Last week during ConnecTALKS: Delivering a Positive Impact in Luxury Travel, Connections’ sustainability advisor and co-founder of Positive Luxury, Diana Verde Nieto, presented the simple steps and actions that Connections Community members can take to implement more sustainable practices into their luxury travel businesses.
Diana discussed the premise of Positive Luxury, the importance behind its mission to help transform the luxury travel industry and how to better communicate your own sustainability efforts to HNW clients.
Similar to the initial mission of Positive Luxury, on of Diana’s goal for this ConnecTALKS session was to assist attending members shape a sustainable future for luxury business by redefining their initial business model and rebuilding consumer trust.
Throughout this session, attendees were able to identify the processes by which they need to put in place to ensure responsible travel to their client base as well as the elements needed to better educate their clients on sustainable travel efforts.
While explaining how sustainability is one of the most prominent trends at the forefront of luxury client decision-making in 2022, she said, “the travel industry is set for an unbelievable experience this year.”
Since Positive Luxury is known to accredit sustainable businesses with the butterfly mark, which helps identify their efforts and measures towards sustainability, Diana also went through how one should go about officially accrediting their business as a sustainable brand beginning with:
- Assessment of business model
- Certification of business model sustainability
- Trust-Building amongst clients
- Future-Proofing your business
During the breakout rooms, attendees had the opportunity to meet in smaller groups to discuss the questions on applying sustainable practices in luxury travel. In response to, Director of Biodiversity by Design, Dr. Mike Wells said, “The luxury tourism industry needs to educate its clients to the fact that restorative environmentally positive tourism is the way forward for the luxury sector.”
He continued, “Clients need to be able to see the tangible results of surcharges for the environment and local communities so that can see the progress on repeat visits (or online). We need to create a state of competition for being more socio-environmentally positive, not just less negative. Being net positive is so much more exciting and galvanising than being a ‘bit less negative.’
Growing up in Argentina, Diana realised her passion for humanitarian work and how much building a sustainable future meant to her. Now, she has dedicated her life to the betterment and improvement of how luxury presents and impacts our world.
“I think I knew about the fragility of our planet a long time ago. This is my vocation, not my job.”
Watch this full ConnecTALKS session here. You can get in touch with Diana via the Connections Community platform or via email at diana@positiveluxury.com.
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