Australia’s leading resort representation company, World Resorts of Distinction (WRD), has created an industry-first conscious travel checklist that empowers travellers to make more informed booking decisions.
CEO, Tess Willcox, said the checklist takes into consideration the impact resorts have on their local environment, community and culture.
“Travellers have recently undergone a shift in consciousness and are much more aware of the effect of their explorations,” she explained. “They’re seeking travel experiences that allow them to see the world without negatively impacting communities and ecosystems.”
“Our checklist is designed to simplify this process by identifying resorts that operate responsibly and highlighting the steps they’re taking to do so.”
To be deemed ‘conscious’ by WRD – and to be part of the company’s carefully-curated portfolio – resorts must tick at least 50% of the boxes in the checklist.
“Inspired by our ocean-loving friend and muse, Lex Weinstein, who created a similar conscious checklist for fashion brands, this initiative represents a fundamental business pillar for WRD, as it allows us to work exclusively with like-minded resorts that share our philosophy,” Tess said.
“We strive to represent resorts that share a common passion for providing revolutionary hospitality, rooted in environmental awareness and local culture, and we’re proud of the constant efforts they make to not only improve their environmental practices, but also to educate guests about how they can travel more sustainability,” she said.
“Regardless of their ‘conscious score’, we’re continually working with them to improve their practices… because we believe wholeheartedly that the planet deserves perfection.”
Travel agents with environmentally-savvy customers can download the respective conscious travel checklist for each property in WRD’s portfolio from the exclusive Agent Portal on the company’s website. Travellers and resorts outside of WRD’s portfolio are encouraged to download a copy of the checklist from the WRD website for their own purposes.
This initiative comes off the back of WRD last week launching its ‘Travel for Trees’ program, which will see the environmentally-minded team plant a tree at a local site for every Antipodean booking registered at a WRD property.
