This month we interviewed Catherine Livesley about her company No Fly Travel Club and the beauty of travelling in a way that doesn’t cost the environment. 

Tell us a bit about yourself and your brand

Hi, I’m Catherine, founder & director of No Fly Travel Club. I’ve been lucky enough to work in travel throughout my career, and when the pandemic hit, I saw an opportunity to bring together my areas of passion - rail travel and responsible tourism. 

No Fly Travel Club curates sustainable rail trips for adventurous souls, trips that have a low environmental footprint, but a big positive impact on you and the places you visit. We are all about connecting guests with people and places, which is why all our trips include time and space in nature and a chance to from local people. 

What inspired you to create No Fly Travel Club and how has it evolved?

My first taste of travel was interrailing aged 19... and then I fell into a role at a rail tour operator after uni and it was love at first job. I moved on to work for one of the world's leading responsible tour operators, organising local experiences around the world. I learned so much about the good that tourism can do, but at the same time I was flying more and more for work, which didn’t sit well with me.

“In some ways the pandemic was the reset travel needed. I decided to start No Fly Travel Club to bring these elements together and use my experience for good”. 

Initially, we were only looking at creating overland trips for travellers. This is still a core part of our business, but I’m now exploring ways technology could help us diversify our product range to provide even more benefit for local people and guests. Virtual travel also allows us to connect with and invest in parts of the world which would be hard to get to by plane, let alone overland. 

Starting a business is challenging, even more so during a pandemic, what’s a challenge you have come across and how did you overcome it?

The most challenging aspect is probably not being able to get customer feedback as quickly as I would have liked. As it is, people are understandably nervous to commit money to travel under such uncertain circumstances. However, the response has been so overwhelmingly positive - travellers are already onboard with our offering - it’s just a matter of waiting patiently for confidence to return. In the mean-time I’d love people to give virtual travel experiences a try!

Going in the opposite direction… What has been the most rewarding?

The thing that is most rewarding and fun about starting this business is meeting and creating with diverse people all over the world who want to do good. We work directly with individuals and small businesses, both for our suppliers and our partners. Sometimes it makes things more complicated, but what you get from these relationships is a huge amount of shared passion and enthusiasm. People working in the sustainability and travel spaces are extremely dedicated and open to helping one another, which creates so many possibilities for inspiring collaborations. 

Looks like France and Spain are some of your new travel destinations. Can you speak more about why you chose those locations? 

We currently have trips exploring Mallorca, Tuscany and the Loire Valley in France - soon to be expanded! There’s a range of reasons to consider when we choose somewhere - how much sustainable infrastructure is available, our personal contacts in the region, how easy it is to get there overland, what it has to offer visitors and what positive impact we can leave.

What I love about these three regions is that they offer great access to nature, amazing sustainably sourced local produce and a real passion for supporting small, family-owned businesses. 

Have you seen any new trend or traveller behaviour emerge since and after lockdown? 

I certainly see a lot of nervousness about flying, both related to covid, and in terms of environmental concerns. After a year of isolation, people understandably don’t want to wrestle through airports.

There is also greater awareness of the wider climate crisis and the role that travel plays in it, thanks to the work of high-profile figures like David Attenborough and Greta Thunberg. I think people have started to understand that flying every 2 weeks is not a viable way to continue.

People have started to understand the complex nature of sustainability. We are starting to get that it’s not just “an aesthetic”, it is a whole network of issues and how they interconnect. It’s about social justice, economic security, inclusion, food waste, industrial farming, empowering women and people of colour... shedding entitlement and being conscious about our role in it all. That is a really exciting trend, because when people start to connect these dots, we can be hopeful of real, meaningful change in mindsets and behaviours. 

If you could add any destination in the world what would it be and why?

I would absolutely love to add parts of Siberia and Mongolia, accessed of course by the Trans-Siberian/Mongolian express. There’s something so exciting about being able to reach such remote parts of the world overland - travelling all the way from London is true bucket list territory!

We love sharing new things for everyone to discover! What would you recommend to others?

- Listen: Lemon Jelly - “Rambling Man”.

- Watch: Any/all of Anthony Bourdain's “Parts Unknown” series. 

- Read: Prisoners of Geography. 

Lastly, what advice would you give to people trying to travel more sustainably? 

1. Try an overland holiday for your next trip abroad.

2. Book with local companies directly, or with independent operators who will do so on your behalf. 

3. Book a tour or local guide on your next trip. 

Words by Jess Morgan