The road to recovery has been a turbulent one for the entire travel industry, but this isn’t stopping Exodus Travels from doing its part to not only provide meaningful travel experiences but also better the planet at the same time. In this week’s Take 5, we sit down with Sasha Andrews, Industry Sales Director, to talk about everything from sustainability and biodiversity, to post-pandemic trends and perks for travel advisors.

Sasha Andrews

What kind of summer season have you been having?

Though definitely not without some turbulence, we’ve definitely seen a return in consumer confidence this summer. There’s a huge amount of pent-up demand and we’re finding that travellers are looking to make more of their return to travel with many seeking active, outdoor adventures after years of being cooped up at home.

What trends are you seeing for summer and beyond?

We’ve definitely seen an interest in last-minute travel, despite the hiccups we read about in the news. Exodus specializes in European travel and this has definitely been the hot destination this summer for travellers looking to take their first international trip coming out of the pandemic. Demand for self-guided trips has skyrocketed since the pandemic with clients looking to travel with friends and family, booking in small groups as a means to travel together independently. We’ve also seen a huge increase in demand for e-bikes as they provide a more accessible option for wannabe cyclists, opening up the feasibility of participating in a cycling trip for those who may not have considered it before. More and more we’re also finding that travellers and agent partners are looking to work with companies that travel in a sustainable and meaningful way as our industry re-emerges.

Exodus has announced its goal of becoming Nature Net Positive by 2024. Can you elaborate on what exactly this means?

In January 2020, we were one of the first travel companies to declare a climate emergency, publicly acknowledging our part in the climate crisis and our determination to be part of the solution. We’ve taken a big step further in our commitment to the natural world and we’ve set ourselves a goal to become Nature Net Positive by 2024. ‘Nature Net Positive’ means giving back to nature more than you take. As a business, we want to ensure that everything we do to create and run our trips not only reduces any negative impacts on natural ecosystems, but proactively seeks to support nature’s restoration and regeneration.

We’ll reach our goal through carbon compensation for all trip emissions and halving our footprint by 2030, rewilding 100 square metres of Italian Apennines per passenger, funding animal welfare projects, supporting vital conservation work through the Exodus Travels Foundation and enabling our travellers to become citizen scientists and contribute to the creation of the eBioAtlas to monitor biodiversity in different areas around the world.

Last year Exodus launched The Exodus Agent Collective, a new loyalty program for travel agents. How has membership been so far? And what do you want agents to know about it?

Our Agent Collective is an extension of the feeling you get on your Exodus trip – that small group of people, from different backgrounds or parts of the world, but all united by one thing: a shared love of unforgettable travel experiences. Agents will

join the Collective after their very first client booking with Exodus as an Agent Globetrotter. Globetrotters are entitled to a 50% agent discount on our small group tours. Once agents confirm their 30th passenger, they’ll unlock incredible additional benefits as an Agent Pioneer, including a 70% agent discount on all Exodus small group tours!

What’s in the pipeline for Exodus? What’s new?

We’re really excited about the recent launch of our brand-new collection of Premium Adventures. Almost 50 years of expertise went into handpicking premium accommodation, exceptional included experiences, and award-winning named expert guides to heighten your travellers adventure. Our top-selling Premium Adventure so far is our Kingdoms of Jordan tour that stays in a UFO camp in the Wadi Rum.

For more information go to https://www.exodustravels.com/.