ASTA Announces Green Program
ASTA announced its ASTA Green Member Program this week which is designed to educate travel agents on how to work with green travel suppliers to offer their customers sustainable vacations, how to market their services as a green travel professional and how to green their agency's operations by reducing, reusing and recycling - and working with green vendors of supplies and services.
Travelport, the industry conglomerate that owns Galileo and Worldspan and a piece of Orbitz, is the first official Global Sponsor of the ASTA Green Program, while Avis Budget is the car rental sponsor, the Society announced.
The Green Member Program is open to all categories of ASTA members and costs $49.
ASTA listed the following benefits for travel agents participating in the program:
- Position your travel agency as a friend of the environment;
- Learn about the needs of the green travel market;
- Promotion of your green commitment to consumers;
- Save time by having clear criteria on how to measure a green supplier;
- Receive a checklist for determining what suppliers to work with;
- Stay abreast of the latest environmental travel initiatives;
- Use the ASTA Green logo on your Web site and promotional literature;
- Receive a special listing as a green travel agent on ASTA's consumer Web site.
Once Green Members, both agents and suppliers, comply with standards set forth in the program, they will have access to the ASTA Green Member logo, and travel agents will be listed as "green" professionals on travelsense.org, the ASTA consumer Web site.
ASTA president and CEO Cheryl Hudak, who owns Travel Dimensions in the Youngstown, OH, area, said at a press conference in New York today that agencies can begin greening their businesses by starting with small items.
For instance, sales agents at her agency now use their own mugs for water and not Styrofoam cups. They keep the thermostat at one setting and shut off printers at the close of business. The agency continues to use both sides of fax paper as it has for years. Hudak noted that these steps cost nothing to implement and can lead to reductions in operating costs.
Travelport president and CEO Jeff Clark said that in addition to his personal commitment to being green, his company is committed to greening the travel industry because travel has a high profile and is often the first to be cited for its impact on the environment.
Travel agents have to be educated about their customers' concerns on the environment if the industry is to continue to grow, he said.
Travelport's Carbon Tracker, announced last week, allows agents to show their customers the carbon impact of their trips as part of the sustainable travel policies that their companies may have, said Clark. He added that Travelport intends to make its Carbon Tracker technology available to other GDSs.
Source: TravelTrade