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Countering sustainability excuses: Futouris and GCE develop new communication toolkit for the travel industry
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Tatjana PetersSustainability has long been a central topic in tourism, and many businesses and destinations are already working to become more sustainable. Yet as soon as the subject comes up, the objections follow. ‘Our customers don’t want that’, ‘Sustainable offers are too expensive’, ‘What difference can my contribution really make?’ or ‘Isn’t that just greenwashing?’ – staff at companies, hotels and destinations hear such objections, doubts and accusations on a regular basis, and many don’t know how to respond in the moment. Yet behind such statements there is usually uncertainty, habit, differing values or a perceived conflict of goals – and rarely fundamental rejection.
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This is precisely where a new project by the sustainability initiative Futouris and the communications agency Global Communication Experts (GCE) comes in. Together with partners über:morgen – Atelier für Zukunftsgestaltung and response & ability they are working, until the end of the year, on a practical toolkit combining analogue and digital elements as part of the project ‘Communicating sustainability convincingly – communication strategies for more sustainability in tourism’. The toolkit helps tourism staff communicate sustainability in a way that is easy to understand, motivating and tailored to their audience.
Sustainability communication starts with people
Findings from environmental psychology and behavioural research show that people respond differently to sustainability topics, depending on their motives, experiences, values and personal barriers. A response that sparks curiosity in one person may trigger resistance in another. The toolkit helps staff recognise what lies behind a statement and respond accordingly. It draws on environmental psychology research into barriers to sustainable behaviour, as well as analyses of typical delaying arguments used in the climate debate.
‘Sustainability communication has to reach people where their decisions are made. That’s why, in this project, we are combining insights from environmental psychology and behavioural research with the practical experience of those who have these conversations every day. The result is a set of practical communication tools that help staff respond to different perspectives and make sustainability tangible’, explains Tatjana Peters, Project Manager at Futouris.
At the heart of the project, therefore, is the development of a range of sustainability types. These are based on established psychological patterns, which the project applies to the tourism context. They are used to describe different motives, attitudes, barriers and communication needs. For each type, common objections and questions are identified and linked to evidence-based facts, communication levers and constructive ways of responding.
This results in a set of cards that gives staff quick, practical guidance for everyday use. Rather than responding to objections with generic arguments, they can respond more specifically to the perspective of the person they are talking to.
From sustainability question to the right answer
A particular innovation within the project is the development of an AI-powered quick-response generator. In future, this will help staff quickly categorise typical sustainability objections and access suitable communication and argumentation approaches.
‘In practice, sustainability often fails not because of a lack of willingness, but because of uncertainty, habit or a lack of the right points of connection in communication. As an agency that works daily with a wide range of stakeholders in tourism and hospitality, we repeatedly see how crucial it is to address people in a way that suits their target audience. Sustainability doesn’t just need to be implemented – it also needs to be communicated in a way that is understandable and credible’, says Dr Rainer Fornauf-Scholz, Global Communication Experts (GCE).
The typologies and communication tools developed in the project are designed to help view sustainability from different perspectives and keep conversations constructive. ‘Our aim is not to convince people with even more information, but to find the right points of connection for different target groups’, Fornauf-Scholz continues.
Practical testing and knowledge transfer to the industry
The materials are being tested and evaluated together with staff from the tourism industry. The insights gained in practice will then feed into the further development of the toolkit. Once the project has been completed, the results will be made available to all Futouris members and the wider industry via the Futouris Wissenswelt (Futouris knowledge platform).
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