Green Tourism, a Brexit remedy? Here is why!

With the reality of Brexit looming upon us, it is not surprise that all industries are worried about what it means for them.

In Tourism, the figures are quite alarming, it is estimated 10,000 job losses and a drop on National Tourism revenue of €390 million.

Nobody really knows for sure what is going to happen exactly, will it be as bad as they expect? will it be worse? Or will it actually be better? Who knows! Not even those in charge are too sure about any of it, so instead of panicking striking, let’s start looking at other things you, in your business, can do, to contra-rest the expected loss of revenue should the worst case scenario happens.

Green Tourism, a growing market

The answer is quite simple, if we are going to lose a large amount of tourist coming into Ireland from the UK, we simply need to look at other emerging markets. And, conveniently for me you might think, Green Tourism, is one of the fastest growing markets.

According to Travel Agent Central Statistics, 87% of global travellers, say they want to travel sustainably. This is not always possible, in fact, we as an industry, are making it quite difficult to reduce the Carbon Footprint of our customers experiences, even though, they clearly want us to do it.

For 46% of travellers, Green tourism means to choose Eco friendly or Green Accommodation. Yet, we failed to ensure our businesses, are aligned to those values.

The top reasons travellers give for choosing eco-friendly places to stay are:

• To help reduce environmental impact (40%)
• To have a locally relevant experience (34%)
• Wanting to feel good about an accommodation choice (33%).

What is even more interesting, is that 67% of traveller are whiling to spend at least 5% more in their travels, as long as it includes Green Accommodation.

So why are so many hotels in Ireland, and around the world, afraid to commit to run more sustainable business?

A cost saving solution

The second avenue of getting “Brexit ready” is to look at ways to reduce your business costs.

Less customers = less income

Less costs = more profit

Again, the answer is staring us right in the face on this one.

Greening your Hotel, starts by controlling, managing and reducing the Energy & Water you use, and the Waste you produce. When you start taking the right steps towards reducing your utilities, you will not only reduce your Carbon Footprint, but you will also reduce your Utility bills. Those savings, will go directly to your business bottom line.

The perception out there is that been "Green" means having solar panels, geothermal heating systems and a bunch of new technology not everyone can afford. Let me let you in a secret...there are other things you can do to reduce your Energy, Water and Waste at your Hospitality business!!

Can you answer this questions with clarity?

•  WHERE you consume the most Energy? Do you know right now which is the one single piece of equipment that consumes the most Energy at your business? If you don’t, maybe ask yourself why not?

 To bring it closer to home, do you know which one of your employees cost you the most? You probably do, as staff costs are the biggest cost to a Hospitality business. Well, your resources, are possibly your second biggest cost, so been able to manage them and control them can become paramount to creating cost savings for your business.

• WHEN you consume the most Energy? 
• How much water does your business require to offer a proper customer experience, without using more than necessary? 
• How many Kg of waste your business produces in one year?, landfill and food are too big areas in need of improvement within the Hospitality Industry, and everything you put in the bin COSTS you money, so why is it in the bin? What happen to that item that you bought and stored and now you are paying to get taken away?

The Tourism industry post Brexit is unclear, but one thing I can tell you for sure, Green Travellers are on the rise, don’t be a follower, don’t wait until you have to make changes because your customers (or lack of) demand it. Be ahead of the game and start today.

My advice to anyone wishing to start their Green Journeys is to go at your own pace, but be adamant about it, set yourself monthly or weekly goals, start implementing actions that will help you understand & control the energy & water your business uses, and the waste you produce. Get your team behind you and install a green culture amongst your staff.

If you want to start but you do not know how, you can book a FREE discovery call HERE with me, we can discuss your business, your goals and establish a road-map to get you started.