1. Leverage Virtuoso’s role as a leader in the luxury travel industry:
As a leading global travel network, we have a responsibility to lead the way towards a more sustainable future for the travel and tourism industry.
To achieve this, we take the following key actions:
2. Amplify the voices, stories, and standards of the Virtuoso Network:
The Virtuoso Network is home to pioneers in the world of sustainable tourism. From community-focused tourism initiatives to investing in cutting-edge sustainable technologies to offering world-class, luxurious travel experiences with a low (or no) carbon footprint, and more.
We aim to recognize their commitment and achievements through the following key actions:
- Conduct the 2023 Virtuoso Sustainable Practices Study, measuring the network’s collective positive impact at a global and local level and establishing a baseline to track progress against.
- Evolve the Virtuoso Sustainable Tourism Leadership Awards to recognize three partners and two member agencies.
- Enhance Virtuoso.com features to make it easier for travel advisors and consumers to find and understand the sustainability work of Virtuoso Preferred Partners.
3. Engaging Virtuoso Preferred Partners and Member Agencies:
The Virtuoso Network comprises the best of the best. We believe that by collaborating with our preferred partners and member agencies, we can make advancements towards a more sustainable industry.
To achieve this, we take the following key actions:
- The Virtuoso Sustainability Community brings together over 250 Preferred Partners and 1200+ travel advisors with a shared passion for sustainable travel.
- We incorporate sustainability education and inspiration into Virtuoso’s events, including Virtuoso Travel Week, our flagship event with 5,000+ attendees.
- Professional development resources teach advisors the fundamentals of sustainable tourism and how to incorporate it into their business.
- The Virtuoso Sustainability Council, a by-invite-only group of leading travel executives, convenes annually to discuss sustainability trends, strategies, and solutions.
4. Educate and inspire consumers to choose more sustainable travel:
At Virtuoso, we believe that informed and empowered consumers are crucial to changing an industry. Our goal is to become the number one resource for travelers who care about sustainable travel. We aim to inspire people around the globe to have incredible, life-changing experiences while having a positive impact on the destinations they visit.
We work to educate and inspire consumers through the following key actions:
- Virtuoso, The Magazine, our flagship consumer publication, highlights all aspects of sustainable travel. Our award-winning editorial team reports stories on the positive impact of Virtuoso partners, advisors, and travelers on the ground.
- Virtuoso’s content hub for sustainability is a world-class consumer resource for sustainable travel stories, inspiration, and education on becoming a more responsible traveler, and help for finding a travel advisor who can plan sustainably-minded trips.
5. Reduce our footprint:
We acknowledge that our impact as a company matters, and we work to reduce our footprint on the world.
We are actively taking measures to reduce our environmental footprint through the following key actions:
- We maintain high sustainability standards for Virtuoso offices, including reducing single-use plastics, encouraging recycling, and other initiatives. Our hybrid work schedule also helps reduce emissions from staff commuting to and from offices.
- We are mindful of the impact of our events and choose event decor and dining options that align with our sustainability goals. We also strive to eliminate single-use plastics when possible. Event participants can support our efforts by opting out of event bags, bringing reusable water bottles, using the Virtuoso Events App instead of printed agendas, and more.
- We measure and mitigate our carbon footprint from staff travel to ensure we are accountable for our emissions and are taking steps to reduce them.
