The U.S. Travel Association (USTA) this week announced the launch of its new Sustainable Travel Coalition, which aims to align the travel, transportation and technology sectors in developing and advancing strategies to enable a more sustainable U.S. travel industry.
Nearly 60 member organizations are on board at launch, enabling the Sustainable Travel Coalition to serve as an advisory body to inform U.S. Travel and the travel industry overall on sustainability issues, opportunities and concerns within member organizations and destinations.
The coalition will spotlight industry progress and call attention to the ongoing actions and leadership of travel professionals in the sustainability space, amplify industry goals and commitments to conservation, including best practices, highlight why sustainability matters, play offense by identifying and promoting proactive policies, and defend against harmful policies that slow progress toward sustainability goals or penalize the industry without progress.
“Seeing the world and saving the world should not be mutually exclusive,” said Tori Emerson Barnes, U.S. Travel Association executive vice president of public affairs and policy, “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.”
To accelerate investment in sustainable travel, more than 100 travel industry organizations, including many members of the Sustainable Travel Coalition, are calling on the U.S. government to provide tax credits, enhanced tax deductions and other incentives to encourage clean energy in transportation.
