: He doesn't really care about it, I think I would say, because, well, he flies there and he doesn't see that sustainability. It's a lot [00:19:00] more Than just flying there. So I think, This is a point where the, uh, where the travel business should realize, okay, we have some educating to do. 

Rik: Yeah.

Anne: Uh, and then you have to tackle that, uh, in your communication. 

Rik: And I feel like we're facing that ourselves as well. We've had a few comments on our newsletters from, we have a sustainable audience, I mean. I think almost everyone interested in our, yeah, our story is interested in sustainability as well, but sometimes we get these replies to our newsletters, like, what You just shared, this business or that practice isn't sustainable and they don't really elaborate.

Rik: And when we ask them to. To like, come 

Anne: up with supporting evidence. Yeah. 

Rik: Like ask them why do you feel that this is not sustainable? Or, yeah. Can 

Anne: you elaborate on why you make that? they, 

Rik: they just don't reply. And again, the sustainable audience is so critical and you, you have to do perfect. And if you don't do perfect, you're not sustainable.

Rik: [00:20:00] Which I feel that is not true at all. 

Anne: No, exactly. And I think, and. What we want travel businesses to do is kind of let go of that perfectionism. 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: to, for example, only share when you've achieved certification or where you've completed a really, uh, amazing project. but to kind of ditch that per, perfectionism and to just share, what you're working on, your challenges and your vision.

Anne: But like these people, these critical people make that very difficult,because you will face criticism. If you're not only sharing, uh, achievements because you see that on social media, that when people share, um, achievements, especially on, on LinkedIn, people celebrate it. 

Rik: Yeah. But 

Anne: if you share, challenges or you share something that went wrong, you face a lot of criticism.

Anne: Yeah. And people who think they can do it better. And I think well see Media is the same everywhere. 

Anne: But also sustainability, like sustainable development is not, there is no end goal. 

Rik: No. 

Anne: Like the, it's a continuous cycle of [00:21:00] improvement of development and even travel businesses that, achieved a certification are not done. No, definitely. In terms of being more sustainable. Yeah. So. If you only want to share, your like high achievements, what can you share?

Anne: Like there's always something that you can improve. So I think it's really important to be transparent about that. 

Rik: Absolutely. Yeah. Let's move on to challenge number three, which is feeling that travelers are an interested, and I guess they're not wrong because travelers have showed time upon time that.

Rik: Sustainability is not a priority when booking or traveling. 

Anne: Yes, true. But at the same time, I feel travelers have also proven to be interested in a more sustainable, experience. So sustainability is not a priority. when they book. But at the same time, they are interested in, sustainable elements.

Anne: Yeah. Such as, um, slow [00:22:00] travel or, uh, getting off the beaten in track or having genuine connections with local, communities, which are all aspects of. Sustainable tourism. 

Rik: Yeah. 

Anne: But where travelers might not always link, that as being, sustainable because there is still a group of travelers that feel sustainable.

Anne: Tourism is only walking with zip off trousers, a backpack and sandals. 

Rik: So we all know them. 

Anne: We all know them, but I mean, there is so much more in sustainable tourism. Well, coming back to Jakarta Travel, that's a whole different way of, um, sustainable tourism. by way is a different way of sustainable tourism traveling by train.

Rik: there's so many different ways of looking at sustainability. Yeah. Yeah. 

Anne: But in the end, it's all about, okay, who's my audience? And how am I selling sustainability to them? Yeah. It's packaging, the sustainable experience in a way, that they will see the benefits for them, for their experience and when they think like, okay, this is what I want to do.

Anne: So it's back on the experience that they're booking. [00:23:00] But as a travel business, it's your responsibility to make sure it's sustainable and that you sell it well in a way that they would love to go on a trip. 

Rik: Yeah. I completely agree. And. I'd actually like to share a little sneak peek of the upcoming season, because while recording this, we've already done some of our interviews and you've actually interviewed Thomas Power from Pura.

Rik: Aventura. Yeah. And he had something quite interesting to say, which I'd like to quote him on. Well, I think he was actually quoting someone else, but 

Anne: probably, yeah, 

Rik: I'll repeat what he said, which was interesting. He said. Sustainability by design. Don't sell it. Nobody's buying it. Nobody ever asked Mercedes for an airbag.

