ABTA – The Travel Association is reminding travel businesses, tourist boards and hotels there are just four weeks left for them to get involved in the Make Holidays Greener (MHG) 2019 campaign, in partnership with Travelife for Accommodation, before it ends on 30 September. 

MHG launched in June encouraging holidaymakers and travel companies to ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’, following MHG 2018’s ‘Say no to plastic’ theme. To date more than 110 travel companies have registered their support for the campaign and shared the steps they have taken to help create better places for locals to live in and better places for holidaymakers to visit. 

This summer’s campaign has shared further examples of the existing sustainability-focused initiatives that ABTA Members and Travelife hotels are running such as a project reducing food waste in hotels, setting up a holiday clothes swap and providing customers with water bottles that filter as they re-fill to reduce the need for single-use plastic bottles. 

MHG has also engaged destination tourist boards which have been raising awareness of taking responsibility for waste items such as wet wipes and cigarette filters, bans on plastic bag use and the reduction of leftover waste from cultural celebrations. More examples are available on the MHG website. 

Throughout the campaign ABTA and Travelife for Accommodation have been supporting the industry with advice and guidance to help get their customers involved in the campaign, including a support pack with tips, suggested social media activity and example case studies for inspiration. Travel companies who haven’t yet registered for the campaign or received a pack can contact sustainabletourism@abta.co.uk to sign up and request one.  

ABTA is also encouraging travel companies to share its MHG infographic with customers as a way to help them positively ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’ when they are on holiday. The infographic can be used as a poster in-store or in resort, shared on social media or via travel companies’ websites. It is available to download at: www.makeholidaysgreener.com/industry/resources/infographic

Nikki White, ABTA’s Director of Destinations and Sustainability said: 

“There’s still time for travel companies to get involved in this year’s Make Holidays Greener campaign and we encourage as many as possible to get involved during the final month. 

“This is a great opportunity for businesses to demonstrate their sustainability credentials to holidaymakers and we have seen some excellent initiatives throughout the campaign highlighting what the industry is doing to reduce, reuse and recycle.

“There are a number of ways businesses are driving this positive change and making a real difference, whether that’s doing more to reduce food waste, switching from disposable bottles to reusable ones or inviting customers to make a holiday pledge.”   

Holidaymakers are also encouraged to make a holiday pledge via www.makeholidaysgreener.org.uk. So far over 1,000 sustainable holiday pledges have been made and those who register a pledge on the website by 30 September 2019 will also be entered into a prize draw to win a carry-on travel bag by sustainability leaders Patagonia.

Meanwhile, both holidaymakers and travel companies can share their activity on social media using #MHG19.

The holiday pledges are:

1. Reduce, reuse and recycle 
2. Organise a holiday clean up
3. Look for the Travelife logo - stay at a hotel that demonstrates care for the environment and its staff 
4. Respect animals
5. Eat local produce and buy local goods
6. Go meat-free
7. Protect biodiversity
8. Respect local customs and talk to locals in their languages
9. Protect children – support local community projects and refrain from giving money to begging children or visiting orphanages
10. Use local transport
11. Switch off electrical devices in your accommodation when you’re not using them
12. Reduce or offset your journey footprint
13. Save water – reuse towels and take shorter showers
14. Tell the world – tell the world about your positive holiday experiences 
15. Free choice – the chance to organise or suggest an activity specific to your holiday

For further information, contact:
020 3117 0596 or press@abta.co.uk
Emily Jones, Media and PR Manager, 020 3117 0592
Tom Sommerfelt, Senior Media Relations Executive, 020 3117 0531

Out of Hours:  Contact the Duty Press Officer on 020 3693 0183
Web: www.abta.com
Twitter: @ABTAtravel

Notes to editors
ABTA has been a trusted travel brand for over 65 years. Our purpose is to help our Members to grow their businesses successfully and sustainably, and to help their customers travel with confidence. 

The ABTA brand stands for support, protection and expertise. This means consumers have confidence in ABTA and a strong trust in ABTA Members. These qualities are core to us as they ensure that holidaymakers remain confident in the holiday products that they buy from our Members. 

We help our Members and their customers navigate through today's changing travel landscape by raising standards in the industry; offering schemes of financial protection; providing an independent complaints resolution service should something go wrong; giving guidance on issues from sustainability to health and safety and by presenting a united voice to government to ensure the industry and the public get a fair deal.

ABTA has more than 4,300 travel brands in Membership, providing a wide range of leisure and business travel services, with a combined annual UK turnover of £39 billion. For more details about what we do, what being an ABTA Member means and how we help the British public travel with confidence visit www.abta.com.