New luxury agency attributes success to sustainable focus

The founder of a new luxury travel agency dedicated to “bespoke and mindful journeys” has attributed its success to a focus on responsible travel.

 

Abeona Travel Co founder Laura Molden said “growing demand” for purpose-driven travel had prompted her to set up her own business last October, having most recently worked on the legal team at trading firm Jump Trading LLC.

 

The London-based agency organises holidays with a focus on sustainability, community and conservation, offering authentic experiences “that go beyond typical tourist hotspots and the ordinary”.

 

Molden said her clients had been “open” to the sustainable travel options the agency specialises in, with particular demand for wildlife-focused trips, intergenerational holidays and honeymoons.

 

Speaking to Aspire, she said: “There’s an undeniable conflict between travel and supporting the environment, because flying isn’t good. A lot of the things involved in travel are quite undeniably bad for the environment.

 

“But people are doing it anyway, so if I can encourage them to go to places that benefit from tourism and aren’t overrun by it, or to support community projects when they’re there and teach them and guide them through the partners that I work with, then everybody wins.”

 

Molden said her first year in business had helped her hone in on her target market.

 

“I’m now much better at quickly ascertaining whether this is a relationship that I am going to bring value to and if this person is going to get value from me, and if it can work in a long-term sense,” she said.

 

“This is so important because I’m not a booking platform. There is quite a personal relationship that goes with it.”

 

Abeona Travel Co donates a minimum of £50 per booking to non-profit GiveDirectly, which provides support for people living in extreme poverty by allowing communities to decide how best to use the aid. Molden said she hoped to increase the amount the agency donates in the future.