Rik: They're just getting it. And I'm not sure I 100% agree, but I do feel he has a point. 

Anne: I think he makes a very valid point because, and I really agree because sustainability in how I see it should [00:24:00] be to default in any travel experience and it should be communicated. Just as essential as an airbag is,

Rik: and we should get to a point when nobody's. Buying a car anymore without an AirVac 

Anne: ugly. So sustainability should be default, but at the same time, um, you should communicate about it. But I think of, of course, Mercedes is doing the same where they explain how the AirVac works and why it's so important to have it.

Anne: Yeah. 

Rik: But it's not a unique selling point. 

Anne: It's no longer a unique selling point, but I guess it used to be. 

Rik: I dunno, we're too young for that. 

Anne: Well, I'm assuming that, well, there's one car brand that came up with it. so it used to be unique selling point, and then all the other cars, manufacturers saw, okay, that is something we should have.

Anne: And I'm really hoping that's the way for sustainable tourism. 

Rik: Well, I, I guess legislation came into place eventually, but I'm. Probably Sure. It started off like that. 

Anne: Yeah. But that's also, I think that's a great start. What the EU is doing [00:25:00] is that they are working towards, at least communicating about it, and well, hopefully in the future.

Anne: They're doing the same with certain, with other products that need a specific energy label, for example, that in the future you can only sell, travel packages if you are certified or if you need certain standards. So I do think that's definitely. Part of the future of sustainable tourism. 

Rik: Yeah. Um, yeah.

Rik: Hopefully, but hopefully, but for now, don't expect more bookings just because you're saying you're sustainable. 

Anne: No, but. Packaging it correctly in a way that appeals to your travelers will get you an increase in interest, like what Jakarta Travel said, how that worked for them. But it's, it's not, um, an automatic conquest.

Rik: No. That said, whenever you do mention sustainability, literally customers are going to be skeptical simply because there are so much greenwashing going on. Yeah. But I don't think the skepticism [00:26:00] is bad because it keeps businesses honest. Do you feel that the skepticism is a barrier or more of an opportunity?

Anne: well I think it's both because what you said earlier, it's like how we sometimes receive a lot of skepticism on the stories that we share or the way that we do things. I mean, sometimes it's just kind of, or bullying is a wrong word 'cause it's not really bullying, but when it, there's no constructive feedback.

Anne: Yeah, what can you do about it? I do think that if there would be constructive feedback that you can actually think about, okay, why are they so skeptical and how can I, uh, change my communication? Or how can I elaborate on certain aspects to kind of overturn that? So then again, it comes back to creative marketing.

Anne: And again, think about, okay. What is my audience saying? If they're really skeptical about a certain aspect. Okay. What can you do to kind of take away that skepticism? so I think it's both because a lot of [00:27:00] skepticism and criticism is annoying. 

Anne: Yeah, I agree. It's easy to talk from the sidelines. Yeah. But like you said, I do feel that sustainable marketing is mostly about creativity and you have to be careful with creativity because creative accounting, that's when it becomes greenwashing.

Anne: True. I think, well, it's different in marketing. Like creativity in terms of coming up with new ideas in, you have a lot of more freedom with marketing that you have in accounting. 

Rik: I'm not sure. I, I agree because in marketing you can phrase things to be true. 

Anne: But 

Rik: it can become greenwashing quite easily.

Anne: Yes. But when I think about creativity, it's more about how you design it, how you visualize certain. Aspects, and 

Rik: yeah, it's about copywriting as well. I think copy might be the most important thing here actually. 

Anne: Why do you say that? 

Rik: Because it's about the words you use to, to make it true or [00:28:00] not. 

Anne: Yeah, of course.

Anne: And you have the rules regarding greenwashing. Yeah. But I do think like overall in marketing there are a lot less rules. 

Rik: of course there's less legislation. Of 

Anne: course. Yeah. Okay. It's good. 

Rik: So we've talked about the common challenges and how to tackle them, but it really comes down to how information is presented.

