Hanover, 15 June 2018

TUI Group publishes sustainability report: Scaling positive change through sustainable tourism

  • 2017 Progress Report marks mid-way point in the ambitious Better Holidays, Better World strategy
  • Hotels: Over 20 million “greener and fairer“ holidays delivered over the last three years1
  • TUI’s airlines: on average 24% more efficient than the six largest European airlines2
  • Cruise operations: delivered 5.5% reduction in CO2 emissions per cruise passenger night compared with 2015
  • 7.3 million Euros raised in 2017 to support good causes and enhance the positive impacts of tourism, using the TUI Care Foundation to support this work

TUI Group, the world’s leading integrated tourism group, today launched its 2017 Sustainability Report, highlighting progress against the Better Holidays, Better World strategy. The ambitious 2020 strategy is built around four core pillars where the company aims to create change at scale to advance sustainable tourism – in its own operations, through its value chain, customers and employees, and across the wider industry and beyond. With 2017 marking the mid-way point in the strategy, significant progress has already been made in the first three years.

In this report, TUI maps key initiatives to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. As well as managing the company’s impacts on the economy, society and environment, the Better Holidays, Better World strategy aims to share the benefits of tourism with local communities in the form of jobs and educational opportunities, while protecting human rights throughout the value chain. The TUI Care Foundation was established in 2016 as the central platform to enhance positive impacts of tourism in destinations.

Thomas Ellerbeck, Member of the Group Executive Committee and responsible for sustainability says, “Social and environmental sustainability are two sides of the same coin when it comes to our social responsibility. From the introduction of extremely carbon-efficient aircraft to hotels with recognised high environmental standards, from excursions characterised by their sustainability criteria to projects which facilitate vocational training for local youth in the growing tourism sector. TUI’s sustainability strategy ‘Better Holidays, Better World’ stands for a holistic approach to the challenges of more sustainable tourism, across the entire value chain of a holiday.”

Jane Ashton, Director Sustainable Development at TUI Group says, “As the world’s leading tourism business, TUI Group has a responsibility to advance sustainable tourism. Three years into our six year strategy, our goals remain challenging. But with the efforts of our colleagues and suppliers, and the fruitful collaborations we have embarked upon with destination partners and other experts, we are optimistic that we are on the right track to deliver better holidays for a better world.”

Sustainability achievements – Highlights from the 2017 progress report

TUI Group made notable progress during 2017, the midway point in its Better Holidays, Better World 2015 – 2020 strategy. Highlights from the strategy’s four core pillars include:

1. Step lightly – reducing environmental impact of holidays
TUI aims to operate Europe’s most carbon efficient airlines and reduce the carbon intensity of its operations by 10% by 2020.

  • TUI’s airlines receive global recognition – TUI Airways (UK) and TUI fly Germany ranked #1 and #3 most carbon-efficient airlines globally3
  • TUI’s airlines are on average 24% more carbon-efficient than the six largest European airlines2
  • The first of 72 new, more efficient Boeing 737 MAX were delivered in 2018. They emit up to 14% less CO2 than their predecessors
  • TUI’s cruise operations delivered 5.5% reduction in CO2 emissions per cruise passenger night compared with 2015

2. Make a difference – creating positive change for people and communities
TUI aims to deliver 10 million “greener and fairer“ holidays per year by 2020, enabling more local people to share in the benefits of tourism.

  • 8.3 million “greener and fairer“ holidays delivered (in hotels with a sustainability certification1) – over 20 million delivered over the last three years
  • 80% of hotels owned or managed by TUI Group had sustainability certifications
  • 1,024,000 TUI Collection excursions sold with sustainability at their heart (up by 31% year on year). They meet specific criteria for sustainability to enhance benefits to local people and protect the environment

3. Lead the way – pioneering sustainable tourism across the world
TUI will invest 10 million Euros per year by 2020 to enhance the positive impacts of tourism, using the TUI Care Foundation to support this work.

  • 7.3 million Euros raised in 2017 to support good causes and enhance the positive impacts of tourism, mainly through projects of the TUI Care Foundation
  • TUI Care Foundation launched strategic ambitions:
    • to improve the life chances of over 100,000 children and youth
    • to protect the welfare of over 1 million animals and participate in projects to save resources
    • to enhance 10,000 local livelihoods in destinations through tourism
  • The TUI Care Foundation project portfolio has expanded with new projects approved in 20 destinations, such as linking sustainable agriculture to tourism in Crete and protecting elephants in Thailand

4. Care more – building the best place the work
TUI aims to achieve a colleague engagement score of over 80 – aligning us with the top 25 global companies – by 2020.

  • In the annual employee survey TUIgether, the colleague engagement score was 77 in 2017
  • The leadership team should be as diverse as any other area of the company. An indicator of this is the proportion of women in management positions. At TUI Group, 34.1% of managerial positions (up from 29.4% in 2016) are female
  • Global 60 initiative launched to foster international career development. TUI Group promotes the development of international careers in the company and provides concrete support for employees and their families when their next career step leads abroad

1 “Greener and fairer“ holidays are defined as those that include a hotel with a credible sustainability certification recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)

2 Data from the six largest European airlines. Latest publicly available data, March 2018

3 2017 atmosfair Airline Index – an independent climate change organisation

About TUI Group

The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 19 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.  

Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.