TUI Travel is involved in hundreds of projects all designed to improve livelihoods of local people, many in collaboration with The Travel Foundation (view Stakeholder Engagement page). In addition, our Group Sustainable Development Survey (view Data and Materiality page for details) last year indicated that 87% of our businesses support charitable programmes, the majority in destinations.
Goal: TUI Travel, along with partners in our destinations, will have made measurable improvements to local livelihoods and environmental protection in those destinations.
This workstream focuses on initiating programmes and policies which help us understand and address issues relating to the wider environmental, social and economic impact of tourism. The landscape, biodiversity, wildlife, beaches and marine life, together with thriving enterprises and communities, are part and parcel of the quality of our customers’ holiday experience. Looking after them therefore makes good business sense.
Tourism’s indirect economic impacts – food supplies, skills training, hotel furnishings, construction, crafts and so on – are believed to outweigh its direct impacts (ref 1). A specific challenge for us is to gain a better understanding of the socio-economic impacts of our own business in developing destinations, particularly in relation to the growing all-inclusive holiday market. To address other tourism ‘hot topics’, we have developed a common policy across the Group on animal welfare in excursion locations and are working on a Groupwide policy on child protection in tourist areas.
Our colleagues have a history of supporting local charities and community organisations in destinations. We have developed a Groupwide charity policy and guidelines to ensure transparency in our charitable activities and to enable us to report annually on TUI Travel’s charitable giving. The guidelines are designed to help our businesses identify a charity partner and manage the relationship to bring the greatest benefits to both the charity and our business.
| Workstream objective | Performance indicators | Targets for 2008/09 |
| Support destination initiatives to stimulate increased local involvement in tourism supply chain. | Evidence that local livelihoods have been enhanced by TUI Travel’s destination initiatives (no data available for 2007/08). Funds raised for destination charities by TUI Travel businesses (no Group data available for 2007/08 – view TUI UK & Ireland total). | Communicate opportunities for taking part in current projects across TUI Travel business and generate increased support. Finalise and communicate Groupwide charity policy (see below). |
| Implement the principles of the Child-Protection Code across TUI Travel businesses. | TUI Travel businesses implementing the principles of the Child-Protection Code (no data available for 2007/08). | Set carbon reduction target Develop policy and guidance for the protection of children in tourist areas. |
| Improve captive animal welfare in excursion venues used by TUI Travel. | TUI Travel businesses implementing animal welfare guidelines (no data available for 2007/08). | Develop captive animal welfare guidelines and communicate to key contacts. |
| Increase economic benefits to local communities in TUI Travel flagship all-inclusive properties. | Flagship hotel properties with measures in place (no data available for 2007/08). | Initiate a project to measure and improve the socio-economic impact of TUI Travel hotels. |
| Influence improvements in the sustainable management of key destinations. | Evidence of improvements made. | Pilot destination audits to better understand specific sustainability issues in key destinations. |
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