Founders Message
Why NOW Matters for the Hospitality Industry
In the midst of the climate crisis, the hospitality industry is experiencing cataclysmic shifts. New attitudes are driving unprecedented behaviours. Consumers and employees expect companies to actively preserve the most important assets we have – people and nature.
The mass-tourism model is more than 60 years old and it hasn’t aged well. It’s producing diminishing returns for many hosts while treating communities and environments like resources to be exploited. Travellers themselves are viewed as targets.
For the sake of the planet as well as the industry we love, this can’t continue.
A Brighter Tomorrow
The good news is that things ARE changing. Many travellers now believe that brands bear as much responsibility for progress as governments. They seek out those that can demonstrate their positive impact with accountability and transparency.
One of the fastest growing sectors within hospitality is sustainable travel. Consumers – particularly millennials and Gen Z, now the biggest demographic in the industry – expect brands to be inclusive, diverse and take responsibility for their total impacts on the environment and communities where they operate..
A Call for Action
It is in the interests of all hospitality stakeholders to harness the power of principled business to further the UN Sustainable Development Goals. It’s also the right thing to do.
We may not be able to reverse the course of climate change within our lifetime but we can make a choice to boldly move towards change and build resilience now. If we tune out the distractions, listen to the science and refocus our minds to act, we will make a difference. The future is worth fighting for. Take action NOW.
In solidarity,
Onno and Alexa Poortier
Founders of NOW