Designer Travel team hail 'transformative' sustainability training push

The homeworking agency, which was among the big winners at the 2024 Top 50 Travel Agencies by TTG ceremony last week, has teamed up with Kiwano Tourism co-founder Rebecca Woolford to put 50 consultants and other members of head office staff through the training.

The training was specifically designed to tap into the team’s personal passions, skills and talents, and inspire them to put their existing knowledge and experiences to good use when it comes promoting and selling more sustainable holiday options.

Spanning online learning, knowledge tests and practical tasks, topics ranged from recognising signs of greenwashing and climate injustice to addressing tourism leakage and "rethinking" tourism through the eyes of tourism dependent communities, as well as questioning forms of wildlife tourism.

Designer Travel managing director Karen Pocock said the aim of the training was to help the team advise and educate customers about their sustainable travel options.

"We want to work with suppliers that put sustainability right at the heart of their agenda, allowing us to develop partnerships that make tourism a force for good," said Pocock. “Rebecca’s support has allowed the team to get the most out of the training and experience. Everyone who participated has been impressed with the content."

Designer Travel said the core aim of the programme was to "liberate and empower" its team to understand more about what they can do to make a difference and "ask the questions that need to be asked" as part of a wider mission to "reimagine and reset" tourism for local people, places and nature.