Cat Jones has never owned a car, but it's not stopped her from traveling. Since growing up traveling by chain ferry to see her grandparents on the English coast, Cat has always found that a route close to the earth – whether by bike, bus, train or ferry – allows the journey to unfold from the get-go. ‘It's like putting travel back into travel again,’ she says. ‘It's the experience of traveling as part of your holiday. When you get out of the door, you're on holiday.’

But, in the age of budget airlines and busy schedules, not many people go this route. Crossing borders, sorting timetables and coordinating different modes of travel in an unfamiliar language is intimidating. Cat's friends would often ask her to share her flight-free itineraries, hoping to tap into these adventures and have a more sustainable holiday along the way.

Now, she's the founder of Byway, a flight-free tour operator. Users can either choose from pre-planned itineraries (like ‘vegan Tuscany’) or they can input interests, budget and time to get a bespoke travel package. The company, which is a B corp (a certification achieved by meeting certain social, environmental and legal standards), works only with locally owned and operated accommodation and avoids major tourist destinations in favor of less-visited (but still exciting) areas.

Prepare for departure

She's not the only one thinking this way. While flight-free travel has always been possible, changing mindsets and this summer's unique travel conditions mean that the industry could finally be taking off: 36% of travelers plan to fly less to reduce their carbon footprint. And there's a new wave of flight-free travel companies to meet demand. No Fly Travel Club curates rail-only travel across Europe. Tour agency Responsible Travel just launched a bucket-list-worthy round-the-world trip using cargo ships and trains, while Midnight Trains is reimagining the sleeper train as a hotel on wheels to draw people away from short-haul flights.

That said, there's a big gap between wanting to travel differently and actually doing it. Knowledge and cost are the biggest factors – more than a third of travelers say that they don't know how to make their travel more sustainable, with a similar number saying that they can't afford the extra expense. Budget airlines have made it easier to impulsively book a trip – an easy sell in the year of ‘revenge travel’.

But the bigger picture is changing. The pandemic slowed things down and pushed people to think more creatively when it comes to holidays. It also led to a dearth in staffing at airports and airlines, leading to this summer's exceptionally miserable delays, cancellations, lost luggage and long waits just to get into terminals. This, in combination with a growing belief in the importance of sustainable travel, could create a new customer base.

Tech off the tarmac

Beyond the mindset change, Cat says that pricing innovations such as the Eurail Pass – a set-price ticket that allows for travel across 33 European countries for a couple of months – and advances in journey-planning technology, with new businesses like Rome2rio, have made it far easier for businesses like hers to link these trips together. It's also helped offer more budget options.

What's more, Cat believes that businesses like Byway have the chance to open up people's eyes to the priceless journey that they're missing when they take to the sky.

‘The idea is: if there's a beautiful train line along the coast, you can get off your train and take a little island ferry and you're going to see whales [from] the boat,’ she explains. ‘That's a really gorgeous experience.’

This story has been adapted from our new guide, 100 Ways to Make a Living – on sale now!

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Perpetual purpose trusts (PPT) are an increasingly popular option for companies that want to force themselves to do good. These non-charitable trusts exist for the benefit of a purpose (eg, sustainability, profit sharing or hiring formerly incarcerated workers) – rather than only producing profit.

Owners or shareholders of a company give shares to a trust that has veto rights over any decisions. The aims of the business can then be written into the terms of the trust. Aims might include preventing the future sale of the company or ensuring that profits are given to charity. The trust is managed by stewards (employees and stakeholders), whose role is to help the company uphold its values.

Why?

According to Danish studies, foundation-owned companies have a survival rate that's three times higher than other companies. These businesses promote long-term decision-making and are more profitable in the short, medium and long term. On top of that, customers trust these businesses more and employees tend to work there for longer. This form of steward ownership also allows for more flexibility than becoming a non-profit.

How?

Non-profit organizations like Purpose can help you set up one of these trusts. Although it depends on the size of the business, Purpose could charge up to $30,000 to set up the trust.

Who?