Rik: And we've already, uh, said that sustainable marketing isn't about selling sustainability. It's about showing how sustainability can make an experience richer or better or more meaningful. Yep. And that said, I'd like to share a few key tips. Uh, and the first one is talk about sustainability. Without talking about sustainability, which has become my personal mantra by now.

Rik: Next, be transparent and practical. Just by start writing things down. If you're doing just very practical and very transparently, write it down. 

Anne: Yeah. Very [00:29:00] tangible examples. Yeah. Yeah. 

Rik: When you've done so in corporate storytelling, look at every practical example that you've written down and try to find interesting stories behind it.

Rik: Yeah. Because that's how you'll be able to create an emotional connection. 

Anne: yeah, exactly. I think storytelling is ready to wait to sell sustainable experiences and what, well, people remember stories, not policies. So I think that's the whole, the key aspect here. And I think also what you said about.

Anne: Talking about sustainability, without talking about sustainability. I ended up on a website, from a Costa Rican, uh, to operator that was highlighting, spotting wildlife on quiet electrical boats rather than, talking about their carbon.

Anne: Yeah. Um, emissions. And I think that's a really great example, to kind of highlight. is everyone will see electrical boats will think that is carbon free. Um, but at the same time, and I think that was kind of missed opportunity for them, [00:30:00] is to kind of highlight. What the actual benefit of that experience is for the traveler.

Anne: So for example, that they share, like, come with us on our electrical boats. No, sounds, disturbing You just, the magical slow and not, 

Rik: not just you, but I can imagine you'll have a better wildlife experience, so Exactly. When it's quiet. 

Anne: Exactly. And you will hear nothing but the birds. Yeah. But I feel like the actual storytelling is a quite, where you kind of describe it, how it will feel sitting in that boat.

Anne: because that's the whole point again. Right? Because, you can assume, because I work in sustainable tourism, I can assume that everyone will think, okay, travel on a quiet boat. The people know what that means. Mm-hmm. They might not know what that means, so you have to elaborate on that and to really highlight again, the benefits.

Anne: For the exact, uh, early traveler to be in a super quiet, environment, uh, on the water with just the sound of birds. Yeah. 

Rik: Yeah. That's such a great example. And it's really easy to like [00:31:00] highlight how it makes the experience better. 

Anne: Exactly. 

Rik: And you can also bring some humor into it, which I think works really well into marketing because you can tell a great story about how you'll hear the birds and how it'll be quiet and.

Rik: You can add something like, and you'll also have a carbon free experience like in the end. 

Anne: Yeah. How is that humor, as in, 

Rik: I think if you go like a bit overboard on how great the experience will be, uh, he says that at the end at a little bit, like, yeah. This is also, 

Anne: yeah. 

Rik: About carbon. 

Anne: Yeah. Yeah. No, I think that's a really good point because I do think that even though.

Anne: we say Don't talk about sustainability. Talking about sustainability. You do have to address it somehow. Yeah. but just, you can't say this is a sustainable experience, let's book it. there's a lot more to it. Yeah. Which I think we've covered, today, but yeah, no missed opportunity to include storytelling.

Anne: But the hadaway they highlighted it was a really [00:32:00] great start. 

Rik: Completely agree. Unfortunately, it's time to wrap up again already and. I have to say I'm really excited for season two and. We already mentioned that we've had some interviews already, so I'd like to mention that we've interviewed, Thomas Power from Pure Aventura, who will be talking about, how to integrate, personal connections into travel.

Rik: Yeah. And we've also sat down with Paul Conroy from My Way Yeah. Who offer flight free travel, and he had some really interesting things to say about that. So I'm really excited for season two. We already have some more guests lined up, which we can't talk about too much yet, so keep posted for that. I do really feel that we're raising the bar this season.

Anne: Yeah. And I'm very excited about sharing, uh, everything we've worked on. 

Anne: Thank you so much for listening. And we would also love to hear from you. So share your thoughts on what your [00:33:00] main sustainable marketing challenges are. So for now, stay tuned for, uh, our next week's episode where we talk about slow travel, um, and where we have some insights from Paul Conroy, from Bioway Travel.

Anne: And if you like this episode, like and share and also subscribe to not miss any future episodes. Thank you for listening and we hope to see you next time. 

Rik: Bye bye.