My Story

My personal vegan journey began almost a decade ago when I was living in Thailand. Initially, I accidentally began to transition to a meat-free diet due to poor quality meat typically making up the menus of local restaurants and the dinner menu at the school where I taught English. It was around the same time that I adopted an adorable snow white bunny (also named Bunny). Rabbits are amongst the most abused species, and when I started working from home and spending my days with my new office bun, I quickly realised what an intelligent, emotional and conscious creature this little bunny was and once I made the connection, I never "disconnected" again.

Despite being led to believe that Thailand was a veg-friendly destination, I'd even heard that it was common practice to dedicate one day of the week to a meat-free diet, as part of the Buddhist religion. However, my experience of seeking out vegan options was not so smooth. Perhaps, in part due to the language barrier, even though I did learn the Thai vocabulary for "vegan". I had some pretty interesting experiences trying to obtain a vegan meal. An Italian themed restaurant in a Bangkok mall once spent 40 minutes bringing the same, dry dough pizza base with raw sliced mushrooms alone as topping, back and forth between the kitchen and my table, confused as to what else a vegan could eat. On another occasion, my “vegan” noodles had been laced with tiny shrimp because the chef had understood my request but decided that “a little bit was okay”, as she later clarified. Surprisingly, I was also made sick on multiple occasions whilst living in Ubud, Bali when servers would provide inaccurate information about their dairy-free menu items.

During the following years, I spent time living and working in English speaking countries such as Australia, Canada and England which fortunately for me, tend to boast the best vegan options and take food allergies and intolerances much more seriously in recent years. Easily accessible vegan food was something I had now become accustomed to and started to take for granted.

One of the first FAM trips I attended shortly after I became a luxury travel advisor in 2022 was to Italy, which simultaneously transported me straight back to my experience in Asia, feeling confused and frustrated every time I was offered food and drink, which of course was quite frequent in Italy. Luckily I had a host with me throughout the trip who would communicate with the kitchen. However, I did recognise how uncomfortable I felt due to my dietary restrictions, whilst servers whispered around me at the dinner table, or my meal came out at a separate time to the rest of my party. Not to mention, the lack of confidence I had in those serving me as plates would be put down in front of me, whisked away again and returned by servers as confused as I was. Veganism was not as globally recognised as I had come to believe it was.

Well, my travel niche was realised. I launched Conscious Luxury Travel Co to offer conscious travellers and particularly vegan travellers, stress-free vegan travel - I’d identify vegan-friendly options and if required, I’d work with suppliers to make it vegan, so the client didn’t have to. During conversations and communication with industry suppliers, I quickly realised that the term “vegan” wasn’t acknowledged or fully understood by a lot of people in a lot of places. Often when it was understood, the extent of it was a single menu item, usually the typical token plant-based burger, on an otherwise non-vegan menu. This was especially true in the luxury sector, regardless of wellness and sustainability focus.

I quickly realised that servicing my travel clients alone, wasn't going to be enough. Especially if I was going to be able to deliver that which I had promised. I also needed to work with suppliers, educating them about what vegan hospitality really means and ensuring they are equipped to deliver, instil confidence and exceed the expectations of their vegan guests.

Sustainability is a journey. Achieving full vegan status is too. Nobody expects you to start out perfect, but your efforts won’t go unnoticed. If you’re looking to improve or you don’t know where to start, I’d love to hear from you. I’ve developed a five point system to address the five key elements when it comes to veganising your business and educating your staff - be sure to download my free PDF guide to get you started. Additionally, if you’d like to book an online or in-person consultation, don’t hesitate to get in touch. When you’re ready to recognise your vegan guests, we’re here to help them recognise you!

Alternatively, if you’re already a vegan-friendly travel supplier, I’d love to connect with you on LinkedIn to learn more about what you have to offer my vegan travellers!

Consciously,

Gemma & Bunny

ABOUT ME

My Story

THE REASON

Why?

Sustainable

Responsible

Conscious

Have any questions?

If you have any questions about providing a vegan-friendly service to your guests, get in touch!