Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators' Contribution

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1. Integrating Sustainability into the Business tive’s training programme and a Sustainable Tourism site is being built on the company’s intranet. • Overseas destinations: An environmental checklist of overseas accommodation suppliers has been piloted and is due to be rolled out over the course of 2003 to all priority bed stock suppliers. First Choice also participated actively in projects in destinations – i.e. in the Gambia, to help identify how tour operators and local enterprises could work more closely to mutual benefit, and in Cyprus, to develop an excursion that benefits local communities, the environment, customers and tour operators. Benefits Anticipated long-term benefits of this strategy include: • Environmental protection of the company’s core product (beaches, seawater, landscapes, etc.); • Improved relations with and benefits to destination stakeholders; • Business practices aligned with investor and consumer expectations; • Attraction and retention of talented employees; • Lower operating costs due to more efficient operating practices; and • Reduced regulatory intervention. Comments One year after the development of the Sustainable Tourism policy, First Choice is receiving increased interest from both internal and external stakeholders in its sustainable tourism activities. Work is now underway to develop a formal stakeholder engagement plan to support two-way communication on sustainability issues. Involvement in sustainable development issues has helped First Choice play an active role in the recent launch of the UK's Travel Foundation, an independent charity that will fund sustainable tourism projects and which the company will support by facilitating a customer levy on package holidays sold from Autumn 2003 onwards. 20 Box 1: First Choice UK & Ireland – Sustainable Tourism Vision & Policy Vision Enable people to explore and enjoy the world without harming it. Policy We recognise that the environment, the communities and cultures within which we operate and our relationships with key groups and individuals are vital to the success of our business. We therefore commit in the long term to: • Minimising the direct environmental impact of our operations and being proactively involved in activities and projects that work to protect and restore the natural environment. • Working with customers, employees, shareholders, suppliers, industry partners, local communities, and other relevant interested parties, to understand and respect their needs and also supporting them in delivering our commitments. • Using the collective influence of the First Choice Group responsibly to create momentum to make tourism more sustainable. • Being open, honest and realistic about our environmental and social impacts, targets and achievements in the context of our business objectives. In support of the above we will work to: • Engage First Choice employees and gain their commitment to action, by raising awareness and understanding of sustainable tourism and the benefits of addressing it. • Promote fair working conditions throughout our own business and our supply chain. • Comply with all relevant legislation, act in advance of it where possible and keep pace with best practice. • Review current business practices and ensure plans are in place to embed the company’s sustainable tourism vision. • Deliver long-term strategic benefits and shareholder value by maximising the synergies that sustainable development provides. Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators’ Contribution
1.3 Hotelplan: Environmental Reporting Description of Good Practice The Hotelplan Swiss Group, a Swiss tour operator that offers mainly outbound package tours and guided tours, published an environmental report illustrating the actions the company has taken in different operational areas to improve its environmental performance. After the company’s first environmental report was released in 1998, Hotelplan decided to produce a public report on its environmental activities, taking into account the Global Reporting Initiative’s Sustainability Reporting Guidelines and Performance Indicators. The environmental report is divided into two main sections: statements, which includes the company policy statement and letters signed by the CEO, the Delegate of the Board of Directors of Environmental Affairs and the Manager of Corporate Ecology, and descriptions of activities taken in four key action areas – product management and development, internal management, supply chain management and cooperation with destinations. Additional information includes the company’s goals for 2004 (see Box 1), key financial figures, a glossary and a statement of support by another tour operator. Among the activities described in the 2001/2002 report are: • Product Management and Development: This section includes the results of a study to assess the overall impact of Hotelplan’s holiday packages to Tenerife and Crete and a report on the company’s efforts to better understand the ecological conditions of its destinations. • Internal Management: This section includes the results of an analysis of environmental impacts generated at the company’s headquarters. • Supply Chain Management: This section highlights the progress made in the use of Hotelplan’s Environmental Award and lists award winners since 1998. • Co-operation with Destinations: This section discusses the company’s actions to support conservation and social development, including details on projects supported, goals and benefits achieved and funds disbursed. The analysis of Hotelplan’s environmental performance at headquarters is supported by: • Quantitative data, presented as inputs (energy and materials) and outputs (products, catalogues, waste disposal and outside transport) in a table that also includes data from the biennia 1998/1999, 1999/2000 and 2000/2001, thus providing the opportunity to verify the company’s improvements. • Diagrams to help visualize the changes in performance from 1998 to 2001, as well as the weight of the different areas in headquarters. • The results of the comparative study of the environmental impacts of holiday packages in Tenerife and Crete are also supported by diagrams, which help visualize the different impacts. hotelplaN’s aNNual eNviroNmeNtal report Sustainable Tourism: The Tour Operators’ Contribution 21 1. Integrating Sustainability into the Business
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