The U.S. Travel Association has launched the Sustainable Travel Coalition to advance the travel industry’s strategies for sustainability. The coalition has begun with almost 60 member entities from various sectors of travel, which include major DMOs, hotel groups, MICE venues, and industry organisations such as the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA). As an advisory body to inform U.S. Travel on sustainability issues, opportunities, and concerns within member entities, the coalition’s Policy Committee will help to further efforts by enabling regular collaboration. The Sustainable Travel Coalition’s imperative incorporates both domestic and international leisure travel, business travel, and meetings and events. It will focus on key points of each sector such as travel search and booking platforms, transportation, destinations, hotels, restaurants, meeting and event venues, cruises, sporting events and attractions and entertainment.
The goal
The coalition has stated that it aims to:
- Spotlight industry progress by showcasing technologies and the leadership of travel professionals in the sustainability space.
- Amplify industry goals and commitments to conservation, best practices, waste, and emission reductions, and both long and short-term investments.
- Highlight the importance of sustainability to travel’s future.
- Identify and promote proactive policies to help the industry achieve its goals.
- Defend against policies that slow progress toward sustainability goals or penalise the industry without progress.
U.S. Travel Association executive vice president of public affairs and policy, Tori Emerson Barnes, said: “As technology advances and consumers demand more sustainable travel options, the work of this coalition will ensure that the U.S. travel industry can meet the needs of an evolving market while also protecting our planet’s natural resources.” Barnes added that sustainability is an issue that extends beyond the travel industry to other areas of the U.S. economy. “By bringing together stakeholders across related industries, we are aligning leaders in travel, transportation, and technology on the critical issues that will affect their businesses for decades to come.”
Calling on Congress
To accelerate investment in sustainable travel, more than 100 travel industry organisations, both within and outside the Sustainable Travel Coalition, sent a letter to the US federal government to advance these priorities:
- A tax credit for the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF), such as those proposed in the Sustainable Skies Act.
- An enhanced tax credit to increase the availability of electric vehicle charging stations.
- An enhanced tax deduction to increase energy efficiency upgrades to commercial buildings including hotels, convention centres, and other event venues.
- Federal investments to protect and restore natural attractions including recreational waterways, shorelines, and national parks.
- Other clean energy incentives for investment in renewable energy deployment, green hydrogen, carbon capture and storage, direct air capture and other technologies to lower the carbon intensity of transportation fuels and the power grid.
In addition to the priorities detailed in the letter, the coalition has stated that it will identify and advocate for other like-kind issues in the coming months.
