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

The Caribbean is famous for its colonial origins, its legendary days of piracy and all the sandy beaches that people ...

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Sustainable and eco-friendly Kenya

Kenya is the perfect destination for travellers who want to reconnect to nature, experience unique adventures and spend time away ...

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Travel Responsibly in Mauritius

Mauritius is a beautiful tropical island renowned for its coastal bounties with pristine beaches and extensive coral reefs set against ...

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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 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

Pure Breaks and ethical travel

There are many ways to travel and see the world. While Pure Breaks is a relatively new travel brand, we are part of the Working Travel Group, an organisation that has invested in local communities worldwide for over 20 years. Through Changing Worlds and Sporting Opportunities, thousands of international participants have positively contributed to communities across the world whilst taking an enriching and meaningful travel experience.They have supported grassroots social impact initiatives in sport, conservation, building and construction, arts and craft, teaching, and medical projects.

We have brought learnings from across the Working Travel Group to inform our approach to sustainable tourism. This heritage in ethical travel places Pure Breaks in a unique position compared to other luxury travel brands, as we cherish our ongoing legacy of contributing to local communities in 54 countries.

The only constant is change

Ultimately, we all need to change the way we live in order to reach a net-zero emissions future. Our position at Pure Breaks is that the world is complex, interconnected and that sustainable tourism can provide multiple benefits to the places you visit. 

Despite all of the above, the science underpinning our understanding of what is required in order to be sustainable is constantly changing. If you feel that we could or should be doing more, or if you have any information to share that would help us improve our approach to sustainability……

We want to hear from you

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