It's a Journey - a sustainable travel podcast

Can luxury travel be sustainable?

Episode 10: Paying it forward: Can luxury travel be sustainable? Sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lemongrass⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/] Holly and Richard discuss whether luxury tourism and hospitality can be sustainable with guests Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner, Director of The Long Run, Geetie Singh-Watson, founder of The Bull Inn, and Lucy Cleland Co-founder and Editorial Director of Country & Town House. In this episode, we unpack: * Whether luxury and sustainability are inherently in conflict or collaboration. * The tension between independent, values-driven businesses and large corporate groups, and whether demand is leaning back toward smaller operators. * A shift in luxury away from status and materialism toward connection, learning, nature, and meaningful experiences, with sustainability embedded as a baseline expectation. * How sustainability can enhance a guest experience by offering unique, in-depth, and authentic activities and moments that go beyond traditional “luxury” expectations. * How businesses can clearly communicate their values and be willing to say no to unsustainable demands. * Busting the myth sustainability is expensive; in reality, it’s often about mindset, operational changes, and efficiency, which can increase profitability. Quotes from our guests: Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner “Sustainability is not expensive. It’s a mindset and a way of operating.” “Sometimes it’s important to say no… just because people are paying guests doesn’t mean they need to be served everything.” Lucy Cleland “Luxury now is connection, time, and coming away feeling enriched.” “It has to feel joyful… if it’s really hard, people are just going to say, ‘I can’t do it,’ and then you’ve lost them.” Geetie Singh Watson “What I’m trying to do is demonstrate that they can still have their beautiful, delicious, luxurious lifestyle, but can have a much, much lighter footprint.” “The consumer has the power to change the planet overnight through how we spend our money.” Find out more about our guests in this episode: Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner [https://www.linkedin.com/in/anne-kathrin-zschiegner-a5595515/] Geetie Singh-Watson [https://www.bullinntotnes.co.uk/story] Lucy Cleland [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lucy-cleland/] Some useful links to things mentioned in the show: * The Long Run members Nikoi Island [https://www.thelongrun.org/ger-members/nikoi-island] and Sala’s Camp [https://www.thelongrun.org/accommodation-site-members/salas-camp] were both mentioned as examples of employee training to communicate sustainability decisions. * Read 10 ways sustainability can benefit your hospitality business [https://www.thelongrun.org/stories/top-10-ways-sustainability-can-benefit-your-hospitality-business], according to The Long Run. * Find out more about Geetie’s businesses The Bull Inn [http://www.bullinntotnes.co.uk/], Albatross Totnes [http://www.albatrosstotnes.co.uk], Baddaford Collective [https://www.baddaford.co.uk/]. * In 2025, The Bull Inn launched the UK’s first regenerative hospitality course. Find out more about it here [https://www.bullinntotnes.co.uk/nobull-learning] * Country & Town House Future Icon Awards are running for the third year with nominations for 2027 now open. Find out more here [https://www.countryandtownhouse.com/future-icons/]. * In 2024, Country & Town House were one of the first magazines to publish sustainability guidelines for writers. And helpful links from our sponsors, Lemongrass: * Communicating Impact: Why It Matters for Travel Brands and 10 Ways to Communicate It Effectively⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2] * ⁠Economic Leakage In Tourism: What Is It, And What Can Travel Brands Do About It?⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/economic-leakage-in-tourism] * ⁠Our Impact Report – and 6 top tips for doing your own⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/our-impact-report-and-6-top-tips-for-doing-your-own] * ⁠Overtourism: A Wicked Problem in Need of New Solutions⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/overtourism-a-problem-in-need-of-new-solutions] * ⁠How we are reducing our Carbon Emissions with Carbon Budgets⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/how-we-are-reducing-our-carbon-emissions-with-carbon-budgets] ⁠5 things we learnt from Carbon Literacy training and how it can help your travel business [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/5-things-we-learnt-from-carbon-literacy-training] == It’s a Journey is a ground-breaking podcast series hosted by Richard Hammond, Publisher of Green Traveller Media and Holly Tuppen, sustainable travel writer and expert. Sponsored by Lemongrass, it tackles the uncomfortable, complex, and often overlooked questions facing the travel industry as it strives to have a better impact on people and places. Thanks for listening! Please submit any questions or comments to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com] Get in touch about opportunities at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourney.fm⁠ [https://www.itsajourney.fm/]

