River Oaks Travel Wins Virtuoso Environmental Leader Award for Sustainability

As you may have noticed over the last year, our travel agency has prioritized a greater commitment to sustainable travel, both for leisure vacations and corporate trips. While we made this decision based on our own values as a company, we have been pleased with the positive responses we’ve received, particularly with our new Sustainable Corporate Travel Concierge program. That said, we are both excited and humbled to announce that last week we won the 2021 Environmental Leader award by Virtuoso for our efforts! The Virtuoso network is the best-of-the-best in the travel industry and is a major proponent of sustainable luxury travel, so to be recognized in this manner is a huge honor. Virtuoso’s advisors and preferred partners were asked to nominate individuals or organizations (like ours!) that were exceptionally supportive throughout the pandemic, resulting in nearly 500 submissions. We are proud and honored to have won this designation, and would also like to congratulate all of the nominees for their work in sustainability.

Our Sustainable Corporate Travel Concierge Program

The last year has taught us the importance of combining responsible tourism with sustainable practices, as we’ve seen environments bounce back from previous overtourism. While it’s become easier to partner with hotels and tour operators on sustainable vacations, we discovered a notable gap in sustainable travel offerings on the corporate end of luxury travel. After meeting with CEOs and consulting companies to discuss how to balance board meeting and incentive needs with ESG sustainability criteria, we launched our one-of-a-kind Sustainable Corporate Travel Concierge program. Through this effort, we have already helped multiple companies to plan carbon-neutral itineraries, arrange teambuilding activities that support local economies, and partner with eco-friendly hotels and resorts. Rather than just offering carbon-offsetting of flights, we are proud to have created a truly unique program that is more than just lip-service masking as sustainability.

Sustainable Travel as a Force for Good

Thankfully, we are not alone in our efforts to promote sustainable travel – many companies have taken advantage of this extended pause to establish smarter environmental practices and find ways to support local communities. We’d like to personally thank AlignESG for their sustainability insight, training, and partnership in providing ESG workshops to our Sustainable Corporate Travelers. We are also grateful to Jessica Hall Upchurch, Virtuoso Vice-Chair and Sustainability Strategist, for her spearheading of sustainable luxury travel on a global scale, who provided us with the original inspiration and drive to create more sustainable travel options for our clients.

Work with a Sustainable Travel Advisor

As travel restarts and you begin planning your next trip (whether a corporate retreat, family vacation, or anything in between), we hope you’ll consider working with our sustainable travel advisors to make a positive impact through travel! Whenever you’re ready, send us an email, give us a call, or fill out our contact form.