Hotels and resorts have a duty to educate their guests, staff and locals on issues of sustainability, conservation and the local environment, according to a panel of travel sustainability experts.

Eleni Andreadis, director of sustainability at Sani Resort, said brands should work to integrate their sustainability efforts into the total guest experience to actively get clients involved and raise awareness of the challenges faced.

“The big challenge that we need to rise to is to not just have sustainability as something that someone who reads your sustainability report would understand, but to have it as part of the total guest experience,” she said.

Among its sustainable initiatives, Sani Resort has partnered with the Hellenic Ornithological Society to protect the local biodiversity in the neighbouring Sani Wetlands, where over half of the bird species in Greece reside.

The property organises complimentary guided eco-tours of the Wetlands for both guests and the local community, as well as explorer programmes to the beach and forest for younger guests.

Speaking at a Future of Sustainability in Travel webinar, she added: “Guests are definitely wanting more of all of these experiences and we're seeing an increased interest in this.

“What we're trying to do with the Wetlands project, and with all the projects that we have, is involve the guests as much as we can. Guests are becoming much more discerning and educated about who they choose to stay with and who they choose to give their money to and that's the way it should be.”

In Africa, education is key to raising vital conservation awareness and securing funding, according to Wilderness Safaris.

The safari specialist works with non-profit partner Children in the Wilderness to educate children from rural communities about local wildlife areas. 

Around 3,300 children across seven countries currently participate in a weekly eco-club, while 8,000 children have attended the organisation's annual five-day camp over the years. 

“We know from a number of studies that we've run that the single biggest predictor of people being supportive of conservation and of our industry is education and the understanding that comes with that, so education really is a pillar of what we do in the impact space,” said Dr Neil Midlane, sustainability manager at Wilderness Safaris.

“In terms of our guests getting involved, a number of our camps are located quite close to villages where we have very active programmes going. We take people on trips into the villages and we have a very strong cultural tourism ethics charter within the business so we’re very sensitive in terms of how we do that. But it's hugely popular with guests and almost inevitably results in them giving more financial support into the programme as well.”

Ivaylo Lefterov, development director at Svart - a yet-to-be-opened sustainable hotel in Norway - agreed, adding that guest engagement had been a huge consideration for the brand during development.

When it opens, Svart will be fully carbon neutral and plastic free, producing its own energy, recycling its waste stores and investing in green farming. 

Importantly, the hotel will feature a Community Education Centre and Design Lab to educate guests on the how such initiatives work.

“For us it's key to educate and engage every guest that comes here on how important preserving the Polar Circle region is to the rest of the planet,” he said.

“What we would like to do at the Design Lab is test new technological products but also use the building as a concierge for the guests, so the guests can interact with it at any given time to understand how things are working, how the food is produced and so on.

“The goal is to educate our clients, whereby we engage with the guests on how to be more sustainable besides the resort and what we're doing, but the type of food they eat, how they complete their journeys and how they exercise in their own self environment.” 

Sean Moriarty, chief executive of Portuguese golfing resort Quinta do Lago, said he had also noticed a shift in perception regarding sustainability among his client base, but believed an intuitive approach was required.

“I think it's becoming more and more top of mind as we're bringing [guests] on this education journey but we don't bombard them with it,” he said.

“We get stuff done and then we talk about it. The majority of our residents here know that we’re trying to go 100% reusable water for our golf courses over the next two years and the feedback has been very good.”