Nature Positive Tourism

Episode 9: Nature Positive Tourism –  Long-term plan or short-term jargon? Sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lemongrass⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/] Holly and Richard discuss how tourism can support biodiversity and nature regeneration and whether the term nature positive tourism is jargon or a long-term plan for the industry with guests Kasia Morgan, Head of Sustainability for Exodus Adventure Travels, and Frans Schepers, Founder and Chief Executive of Rewilding Europe. In this episode, we unpack: * The term nature positive tourism - what it is, and whether the approach leads to genuine action. * How tour operators can drive meaningful action for nature by identifying the right partners. * Why Rewilding Europe is using nature tourism to support the rewilding of landscapes across Europe. * How Exodus’ nature strategy and approach has evolved. * How tourists and travellers can get involved in the restoration of nature on holiday. * How we can measure our impact on nature as an industry and as individual companies. Quotes from our guests: “At Rewilding Europe, we actually use the term rewilding tourism to better describe what we stand for. that is moving away from minimizing harm to actually actively contributing to restoring ecosystems… moving away from observing static nature to witnessing its recovery." - Frans Schepers. “The tourism industry is uniquely placed to support that global goal to halt and reverse biodiversity loss… through getting involved, emotional engagement, and helping people play an active role.” - Kasia Morgan “We work in 11 big landscapes across Europe and that number is growing. In these places we want to build a local nature-based or nature-positive economy, where there's a new narrative moving away from traditional land uses — agriculture, forestry and hunting — to a narrative where local economies build on natural features and natural capital. Of course tourism plays an important role.” – Frans Schepers. “I think it's tempting to try and find an area in which we can easily quantify.But I think it's also our role to not risk undermining or oversimplifying the importance of the work (nature restoration) and also making sure that a distinction can be drawn between something that might look good at surface level and that is genuinely really effective and focused on the right thing.” – Kasia Morgan Find out more about our guests in this episode: Frans Schepers [https://nl.linkedin.com/in/frans-schepers-48762018] Kasia Morgan [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kasia-morgan/] Some useful links to things mentioned in the show: Read about Exodus Adventure Travels’ commitment to nature here. [https://www.exodus.co.uk/sustainability/thriving-nature]  Find out about Exodus’ citizen science partnership with iNaturalist, launched Jan 2026, here [https://www.adventuretravelnews.com/exodus-adventure-travels-announces-partnership-with-inaturalist-to-extend-its-citizen-science-program].  How Rewilding Europe is helping nature-based tourism to thrive. Read more here [https://rewildingeurope.com/news/rewilding-europe-is-helping-nature-based-businesses-to-thrive/] Launch of Wilder Places [https://rewildingeurope.com/news/wilder-places-goes-live-find-your-wild-through-our-new-travel-platform/], Rewilding Europe’s travel booking platform wilderplaces.com Wildlife Watching in the Apennines with Exodus and Rewilding Apennines. Read the article here [https://www.wanderlustmagazine.com/inspiration/wildlife-watching-in-the-apennines-italy/]  And helpful links from our sponsors, Lemongrass: Communicating Impact: Why It Matters for Travel Brands and 10 Ways to Communicate It Effectively [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2] Economic Leakage In Tourism: What Is It, And What Can Travel Brands Do About It? [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/economic-leakage-in-tourism] Our Impact Report – and 6 top tips for doing your own [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/our-impact-report-and-6-top-tips-for-doing-your-own] Overtourism: A Wicked Problem in Need of New Solutions [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/overtourism-a-problem-in-need-of-new-solutions] How we are reducing our Carbon Emissions with Carbon Budgets [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/how-we-are-reducing-our-carbon-emissions-with-carbon-budgets] 5 things we learnt from Carbon Literacy training and how it can help your travel business [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/5-things-we-learnt-from-carbon-literacy-training] == It’s a Journey is a ground-breaking podcast series hosted by Richard Hammond, Publishing Director of Green Traveller Media and Holly Tuppen, sustainable travel writer and expert. Sponsored by Lemongrass, it tackles the uncomfortable, complex, and often overlooked questions facing the travel industry as it strives to have a better impact on people and places. Thanks for listening! Please submit any questions or comments to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com] Get in touch about opportunities at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourney.fm⁠ [https://www.itsajourney.fm/]

