Data published in TUI’s latest sustainability report shows that with the help of its hotel partners it’s achieved its goal of growing the number of customers staying in sustainably certified hotels by 84 per cent.
TUI´s Better Holidays, Better World sustainability strategy was rolled out in 2015, and the business set itself the ambitious target of delivering 10 million ‘greener and fairer’ holidays per year by 2020. A “greener and fairer” TUI holiday, is a stay at a hotel which has achieved a credible independent sustainability certification.
The difference between 43 million customers going on holiday for a week staying at a sustainably certified hotel verse a non-certified hotels would amount to the equivalent annual CO2 emissions of 144,000 cars, the annual energy needs of 108,000 households, the water volume of 10,600 Olympic-sized swimming pools – and a volume of waste that would require 15,700 waste trucks to transport.
Working with its partners was key to achieving this goal. Dedicated sustainable accommodation specialists engaged hotel partners on the benefits of sustainability certification and supported them through the process. An extensive programme was also rolled out across TUI Group Purchasing team to train purchasers on sustainability requirements for hoteliers, so they were able to effectively support partners through the process. In addition, TUI promoted and participated in destination roadshows to guide hotels on the benefits of sustainability certification, partnering with Travelife for many of these.
Helen Caron Group Purchasing Director said: “We would like to thank all of our partners who have supported us in achieving this target, by ensuring their hotels are sustainably certified. As an industry leader it’s important that we take responsibility, set standards in sustainability and scale them globally. Hotels are the driving force for improving TUI´s sustainability performance in destinations and without the hard work and commitment from our hotel partners, we would not have been able to deliver this. There is still more to do and we look forward to continuing our sustainability journey with our colleagues.”
TUI encourages all hotels offered to its 27 million customers to obtain certification that meet the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standard.
Over the years many labels have been developed to help hotels manage sustainability. To make things clearer, the GSTC has set a standard for all certifications. The criteria are organised around four main themes: effective sustainability planning, maximising social and economic benefits for the local community, enhancing cultural heritage, and reducing negative impacts to the environment.
To ensure high standards, TUI prioritises certifications aligned with the GSTC. Currently over 30 standards have achieved GSTC recognition or accreditation status, such as Green Globe, EarthCheck, Rainforest Alliance standard for tourism operations and Travelife. TUI is a strong advocate of the Travelife sustainability certification scheme.
