Avoiding single-use plastics

Go Vacation, group-owned by DER Touristik and a leading group of destination companies operating in key Southeast Asian countries, have been actively dedicated to avoiding single-use plastics by giving away reusable water bottles and reusable cotton bags to their guests since winter season 2017/2018.

Go Vacation to give away reusable water bottles

As part of its ongoing policy to promote sustainability and encourage ecological awareness, Go Vacation provides free reusable water bottles and souvenir canvas shoulder bags to guests in selected destinations. This concept is designed to discourage the consumption of single-use plastic bottles, replacing them with an alternative drink container that can be refilled in hotels as well as during tours and excursions. To keep the environmental impact low and strengthen the local economy, both bottles and bags are locally produced products. The use of plastic is a growing problem worldwide and Go Vacation is keen to play its part in protecting the environment throughout the destinations it serves in Southeast Asia. For that reason, they work closely with their tour operator partners to identify and implement possible improvements.

Next steps

The initiative currently applies for round-trip guests of DER Touristik’s tour operators Dertour, Jahn Reisen, ITS, Meier’s Weltreisen, ADAC Reisen, Travelix and Kuoni in Indonesia and Thailand. What started in 2017 for the destinations Indonesia and Thailand, is planned to be implemented in Vietnam and Sri Lanka.