Today (Tuesday 4 November 2014) Travelife, the international sustainability certification programme for the travel industry, launched its exciting new branding at World Travel Market, London, UK.

Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations already counts 1,300 hotels and accommodation providers worldwide as members and has 900 properties that have successfully achieved Travelife Gold certification. The new branding is one piece in the wider strategy to substantially increase the number of Travelife certified hotels and improve sustainability across the industry.

The fresh new look for the brand builds on recent changes to Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations’ certification criteria earlier this year. The all-encompassing criteria were introduced in recognition of the advances in sustainability in the travel industry over recent years.

The new brand encompasses both sides of the business –Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations and Travelife for Tour Operators & Travel Agents – which work with tourism companies to help them improve their environmental, social and economic impacts.

Travelife’s brand refresh includes a new logo with a hand and leaf motif and a new strapline ‘Sustainability in Tourism’. The hand and leaf exemplify the two sides of sustainability in travel – people and places.

Nikki White, Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations, said: “The logo gives a bolder, fresher look and feel to Travelife and reflects the momentum behind the brand and our growth in the market. As well as demonstrating that people are at the heart of sustainability, the image of the hand represents the support we provide to our members. Our hotel and accommodation owners are focused on running successful businesses, but they are not generally sustainability experts. It’s in recognition of this that we have developed Travelife as a step-by-step programme, which also helps hoteliers meet the expectations of consumers in this area”.

The refreshed Travelife logo was developed in consultation with key partners and will feature on partner websites and in millions of brochures from the autumn. The new logo and certification marks respond to consumer demand* by helping them quickly and easily identify more responsible travel companies and accommodation when choosing a holiday.

“Hotels that have earned the right to display the new Travelife Gold Award or Travelife Award of Excellence certification marks represent substantial and superior levels of sustainability in the market,” says Ms White. “Travelife certification is well-deserved recognition for the hotels that achieve it and the new Travelife marks will help them stand out from their competitors in an increasingly competitive market”.

ABTA Consumer Survey 2014

* Accordingly to recent figures from the ABTA Consumer Survey 2014 almost half (49%) of respondents said that they think travel companies should ensure that their holidays help the local people and economy.  In addition, more than one in three people (35%), said that they believe holidays should have an environmental and social rating, much like a quality star rating (up from 25% in 2012).

Notes for Editors 

About Travelife 

Travelife is an international certification system, promoting sustainability within the tourism industry. It helps tour operators, hotels and accommodations to manage and monitor their social and environmental impacts, as well as communicate their achievements to customers.  It is an accessible sustainability programme which provides members with a practical framework to improve their business.

Travelife provides a range of support to help its members prepare for their independent audit. Hotel and accommodation members whose on-site audit shows they fulfil the requirements of the Travelife sustainability criteria, will achieve a Gold award.  They then qualify to feature on the Travelife Collection website and their award can then be used in promotion by hoteliers and tour operators, alongside other recognitions such as their star rating.

Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations is the only certification system that works in partnership with tour operators, both in the UK and internationally, who use the sustainability system to increase sustainability in the industry and communicate achievements to customers.

For more information about the Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations please visit: www.travelife.org or www.travelifecollection.com

For Dutch press

Naut Kusters, Travelife for Tour Operators & Travel Agents, said: “Like the ideal in sustainability, the new brand has a clear focus on the needs of the future, while ensuring the best of what exists already is not lost. We have kept the Travelife name due to its strong and growing international recognition, but have created a fresher, more modern look to inspire the travel industry and consumers alike”.