TUI 2018 Sustainability Report: 9.2 million customers stayed in sustainable hotels certified to a GSTC-Recognized standard (81% of the hotels owned by TUI Group)

TUI Group has just released its 2018 Sustainability Report with the progress on their goal to increase the number of hotels with sustainability certifications to accommodate 10 million customers a year by 2020.

In 2018, TUI has delivered 9.2 million ‘greener and fairer’ holidays (up by 11.9% y-o-y) through 1,520 hotels (up by 12.1%) that were certified to a GSTC-Recognized Standard. TUI has also included a sustainability component in contracts with accommodation suppliers setting out minimum standards and the requirement to work towards credible sustainable certification.

“As a leading tourism group, we want to continue to use our influence to initiate sustainable change. Of course, this also includes protecting the environment and the climate. Thanks to our investments in the latest technologies, we are on the right track. Our goal as TUI is to continue to play a pioneering role in sustainability. We want to use tourism‘s creative power to maximise the benefits of tourism. And at the same time we will innovate to minimise the ecological footprint of travel,” says Fritz Joussen, CEO of TUI Group.

TUI analysis showed that hotels with sustainability certifications outperform non-certified hotels, demonstrating 10 % lower CO₂, 24 percent lower waste volume, 19% less fresh water per guest night, 23% higher use of green energy and higher customer satisfaction scores. A total of 81% of TUI Hotels & Resorts held sustainability certifications in 2018.

TUI Group encourages their hotels to become certified to GSTC-Recognized Standards, with a mandatory clause in contracts with their accommodation suppliers requiring them to work towards certification to GSTC-Recognized Standards.