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Hosted by business breakfast Tip gives his views on the trade, sustainability and company culture. Robin Searle reports


‘Sustainability needs to be key part of strategy’


Bruce Poon Tip said he was encouraged to see an increasing number of big businesses embracing sustainability, but said there was still work to be done to ensure the subject formed a key part of their strategies.


He said: “There is a philosophy


that the tourism industry can be a ‘higher good’, and I believe that for our industry to be successful, business models have to change. “Travel and tourism will soon account for 10% of global GDP, but there has to be greater wealth distribution. People are going to the 40 poorest countries in the world, but very little of that money is staying in those countries.” He added: “We [G Adventures]


are at the extreme end of the sustainability scale, but we are not going to have a real impact until we can get the big global companies to act. “A company such as Hilton is doing amazing work and Marriott


“We are not going to have a real impact until we can get the big global companies to act”


is catching up, and it is great that Carnival Corporation is also thinking about how to run their business sustainably.” G Adventures has outlined its


own commitment to sustainability with business guidelines created in relation to indigenous tourism and animal and child welfare. It also set up the non-profit


Planeterra Foundation in 2003 to encourage social enterprises in key tourism markets through funding, training and provision of customer bases. Poon Tip said: “We formed


Planeterra as we found we were clashing with the NGOs (non-governmental organisations) we worked with and found their


POON TIP: ‘Planeterra experiences are integrated into 92% of tours’


approach to be at odds with us as a nimble entrepreneurial organisation. “Initially it was highly


controversial, as there was a perception that we might be trying to fool customers by creating a non-profit [company], but it is now firmly established.” He added: “In our first 10 to 12 years we helped create 50


Visiting crisis-hit countries is ‘fine line’


Poon Tip admitted there was a “fine line” to consider when weighing up how to approach destinations affected by natural disasters, political unrest or terrorism. But he insisted travel companies could play


a key role in ensuring destinations developed sustainable tourism strategies that delivered genuine benefits for communities. G Adventures has advised the Colombian and Haitian governments on tourism strategy, and has also played a key role in supporting rebuilding efforts in countries such as Nepal.


“It’s a fine line making those decisions,” said


Poon Tip. “When the tsunami struck in Asia, it was important to clear the area as it would have been a distraction to stay, but in Nepal we believed it was better to continue [after the 2015 earthquake] as it would have created a ‘double hit’ to tourism.” “You have to approach each case differently.


In Egypt we have stayed in the whole time, whereas in Turkey we pulled out for six months and are pushing to get back in as soon as we can.”


social enterprise projects, and in 2015 we made our ‘50 in five’ commitment to create 50 new projects before 2020. “A Planeterra experience is now


integrated into 92% of our tours and we are aiming to make that 100% if we can overcome some of the barriers in European countries that aren’t as engaged with social enterprise projects.”


NEPAL: GAdventures stayed post-earthquake 24 May 2018 travelweekly.co.uk 63


PICTURE: ISTOCK


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