Why your holiday is helping to make the world a better place

Community-focused excursions

Our excursions take you to some of the world’s best attractions, and are all about discovering unique cultures, and making amazing holiday memories. And, the best part is, while you’re having the time of your life, you’re giving back to the community and helping tourism thrive in the destinations. Our TUI Collection excursions bring benefits to local people and protect the environment while helping you learn about the local culture, experience traditions and taste delicious cuisine. You’ll see the TUI Collection symbol next to these unique excursions – they’re enjoyed by 846,000 holidaymakers every year, and include everything from craft making and wine tasting to exploring hidden hamlets and meeting the friendly locals.

If you’re fascinated by Mexican’s ancient Mayan culture, don’t miss the Coba Mayan Traditions excursion which takes you into the heart of the Mayan city of Coba. Here you’ll climb to the summit of the Great Pyramid of Coba, dine on Mexican cuisine and experience a traditional Mayan village ceremony – it’s the perfect culture-packed family day out. Or, if you’re Bulgaria bound, try the Hidden Bulgaria trip which includes a tour to a local village on a donkey-drawn cart, wine and brandy tasting, plus a traditional buffet lunch. There’s also the Taste and Traditions tour where you’ll get the chance to savour some of Bulgaria’s best honey. You’ll visit a bee farm, and then try freshly made local honey, mead and sweet honey brandy.

Locally-sourced ingredients

It’s all down to our commitment to sustainability. We collaborate with local communities and eco-friendly hotels to help keep the world a greener and fairer place, while we take you to loads of exciting destinations across the globe. TUI Group have been recognised as an industry leader in sustainable tourism, so we’re celebrating by letting you know five ways in which your holiday is helping the world…

Eco-friendly hotels

We’re committed to promoting hotels we know are operating in a greener and fairer way. Over 60% of the hotels that TUI and our partners have designed and developed for you. This helps improve how hotels manage their environmental and social impacts, like reducing their energy or water consumption, and ensuring they support local people, businesses and culture. The TUI BLUE Falesia in Portugal goes the extra mile when it comes to reducing waste. They’ve installed motion-sensor units to switch off air-conditioning and heating when no-one is in the room, and they repair broken furniture and recycle old clothes and uniforms. The Alion Beach hotel in Cyprus also makes a conscious effort to recycle, with glass bottles being sent back to suppliers and no aluminum cans being used. They’ve even installed an eco-friendly solar-powered system to heat the pools, too.

Carbon-efficient planes

We invest in the newest, most carbon-efficient planes and we’re proud to say that TUI Airways are offically Europe’s number one and number two most carbon-efficient airlines. Flying long-haul on a 787 Dreamliner plane is a great way to start your holiday – with the generous legroom, quieter engines, mood lighting, and extra oxygen to help you adjust to your new time zone and start your trip feeling refreshed. So now, you can be rest assured that your eco-friendly flight contributes to keeping the air cleaner while you fly. TUI Group aims to keep up the good work, and have committed to reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by a further 10% by 2020.

TUI care foundation projects

Helping local communities is another focus of the Foundation, and two tours in Jamaica now work with local industries. On the Montego Bay Experience tour, you’ll stop at the Harbour Street Craft Market to see artisans at work and purchase authentic handmade crafts, after the foundation worked with the Travel Foundation to help local traders develop better business skills alongside their considerable creative talents. And on the City and Culture excursion, you’ll be able to visit a Rastafari Indigenous Village, meet the community leaders, see the stunning natural scenery and get a real taste of authentic local life.

Ready to help make the world a better place?

Read more about sustainability here, or check out our best eco-friendly hotels.

Author: Selina Akhtar