One Planet Journey – Inspirational Sustainable Travel

Do you have a feeling you’ve come across One Planet before? You might have. One Planet Journey is the second coming of my work with the travel sector and sustainability. In 2017 I started One Planet Rating, a sustainable travel rating platform with inspirational content on sustainable tourism. Users (travellers) rated hotels, restaurants, attractions and transport on environmental, social and cultural factors. With great appreciation from users and the industry, the platform featured in Vagabond magazine, Lonely Planet and other media. Selected as one of Europe’s most promising travel startups by Booking.com in an annual accelerator, the platform grew, attracting well over 30 staff and burgeoning partnerships with billion-dollar companies in the hospitality sector. Then came the pandemic, which saw an end to the company as travel more or less collapsed for two years.

However, the adventure and mission didn’t end there.

My wife, Maral, and I decided to spend the winter in the Mediterranean 2022-2023, a five-month journey through the south of Europe with extended stays in Lisbon, Marbella, Nice and Sorrento. The joy of travelling aside, what hit home was how wonderful the off-season is and what a difference a longer stay implies. Fewer crowds, more time to connect with the local community, reduced stress and more mindful exploration. The stark contrast to peak season travel, where you do an intense 1-2 week extravaganza, made us determined to repeat it.

The journey reminded me of the importance of the original vision with One Planet Rating. Said and done. I distilled the experience and knowledge from a decades-long career with sustainability and returned to my passion for travel. One Planet comes reborn in a new setting, One Planet Journey, with the aim to inspire, educate and advise travellers, destinations and businesses to accelerate the transition to a deeper form of travel.

You can follow Maral and me through the online magazine, One Planet Journey as we travel and live around the world, bringing you fantastic food, wine/spirits, art, nature and deluxe travel experiences with a focus on storytelling. Expect feature articles, interviews with leading brands, the people behind it, and great tips for deep travel, which reflect the values we associate with travel – personalised, exclusive, frictionless, and in harmony with sustainability. In other words, a luxurious experience. Check out out the following interviews as a start;

Baharash Bagherian, Director & Founder of Baharash Architecture, which has been the lead designer for phase 2 of Dubai’s Sustainable City.

Mauro Mazzei Braschi, co-founder of the non-profit organisation Associazione per la Difesa dell’Isola di Pianosa. In English, the Association for the defense of the Pianosa Island, a previously off-limits island in the Tuscan archipelago.

For clarification, the magazine is not a place for negativity or inducing shame for flying. On the contrary, we are firm believers in positive examples to show the way forward, step by step. For instance, highlighting the advancements within the transport sector makes more sense than scolding people for wanting to enrich their lives or take a well-deserved and guilt-free holiday.

One Planet Journey believes the path to sustainability goes hand in hand with reduced volume at the destination level, as over-tourism is the bane of many hotspots worldwide. From personal experiences to the daily barrage of negative news concerning outpriced locals, disrespectful behaviour, environmental degradation, and damage to sites of historical and cultural significance, the situation is clear. The current tourism model needs an intervention. Throughout the magazine, you can find articles on sustainable travel, slow travel and the off-season, and how to spot authenticity amidst all the greenwashing.

In addition, we work through seminars and advisory services to make sustainable travel more accessible to tourism brands and destinations. For more, see Services.

I leave you with a reading suggestion and destination tip. 2023 is shaping up to be a banner year for Stockholm, with many must-see anniversaries. Read 3 reasons why Stockholm should be on the sustainable travel itinerary in 2023 on what not to miss in the buzzing Swedish capital.

Welcome to One Planet Journey. Travel well.

Do you have a suggestion for a place you want to highlight? Leave a comment below. Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter and benefit from travel tips, interviews and inspirational examples of deep travel and sustainable tourism coming your way.