Elephants in the Room: The Sustainability Issues Travel Avoids

At the end of each episode, hosts Richard and Holly close the show by asking their guests the ultimate “elephant in the room question”; what’s the issue we’re all avoiding when it comes to sustainability in the travel industry?

Some answers were challenging. Some were surprising. And some were downright eye-opening. In this post, we’re going to finally address those elephants in the room, and break down the main points from each episode.

Should you shout about your sustainability actions? The first episode of It’s a Journey explored communicating sustainability – and how consumers respond to sustainability messaging.

Holly and Richard were joined by guests Xavier Font, Professor of Sustainability Marketing at the University of Surrey, and Denise Hicks, Global Climate Lead at C Space. Their elephants in the room were the dependence on long-haul and a failure to connect with consumers.

Professor Font says, “I keep hearing destinations talk about sustainability actions and yet they're targeting markets further afield… We seem to only be doing the easy things as opposed to the important things.”

He’s right. There’s a lot of hand waving in the general direction of sustainability, but it mostly comes down to offsetting and small gestures that don’t move the needle, while simultaneously pushing for more, more, more.

True sustainability will come from concepts like slow travel and reducing travel distances, not from chasing quick wins.

Denise sees the problems in communication. She says, “The idea of going, ‘look! We're doing these great things! Bye!’ It's just madness… Frame it in a way that connects with the consumer – that is your doorway in.”

Of course, they say they care, but that’s only on paper. In practice, people want to know what's in it for them. Denise thinks that sustainability should be communicated like innovation, the way tech companies convince you that their new phone is an essential purchase.

Highlight the benefits of sustainability actions to consumers. Don’t just list out “all the great things” you do.

Both of these points come to the same end; undermined progress and eroded consumer trust.

Communicating sustainability matters.

Focus on meaningful shifts (like trip length, reduced flight distances) and frame sustainability as something that improves traveller experience, not a box-ticking exercise.

Does it make commercial sense to do the right thing? Huge question. Because we all want it to be true. In episode 2, Holly and Richard were joined by guests James Thornton, CEO of Intrepid Travel, and Siddarth Shrikanth, author of A Case for Nature. And they basically said what we all know, but won’t say out loud; the climate crisis is linked to how we travel.

James says, “The elephant in the room is that travel ultimately contributes towards the climate crisis. That is the brutal reality… But if it’s done well, it can be a truly transformative thing.”

We love travel. It’s powerful and life-changing. It’s the reason half of us get up in the morning and go to work, so we can travel more! But we can’t shy away from the fact that it’s making things worse, or assume that nobody cares because they’re still taking trips.

Siddarth says, “The Elephant in the Room… is really understanding what proportion of travellers care… You’re buying a feeling in return… so encouraging more people to buy the feeling of protecting and restoring nature is what we should be trying to get people to.”

Travellers may care more than we think. But thanks to so much greenwashing and corporate box-ticking, they don’t trust sustainability claims. Word of mouth and proof matter. 

The climate crisis cannot be ignored by the industry just because it’s uncomfortable. Trust and storytelling are the only way to shift traveller behaviours, but we need transparency and proven positive impact, not vague claims.

Holly and Richard welcomed three guests for episode three, to find out if Europe’s rail networks can really be an alternative to flying. Sarah Fussey, Marketing Director of Inntravel, Björn Bender, CEO and Executive Chairman of Rail Europe, and Mark Smith, Founder of Man in Seat 61, joined the conversation.

This episode, like the rest, offers plenty to think about as it gives rail travel the airtime it sorely needs. Rail is under-discussed, underinvested, and policy (through lobbying and subsidies) still heavily favours aviation.

Mark Smith says, “The elephant in the room: public policy is all designed to get us flying… Airlines get a massive hidden subsidy because their aviation fuel is tax free.”

Björn warns of the attitude/action gap (what people say versus what they do), and Sarah discusses how sustainability is not a blanket term; it means different things to different people.

It’s a fascinating chat that really sheds light on why things are the way they are in travel.

