easyJet holidays is today announcing that it has become a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) ahead of sharing more details on its sustainability strategy.
07 September 2021 – GSTC is pleased to welcome easyJet holidays to its global network. The holiday company only launched in November 2019 but has bold ambitions for sustainability over the next five years. Joining GSTC which represents a wide range of tourism stakeholders, means easyJet holidays will become an active driver for sustainability in travel and tourism alongside other existing members and contribute to the important work of the GSTC in promoting the widespread adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles.
The holiday company is getting ready to launch its new sustainability strategy imminently having been working on it behind the scenes. It comes following a recent announcement that easyJet holidays has become the first major UK tour operator to offset carbon emissions associated with its holidays, so the fuel from flights and transfers plus the energy from hotel stays. This new move, becoming a GSTC member, will further support the holiday company’s approach to playing its part in rebuilding travel responsibly.
Garry Wilson, easyJet holidays CEO, “It’s really great to be able to share that we’re now a GSTC member. We have lots more planned and lots more we look forward to talking about really soon. We’re at the beginning of our sustainability journey but working closely with the GSTC will be a really important part of what we’re setting out to do, and encouraging everyone in the industry to play their part.”
Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, “We are very pleased to welcome easyJet holidays to GSTC and we look forward to collaborating on their ambitious plans. easyJet holidays is still a very new business but they are growing quickly, and they have a huge opportunity to help drive and promote sustainable travel.”
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council was created jointly by UN agencies and prominent international conservation NGOs to develop global baseline standards for sustainability in travel and tourism – the GSTC Criteria. The Criteria are used for education and awareness-raising, policy-making for businesses and government agencies and other organization types, measurement and evaluation, and as a basis for certifications. They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism. They are arranged in four pillars: (A) Sustainable management; (B) Socioeconomic impacts; (C) Cultural impacts; and (D) Environmental impacts (including consumption of resources, reducing pollution, and conserving biodiversity and landscapes). Since tourism destinations each have their own culture, environment, customs, and laws, the Criteria are designed to be adapted to local conditions and supplemented by additional criteria for the specific location and activity.
About easyJet holidays:
easyJet holidays offers great-value beach, city and lakes holidays to more than 100 destinations across Europe, directly through its website and through over 3000 travel agent partners. The ATOL-protected holidays company combines easyJet’s flexible flight programme, with handpicked hotels and best-in-class technology to provide hassle-free personalised holiday experiences which can be secured with a deposit of just £60 per person. The holidays operator is an ABTA member too, providing additional reassurance to customers under the UK’s most trusted travel scheme. With a range of holiday types, from adult and family to luxury and undiscovered, transfers included on beach holidays, 23kg hold luggage included on all bookings, and over 5,000 hotels, across over 500 resorts, customers can holiday the way they want.
Customers booking through trade partners can enjoy flexible booking options, such as the freedom to change their holiday up to 28 days before departure. The holiday firm has also further enhanced its Covid commitments for travel this summer to offer extra flexibility and allow fee free changes to be made to holidays where the destination is on the ‘amber’ list up to 24 hours before travel.
In 2021 easyJet holidays became the first major tour operator to offset the carbon emissions from its package holidays, comprising the fuel used for flights and in-destination transfers, as well as the energy used from hotel stays without any cost being passed to customers.
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About the GSTC
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) establishes and manages global sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation.
The GSTC Criteria form the foundation for GSTC’s role as the global Accreditation Body for Certification Programs that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services; but it accredits those that do. The GSTC is an independent and neutral USA-registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including UN agencies, NGO’s, national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism.
Information for media and the press: https://staging.gstcouncil.org/about/for-the-press/
