ABTA is encouraging more travel companies and hotels to sign up for ‘Make Holidays Greener’ month in July, by taking part in the Big Holiday Beach Clean 2016. Over 40 hotels and travel businesses have already signed up to raise awareness of more sustainable holidays, and of the importance of keeping beaches clean.

ABTA – together with Travelife and the Travel Foundation – is calling for more travel businesses to promote how people can take action to protect the local environment while on holiday, and is urging hotels to sign up for a beach clean as part of Make Holidays Greener month. Throughout the summer, the campaign will encourage holidaymakers to take care of the local environment and support local communities in holiday destinations.

Nikki White from ABTA and Travelife said: “Cleaner, greener beaches are good for tourism and our industry is uniquely placed to make a difference to coastal regions and beaches globally. We are encouraging as many travel businesses as possible to sign up and support Make Holidays Greener month and do their bit to keep beaches clean. We’re delighted with the response we’ve had so far but we’re really keen for more hotels and travel companies to get involved – it’s a great way to show their customers and staff that they really care about their environment. Cleaner beaches are good for wildlife, for people and for business, so it’s important that holidaymakers and the industry work together to take care of destinations and protect the marine environment.”

Companies can support the campaign by signing up for a beach clean between now and the end of July, and by sharing their stories and pictures on Facebook and Twitter using #MHG2016. For those companies not based near a beach, they can organise a different type of event such as a park or mountain clean-up. The campaign website, makeholidaysgreener.org.uk, features a range of free resources, including how to organise a beach clean and top tips for customers.

Last year, 108 beach cleans were organised worldwide, involving 68 organisations and over 1,000 people. Beaches were cleaned in 20 countries, keeping four tonnes of rubbish out of the marine ecosystem.

For more information contact info@travelife.org.