Skift Take
We're at the beginning of a period of long-term change toward more sustainable business practices from members of the global travel industry. Executives who take a proactive approach will be rewarded for not just being ahead of the curve but doing the right thing.
Overtourism, flight shaming, climate strikes, and global warming are each major issues with serious ramifications for the global travel sector. Until recently, though, industry leaders haven't had much to say about their efforts to change the status quo.
At Skift Global Forum in New York City last Wednesday and Thursday, travel's top executives expressed concerns with overtourism and the environmental impact of travel but did little to offer alternative visions to limit the damage to the environment and communities around the world.
The theme of the event was travel's responsibility to the world, and on that subject, executives clearly showed they have a ton of work to do to create positive, lasting change.
The leaders of the biggest online travel agencies, for instance, talked up the importance of travel growing more sustainably while demurring on what exactly they would change going forward.
"We can't demonize the greatness of travel... but we need to make sure travelers know there are other places to go besides the popular places," said Expedia Group CEO Mark Okerstrom.
According to Okerstrom, an important role for intermediaries is to help convince customers they don't need to travel to the most popular places. By