Certification

Episode 8: Certification – Labels, labels everywhere: To certify, or not to certify?  Sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lemongrass⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/] Holly and Richard discuss certification, what it is, whether there are too many labels, and whether it’s worth the investment with expert guests Rochelle Turner, Head of Impact EMEA, Intrepid Travel and Kees Jan Boonen, Head of Policy and Government Affairs, Travalyst.  In this episode, we unpack: * How EU regulation will soon impact all travel certifications  * Whether certification is worth the investment, and whether they are affordable for SMEs  * The pros and cons of certification  * How the industry could make the certification landscape easier for consumers to navigate   * What’s next for the industry and certifications  Quotes from our guests:  Rochelle Turner, “We have big issues in our industry and I think certification is a way that can help companies go on a journey that will make them better. It's not the only way, but it is a way. And if it is done with an independent third party verification that has very strict environmental and social standards that look holistically at what an organization is doing, then I think, yes, think certification can be a way to help companies move towards greater sustainability.” Kees Jan Boonen, “If you talk to travellers, they would like to travel more sustainably. They see a role for certifications here. But a couple of conditions that need to be met. It needs to be clear, needs to be consistent, and it needs to be credible.” Rochelle Turner, “Sometimes (certification) does require a little bit of a shake up and asking yourself some hard questions along the way.” Kees Jan Boonen, “Incoming legislation is setting conditions for the certification schemes to be compliant to install trust. What it does not look at is to what extent certification has maximum impact. So, I think that's a different question and perhaps a next step for us as an industry.” Find out more about our guests in this episode: Kees Jan Boonen on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/manisha-pande-65092415/%E2%81%A0] Rochelle Turner on LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/rochelle-turner-19749ab/] Some useful links to things mentioned in the show: The Empowering Consumers Directive [https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Empowering+Consumers+Directive&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&ved=2ahUKEwjj1J6vlpWRAxXpXUEAHU3gIX0QgK4QegYIAQgAEAM], also known as the Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition [https://sustainablefutures.linklaters.com/post/102lrex/directive-on-empowering-consumers-for-the-green-transition-implementation-in-sel], is a new EU law [https://joelsonlaw.com/news/eu-directive-on-empowering-consumers-for-the-green-transition/] that came into force in March 2024, with an application date of September 27, 2026. Rochelle authored this report on how being a B Corp has helped Intrepid: Our B Corp Certification Report | Intrepid Travel EU [https://www.intrepidtravel.com/eu/download-our-b-corp-certification-report] The second iteration of Travalyst’s certification benchmarking was released at the end of Jan 2026. You can read a press release here [https://travalyst.org/news/travalyst-initiative-to-drive-industry-wide-clarity-on-sustainability-certifications-ahead-of-the-eu-empowering-consumers-directive/] and more information on Travalyst here [https://travalyst.org/work/certifications-initiative/].  Read more about Booking.com’s stats and latest opinion on certifications here [https://news.booking.com/bookingcom-launches-the-next-phase-of-its-sustainability-program-for-accommodation-partners/].  Follow for more: ⁠⁠⁠Holly Tuppen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-tuppen-29b68b21/⁠] ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Hammond⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardgehammond/] And helpful information from our sponsors, ⁠⁠⁠Lemongrass PR⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemongrass-travel-pr/⁠]: * ⁠⁠Communicating Impact: Why It Matters for Travel Brands and 10 Ways to Communicate It Effectively⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2] * ⁠⁠Economic Leakage In Tourism: What Is It, And What Can Travel Brands Do About It?⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/economic-leakage-in-tourism] * ⁠⁠Our Impact Report – and 6 top tips for doing your own⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/our-impact-report-and-6-top-tips-for-doing-your-own] * ⁠⁠Overtourism: A Wicked Problem in Need of New Solutions⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/overtourism-a-problem-in-need-of-new-solutions] * ⁠⁠How we are reducing our Carbon Emissions with Carbon Budgets⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/how-we-are-reducing-our-carbon-emissions-with-carbon-budgets] * ⁠⁠5 things we learnt from Carbon Literacy training and how it can help your travel business⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/5-things-we-learnt-from-carbon-literacy-training] == It’s a Journey is a ground-breaking podcast series hosted by Richard Hammond, Publishing Director of Green Traveller Media and Holly Tuppen, sustainable travel writer and expert. Sponsored by Lemongrass, it tackles the uncomfortable, complex, and often overlooked questions facing the travel industry as it strives to have a better impact on people and places. Thanks for listening! Please submit any questions or comments to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com] Get in touch about opportunities at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourney.fm⁠ [https://www.itsajourney.fm/]

