Group items tagged

There is increasing recognition among both travel professionals and consumers of the importance of responsible travel and "strong evidence" that responsible travel is good for the economic bottom line, according to analysis by Center for Responsible Travel.

Carnival Corporation & plc (NYSE/LSE: CCL; NYSE: CUK), the world's largest travel and leisure company, today launched a new brand called fathom™, defining a new travel category it is calling "social impact travel," that will offer consumers authentic, meaningful impact travel experiences to work alongside locals as they tackle community needs

China's largest online travel agency, began selling haze travel insurance to compensate domestic tourists that spend time in major cities affected by smog. Travelers will be able to file claims if they spend at least 2 days in cities with high smog levels.

Sixty percent of recreational travelers view themselves as "sustainable travelers," according to new research, with young and wealthy travelers especially likely to weigh environmental factors when planning trips. Still, almost two-thirds of eco-travelers say they're skeptical about brands' sustainability claims.

At the World Travel & Tourism Council 2015 Global Summit in Madrid this week, the NGO Sustainable Travel International unveiled an industry-wide campaign entitled "10 Million Better," to monitor and scale up social and environmental benefits from travel and tourism

Tourists are increasingly being guided by sustainability when making travel decisions, according to a recent report. "They want to go to a place where they think companies are taking care of their business and the environment," says Barbra Anderson, founding partner of consulting firm Destination Better.

The travel and tourism industry needs to put sustainability at the forefront of everything it does and businesses need to lead by example - that's the message from David Scowsill, CEO & president of the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC).

The travel and tourism industry needs to put sustainability at the forefront of everything it does and businesses need to lead by example - that's the message from David Scowsill, CEO & president of the World Travel & Tourism Council. Scowsill asked leading sustainable tourism businesses to play their part in ensuring that the industry's ethics are raised to the highest order.

Hotel chains and casinos are adding low-energy lighting to guest rooms, putting solar panels on roofs and using hotel limousines powered by compressed natural gas, but these sustainable practices could be bolstered by the use of third-party standards that measure hotels against one another, writes Marc Gunther. "[I]ndustry executives cite three reasons why they have begun to take action on the sustainability front: to save money, attract and motivate their employees, and respond to demand from business and leisure travelers," Gunther writes

Guests at Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas' properties can further their education in sustainability and local ecosystems through a new program called Earth Lab. Workshops and videos will further the company's noted commitment to wellness and environmental care.

From its 100 rooftop solar panels to its high-efficiency faucets and its energy-generating elevators, the Proximity Hotel in Greensboro, N.C., stakes its claim to being America's greenest hotel. The refurbished textile warehouse holds the LEED Platinum rating, which is the US Green Building Council's highest distinction.

Unregulated carbon pollution from aviation is the fastest-growing source of the greenhouse gas emissions driving global climate change. In fact, if the entire aviation sector were a country, it would be one of the top 10 carbon-polluting nations on the planet. The good news is that we now have a process in place to curb international aviation's skyrocketing emissions. For the first time ever, the United Nations' civil aviation body agreed last week to put a cap on the emissions for an international sector rather than a country. International aviation already accounts for over 2% of global carbon emissions. But this number will soar as demand for air travel continues to rises. In 2010, the aviation industry carried 2.4 billion passengers; in 2050, the number is forecast to rise to 16 billion.

Leisure travel company Carnival Corporation has installed Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems on 60 ships to cut sulfur emissions across its global fleet. The company has invested $400 million toward the effort to date and plans to install the systems on more than 85 vessels across its fleet through 2020.

In Burkina Faso, in West Africa, deforestation has reduced income and livelihoods. Simple steps have helped families deal with the loss of trees and brought their farms back to life. Green Treasure of the Sahel travels with one family as they go on a journey of discovery across the country to find out how they too can bring life back to their land.

UPS will accelerate the implementation of its ORION routing system to reduce the distance traveled by its drivers by around 100 million miles annually. The routing improvements are projected to reduce fleet CO2 emissions by 100,000 metric tons, fuel consumption by 10 million gallons, and save the company more than $300 million annually when completed in 2016.

Carnival UK says tighter sulfur emissions rules for ships may mean fewer cruises in northern Europe. The cruise company's CEO David Dingle told Travel Weekly that Carnival brands P&O Cruises and Cunard Line have already planned a 28 percent cut in Baltic and Norway cruises between 2013 and 2015.

The Silk Leaf, by RCA graduate Julian Melchiorri, is the first manmade material that can perform photosynthesis. It has huge implications for science and technology and it could also make long-distance space travel a possibility.

Truly committed companies have shortened their supply chains and focused on domestic sourcing. Bon Appétit is a great example. Their Fish to Fork program goes beyond a purchase commitment on paper to getting in the trenches to source fish that meets their corporate values. That means buying fish that is low on the trophic scale, meets their definition of "local" (both in the number of miles out to sea and across land that fish travels) and favors small boat operators.

At a time when travel brands are finding each dollar harder to come by, cause marketing can be a cost-effective way for companies to differentiate themselves, writes Todd Wilson. "Taking the time and spending the effort to make cause marketing a cornerstone of your strategy is a good bet to drive your revenue during the holiday season and beyond," he writes.

Four years after launching its corporate responsibility strategy, Travel with Purpose, Hilton Worldwide says its investments in global partnerships and sustainability programs is not only driving positive social impact, but also supporting long-term business success. Hilton discusses its strategy and provides updates on its global impact in its fourth annual corporate responsibility report.