In June 2018, the TUI Care Foundation announced an ambitious international program for the protection of sea turtles in cooperation with local organization based on strategic turtle nesting areas in Cape Verde, Greece and Turkey. Two years later, the original target was substantially surpassed and the TUI Turtle Aid programme had already helped protect over 1.5 million turtles in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean seas. The programme combines a set of strategies which involve developing protected hatcheries to host turtle nests, launching awareness campaigns on turtle protection among holidaymakers, promoting educational projects for local communities, as well as satellite tracking to learn more about migration routes and habitats of sea turtles and the development of sustainable guidelines for local tour guides who offer turtle excursions in destinations.
While many turtles keep on travelling the world before coming back to the shores in which they will lay their eggs, lock-downs and movement restrictions imposed in countries worldwide to stop the spread of the Coronavirus have brought serious challenges to the work of many turtle conservation initiatives.
Therefore the TUI Care Foundation initiated a Christmas campaign in the last weeks and came up with a great gift idea: a turtle adoption certificate. Everybody who adopted a turtle before 15th December, will receive a festive email on Christmas eve. Then, when the baby turtle is born, the turtle parents will receive an adoption certificate by email and a picture of their new hatchling.
In total 258 turtles were adopted during the Christmas campaign.
Would you like to adopt a turtle as well? No problem. All information about this initiative can be found on the website of the TUI Care Foundation.