Lemongrass Insights

Episode 8: It's a Journey podcast sponsor Lemongrass shares insights on the travel trends shaping 2026 A one-off episode where Holly and Richard hear from our sponsor Lemongrass about some of the relevant work it's doing in sustainable travel, including a recent trend report for 2026. Guests are Lemongrass’s founder and CEO Miriam Peternek McCartney and Senior Director of Digital Strategy Tara Schwenk. Lemongrass's Annual Travel Trends Report 2026 [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/about-us/trend-report] Other relevant links from Lemongrass: Communicating Impact: Why It Matters for Travel Brands and 10 Ways to Communicate It Effectively⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2] Economic Leakage In Tourism: What Is It, And What Can Travel Brands Do About It?⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/economic-leakage-in-tourism] ⁠Overtourism: A Wicked Problem in Need of New Solutions⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/overtourism-a-problem-in-need-of-new-solutions] ⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2]⁠⁠⁠Our Impact Report – and 6 top tips for doing your own⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/our-impact-report-and-6-top-tips-for-doing-your-own] How we are reducing our Carbon Emissions with Carbon Budgets⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/how-we-are-reducing-our-carbon-emissions-with-carbon-budgets] 5 things we learnt from Carbon Literacy training and how it can help your travel business⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/5-things-we-learnt-from-carbon-literacy-training] Follow for more: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Hammond⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardgehammond/] ⁠⁠⁠⁠Holly Tuppen⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-tuppen-29b68b21/⁠] == It’s a Journey is a ground-breaking podcast series hosted by Richard Hammond, Publishing Director of Green Traveller Media and Holly Tuppen, sustainable travel writer and expert. Sponsored by Lemongrass, it tackles the uncomfortable, complex, and often overlooked questions facing the travel industry as it strives to have a better impact on people and places. Thanks for listening! Please submit any questions or comments to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com] Get in touch about opportunities at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourney.fm⁠⁠ [https://www.itsajourney.fm/]

