Engaging with our customers on sustainability

One of the most powerful ways in which we can contribute to sustainability is to raise our customers' awareness of the impact of their holiday and how they can make a difference. From using less water and recycling their waste to spending their holiday currency in local communities, there are many positive steps our customers can take.

We endeavour to draw customers' attention to these topics at every stage, from the first time they pick up a brochure or log onto one of our websites. Many of our UK brochures contain information about the work we are doing with the Travel Foundation and our commitment to the Travelife Sustainability System for accommodation providers. Thomas Cook Northern Europe's brochures also contain sustainability information, while Thomas Cook France's include a page about Planète Urgence, a humanitarian and environmental aid organisation. Sustainable holidays, including volunteering trips, are included in Neilson Adventures' brochures and website. In 2009/10, Thomas Cook Northern Europe joined a scheme that enables customers to offset the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the time they spend surfing our holiday websites. Thomas Cook Germany also offers customers the opportunity to offset their carbon dioxide emissions, in this case relating to flights, through Atmosfair.

Our Sustainable Tourism microsite is specifically designed for UK customers and includes detailed information on our sustainability initiatives and what holidaymakers can do to help. In 2010, it was shortlisted in the Responsible Tourism category of the TravelMole Web Awards. Neilson also has a responsible tourism microsite and Thomas Cook Belgium will be creating a similar site for its customers. In Northern Europe, we provide our customers with online information on issues including sustainability at our hotels, our involvement with ECPAT and our support for the SOS Children's villages (see Destination communities).

For those booking holidays in our UK retail stores, we have incorporated information on the environmental impact of holidays into the 'Ask Thomas' section of our staff intranet. This gives our employees the detail they need to be able to answer customers' questions. And of course customers can read this report, which is made publicly available on the Thomas Cook Group website.

Once their holiday has been booked, our UK customers receive further information on Travelife, the Travel Foundation and Hatch (see below) in their ticket books. In 2010/11, we intend to add destination-specific sustainability information in ticket books. For example, customers travelling to the Gambia will receive information about Gambia is Good, a project that links regional farmers with hotels so that guests can eat fresh, local food and the community is able to make a living from farming. Customers from Poland receive information on WWF's campaign to discourage tourists from buying harmful souvenirs, which is supported by our Thomas Cook and Neckermann companies.

As they make the journey to their holiday destination, our customers may see our sustainability information in a variety of places. Thomas Cook employees based in Italy, for example, collaborated with Naples Airport, the British Consulate and Hilton Hotels to create a poster campaign at the airport. This promotes sustainability and encourages holidaymakers to try out local food and culture. Our UK airline has introduced eco-labels, similar to those found on electrical goods in the UK, to show the environmental impact of its aircraft. Customers can see these on the aircraft doors as they board. Passengers travelling with our Scandinavian airline are encouraged to offset the carbon emissions associated with their flight through GreenSeat. On all its flights, Condor shows a video from Terre des Hommes, which raises awareness of the trafficking of children and sex tourism. Many Thomas Cook Group companies also include sustainability articles in their in-flight magazines – in North America, for example, our in-flight magazines include articles on our contributions to the Starlight Foundation, through which we provide flights for seriously ill children.

At the resorts, we raise customer awareness through a combination of information in their resort guides and special events. For example, our employees in Rhodes organised a range of activities to mark World Environment Day 2010. These included free internet access so that guests could complete the Travel Foundation's online Make Holidays Greener quiz, free cycle hire, a breakfast sourced from local producers, an exhibit about the sustainability initiatives one of our hotels had implemented and a display area for local good causes to promote their organisations to the holidaymakers. Our team in Italy also celebrated World Environment Day, with an event involving local producers of gnocchi and limoncello and an eco-fashion show. Visits to the local producers will be included as a regular excursion for guests from summer 2011. Other Thomas Cook companies also marked World Environment Day, for example resort employees of our Northern Europe business organised beach clean-up events.

Working with the Travel Foundation, KidsWORLD representatives developed a range of activities to raise sustainability awareness among our 4- to 11-year-old guests. Taking as their start point the Travel Foundation's booklets featuring Hatch the Hawksbill Turtle and his friends, our staff have come up with a wide range of fun activities. One team placed rubbish in a tank of water and invited the children to fish out anything that does not belong in a coral reef. Others show the youngsters how to make masks or papier maché turtles. Activities like these bring to life topics including wildlife habitat preservation, the dangers that litter can pose to animals, and local customs. When our young guests become enthused about these topics, not only do we help to increase concern about sustainability in the next generation of travellers, we also impact on the current generation, as the children pass the message on to their parents. In 2009/10, 79 KidsWORLD representatives were trained to use the Hatch activity booklets.

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