Rail makes a huge difference to emissions, but it’s not promoted or invested in as much as aviation. Industry and consumers need to push for systemic policy changes that make sustainable choices easier, and the conversation around sustainability needs to be more nuanced.

Are public-private partnerships the best way to accelerate change in the tourism industry?

That’s what Holly and Richard looked to answer in episode 4. The guests on this episode were:

• Gwen Raez – Strategy Lead, Visit Scotland
• Shannon Guihan – Chief Sustainability Officer, The Travel Corporation
• Dr Anna Spenceley – Consultant and Senior Research Fellow, University of Johannesburg
• Rebecca Armstrong – Head of Impact, The Travel Foundation

Together, they talked through how fast-paced itineraries and unchecked growth undermine sustainability, how public and private organisations can work together, and how slowing down can benefit sustainability and travel experiences.

Shannon says, “Market growth is the thing we avoid talking about. We simply can’t keep growing in this capacity.”

And it’s true. Endless growth is by definition unsustainable, but we keep pushing for it. Capacity limits must be acknowledged, and consumers have to be content with not “doing everything” when it comes to travel. We need to embrace the quality of our experiences over the quantity of them.

Rebecca brings it back to aviation, saying “Aviation emissions – it’s one of the biggest challenges the industry is facing, whose responsibility are they, their airlines, the destinations, the operators? Bringing these conversations together on this is vital, and something we’re currently exploring at The Travel Foundation.”

Addressing aviation emissions is a shared responsibility, and meaningful progress will only be made when all stakeholders (airlines, destinations, operators, and policymakers) can work together.

Dr Spenceley says, “I think we need to get to the place where sustainable and regenerative travel is the default.”

She believes that sustainability needs to be normalised, and not some extra or bougie addition to travel. Being anything other than sustainable should be seen as weird and socially engineered out of the mainstream, because sustainability just makes sense.

Nothing can grow and grow forever without eventually collapsing. We, as an industry and as travellers, have to embrace slow travel, accept limits to growth, and push for collective responsibility on aviation.

Do businesses underestimate the power they hold in their everyday decisions to shape a more sustainable tourism industry? That’s the theme Holly and Richard explored in episode 5: Community tourism. The guests for this discussion were Kelly Galaski, Head of Impact at Planeterra, and Manisha Pande, Founder and MD of Village Ways.

Together, they talked about how community tourism is measured, why sustainability must be more than a side project, and the collective responsibility required to create genuine, lasting impact.

The thing is – businesses have a lot of power when it comes to sustainability. Every supplier choice has an impact. As Kelly says, “Every decision they make with what they're buying, who they're working with, what they're building, where they're going, is having a major impact… There’s so much power there to do better and to do good.”

And that’s just it; sustainability isn't a “department”. It's the lens through which every operational choice should be viewed. Selecting suppliers, designing itineraries, each decision is an opportunity to embed positive change directly into the core of a business.

Manisha emphasises the need for action from all sides; “I always believe that it is important to take actions than only talking about sustainable travel… Everyone needs to contribute to this, if we don’t, I don’t believe we will reach sustainability.”

Her point is clear: talk is cheap. True progress hinges on a collective effort, with many actors doing their bit. Waiting for a perfect solution leads to inaction, but meaningful change is built from the cumulative effect of countless small, responsible decisions taken by businesses, communities, governments, and individuals.

Business choices have power and sustainability should guide every business decision. The industry must move from talking about responsibility to actively embedding it, recognising that no action is too small, and that collaboration is non-negotiable for achieving lasting good.

What do you think? Do you agree that these are the travel industry’s biggest elephants in the room? Let us know what you think of the podcast, or submit your pitch to appear on the show and have your say – contact itsajourney@gmail.com.

Hosted by Holly Tuppen, sustainable travel writer and expert, and Richard Hammond, Publishing Director of Green Traveller Media, It’s a Journey tackles the uncomfortable, complex, and often overlooked questions facing the travel industry.

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