Carbon Talks

Episode 7: Carbon Talks – Is measuring your carbon emissions a worthwhile investment? Sponsored by ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Lemongrass⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/] Holly and Richard discuss the benefits, challenges and opportunities for measuring carbon emissions with guests Paul Easto, Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer, Wilderness Group, Nadine Pinto, Head of Sustainability, Touring for The Travel Corporation, and a special appearance from Charlie Cotton, founder of ecollective.  In this latest episode, we unpack: * Why travel businesses measure their carbon emissions and whether it leads to action * How different businesses approach carbon measurement and pros and cons of those approaches * What the investment is in measuring carbon and whether it's worth it * Whether consumers care about carbon stats * Common mistakes the travel industry makes and how to avoid them * A comparison in carbon between a holiday in Scotland and cruise in Antarctica “It is very complicated and everyone's measuring different things at different paces. It's not always apples to apples. So I think that's something we need to work on as an industry to be able to make sure that we can compare.” Nadine Pinto “The frustration for us is how hard it is to actually influence change. But that's where I think it's great the work that Travel Corporation and others are doing. That's what we need to see across the industry… high level of collaboration that allows the supply chain to move on.” Paul Easto “It's not a matter of my calculator measures this, or mine's better than that. But I think it's just making sure that we're transparent on our methodology and our transparency is shared across the industry so that we can make progress.” Nadine Pinto Find out more about our guests in this episode: Paul Easto, Founder and Chief Sustainability Officer, Wilderness Group [https://www.linkedin.com/in/eastopaul/] Nadine Pinto, Head of Sustainability, Touring for The Travel Corporation [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nadinepinto/] Charlie Cotton, Founder, ecollective [https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlie-cotton1989/] Some useful links to things mentioned in the show: Wilderness’ open source methodology [https://www.wildernessscotland.com/wp-content/uploads/WG-Carbon-Emissions-Framework-Methodology.pdf⁠] which anyone can access Ballynahinch Hotel [https://www.ballynahinch-castle.com/en/sustainability⁠ ]with a carbon emissions performance 85% better than the standard emission factors for a 5* hotel in Ireland The Travel Corporation’s Partner Resource Hub [PARTNER SUSTAINABILITY HUB - HWTR⁠] A video [ ⁠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fjs0zp1H60⁠] on what Travalyst is trying to achieve with its Data Hub And helpful links from our sponsors, Lemongrass: * Communicating Impact: Why It Matters for Travel Brands and 10 Ways to Communicate It Effectively [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2] * Economic Leakage In Tourism: What Is It, And What Can Travel Brands Do About It? [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/economic-leakage-in-tourism] * Our Impact Report – and 6 top tips for doing your own [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/our-impact-report-and-6-top-tips-for-doing-your-own] * Overtourism: A Wicked Problem in Need of New Solutions [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/overtourism-a-problem-in-need-of-new-solutions] * How we are reducing our Carbon Emissions with Carbon Budgets [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/how-we-are-reducing-our-carbon-emissions-with-carbon-budgets] * 5 things we learnt from Carbon Literacy training and how it can help your travel business [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/5-things-we-learnt-from-carbon-literacy-training] Follow for more: ⁠⁠Holly Tuppen⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/holly-tuppen-29b68b21/⁠] ⁠⁠⁠⁠Richard Hammond⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/richardgehammond/] And helpful information from our sponsors, ⁠⁠Lemongrass PR⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [https://www.linkedin.com/company/lemongrass-travel-pr/⁠]: * ⁠Communicating Impact: Why It Matters for Travel Brands and 10 Ways to Communicate It Effectively⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/communicating-impact-why-it-matters-2] * ⁠Economic Leakage In Tourism: What Is It, And What Can Travel Brands Do About It?⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/economic-leakage-in-tourism] * ⁠Our Impact Report – and 6 top tips for doing your own⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/our-impact-report-and-6-top-tips-for-doing-your-own] * ⁠Overtourism: A Wicked Problem in Need of New Solutions⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/overtourism-a-problem-in-need-of-new-solutions] * ⁠How we are reducing our Carbon Emissions with Carbon Budgets⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/how-we-are-reducing-our-carbon-emissions-with-carbon-budgets] * ⁠5 things we learnt from Carbon Literacy training and how it can help your travel business⁠ [https://www.lemongrassmarketing.com/insights/5-things-we-learnt-from-carbon-literacy-training] == It’s a Journey is a ground-breaking podcast series hosted by Richard Hammond, Publishing Director of Green Traveller Media and Holly Tuppen, sustainable travel writer and expert. Sponsored by Lemongrass, it tackles the uncomfortable, complex, and often overlooked questions facing the travel industry as it strives to have a better impact on people and places. Thanks for listening! Please submit any questions or comments to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ [itsajourneypodcast@gmail.com] Get in touch about opportunities at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠itsajourney.fm⁠ [https://www.itsajourney.fm/]