The TV series providing a playbook for sustainable tourism marketing
Whether it’s getting the bus to Baku or taking the train to Tromsø, the BBC’s ‘Race Across The World’ shows that celebrating the emotional benefits of sustainable travel, over the environmental, is the key to mainstream adoption.
Written by Ryan Tym
Race Across the World is produced by the BBC. The production company is Studio Lambert.
This week marked the final instalment in the latest series of 'Race Across The World', the BBC's reality competition, in which teams of two race across an area of the world in a bid to be the fastest by any means other than air. Despite the competitive premise, it's a powerful advert for slower travel and the wider joys of sustainable tourism – yet it never labours the point.
It’s the TV show the travel industry needs right now. As DMOs and NTOs themselves race to balance ever-increasing revenue targets with strict sustainability goals, the series provides a playbook for marketing sustainability. And – spoiler alert – it doesn’t come from touting your ambition to be carbon neutral by 2050 or lauding the hundreds of kilometres of bike lanes you’ve just added to your cities. The reality is this isn't what excites the climate and community conscious traveller.
Lantern's Director, Ryan Tym, unpacks what the show can teach audiences about exploring the world responsibly – and what destinations can learn from pitching emotional benefits over environmental ones, to make sustainable tourism truly mainstream.
Going flight-free
One of the most sustainable aspects of the series is its commitment to being flight-free, yet the series never mentions the environmental impact of this. Instead, it focuses solely on the emotional. The entire premise of the show is built on the idea that by travelling over places, we don't experience the joys of going through them. By journeying across land and sea with only the budget of a one way flight in their pocket, contestants are given the chance to meet local people, experience new cultures and see parts of the world that are often inaccessible to tourists who fly. By skipping stories about carbon footprints or net zero targets, the series has the potential to engage a wider audience – celebrating contestants’ deeper connections to the places they visit and promoting responsible travel in a more engaging way.
Going off-the-beaten-path
Baku in Azerbaijan. Tashkent in Uzbekistan. Koh Rong in Cambodia. Puno in Peru. Pinhão in Portugal. These are some of the remarkable and relatively undiscovered destinations to have featured in past episodes of the show, as contestants race to reach some of the planet’s least known but most beautiful locations. In the latest celebrity edition, the teams visited locations including Bonifacio in Corsica, Sarajevo in Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Tromsø in Norway, showcasing the beauty of the road less travelled and the destinations often overlooked by tourists.
By heroing the lesser known, the show helps to promote sustainable travel, reducing the strain on more popular tourist destinations. But once again, rather than emphasising the environmental and social benefits of this approach to travel, the show focuses on the emotional benefits of quieter destinations – providing a closer connection to local cultures and communities.
Going off-season
If you can't travel off the beaten path, then the next best way to move with minimal impact is to hit the road in the off season, or shoulder season. With global temperatures on the increase, it also provides respite from the heat that has plagued the likes of Europe and North America this year. The latest – celebrity edition – of the show took place through Europe’s autumn and winter seasons – an often overlooked time to travel. Fewer crowds mean it's easier to get around, while supporting local economies outside the summer season benefits communities and better balances the impact of tourism by spreading revenue more sustainably, across the year.
Living like a local
The show's contestants are told to ditch their phones and their bank cards at the start of the race. With only cash and conversation to get them where they need to go, the set up encourages participants to engage with local life – from living like a local to literally living with locals, in a bid to make their budget stretch further and deliver soul-searching stories for the series.
But beyond momentary interactions, contestants work in local businesses, serving meals in Morrocco and cleaning out stables in Switzerland, in order to support their travels. The result showcases a great way to learn about local culture whilst contributing to the local economy. It's an approach that's amplified through the series’ focus on independent hotels, restaurants, and local transport networks.
Staying independent
One of the easiest ways to engage with destinations in a more responsible way is to choose the independent option over the chain. From hotels to coffee houses, these establishments ensure profits are invested at a community, rather than corporate level. Once again, the series shows us how it's done. As contestant race towards the checkpoint at the end of each episode, there’s not a Hilton, Martiott or Intercontinental in sight.
Instead, stages always end at small, independent hotels. Typically, these hotels are in unique locations or with remarkable experiences on site, showcasing the joy of travel that larger chains can't replicate at scale. Investing in the independent option is a great way to support small businesses and promote the local economy. Typically, these places are more likely to use local products and services, and are more likely to be involved in the local community.
Promote emotional benefits over environmental
Destinations are facing a serious challenge when it comes to promoting sustainable tourism. For too long, their approach has been driven by a national policy on sustainability – from net zero goals to car-free streets. But these aren’t the drivers that motivate travellers, and with every nation saying the same thing, how do you stand out? What ‘Race Across The World’ shows us is that by focusing on the emotional benefits of sustainable travel – the experiences and stories over the targets and strategies, we can engage a wider audience and collectively power a more positive industry.