Sustainable tourism
Sustainability isn’t simple and cannot be boiled down to a single set of individual actions, such as eliminating plastic straws or separating your recycling. Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs is a complex, systemic puzzle to solve at a global level.
Sustainable tourism is just as complex. How can you travel in a sustainable way when carbon emissions from flights are so high, plastic fills our oceans and hotel chains are built over biodiverse habitats? How do we protect the planet’s most vulnerable ecosystems while making sure that local communities are protected too?
Responsible travel in the Caribbean
Sustainable and eco-friendly Kenya
Travel Responsibly in Mauritius
Pure Breaks Sustainability Initiatives
We don’t claim to have all the answers here at Pure Breaks, yet our team is passionate about providing the most sustainable, ethical and responsible holiday options out there. We are committed to partnering with responsible tour operators, facing up to the carbon impact of our flights, and giving back to local communities.
Pure Breaks approaches sustainable tourism from four key perspectives:
Focus on Destination Countries
- Avoid sending customers to places experiencing ‘overtourism’
- Ensure income from tourism stays within the local community, by visiting locally-owned businesses
- Organise cultural tours to ensure the survival of local heritage and history
Leverage the power of partnerships
- Work with responsible tour operators as standard
- Align ourselves with independent experts on sustainable tourism
- Harness the power of the wider Working Travel Group to maximise the positive impact on local communities
Measure, manage and offset carbon emissions
- For our own UK operations
- For company travel
- For customer flights
Educate customers on sustainable tourism
Responsible travel, sustainable tourism, and climate change are complex, inter-related issues that we try to bring clarity to through articles on our website. Topics include:
- The climate crisis and voices of youth in the run-up to COP26
- Protected and endangered ecosystems around the world
- Tourism’s engagement with local communities
“The bottom line is: if you are going to travel, do it wisely and make it count. Choose a responsible tour operator like Pure Breaks, invest in local communities and offset the carbon emissions embedded in your travel options. ”
Tourism and the Sustainable Development Goals
The tourism industry has a huge impact on global economies, representing 10% of global GDP and providing 1 in 10 jobs worldwide.
If approached in a sustainable way, tourism can benefit both people and the planet. According to the UNWTO, tourism has the potential to contribute – directly or indirectly – to all 17 Sustainable Development Goals:
Source: Tourism for SDGs
