Global tour leader TTC Tour Brands, whose portfolio includes Trafalgar, Brendan Vacations, Costsaver, Contiki, Insight Vacations and Luxury Gold, released its third annual TTC Impact Report, sharing the progress made in 2023 toward the five-year sustainability strategy, How We Tread Right (HWTR).
The report is a transparent look into the actions contributing to the 11 measurable goals anchored to the United Nations Global Goals for Sustainable Development, designed to address TTC Tour Brands' commitment to MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® and positively impact the planet, its people, and wildlife.
“The goal of our annual Impact Report is to provide transparency and evidence of genuine progress towards our long-term sustainable goals, enabling advisors and travellers to confidently choose a provider offering both responsible and enriching travel experiences,” says Melissa DaSilva, President of TTC Tour Brands, North America.
“In the last year, we’ve made significant investments to support multiple decarbonization projects using our industry-first Carbon Fund, doubled down in renewable energy, introduced dozens of new local dining experiences and launched hundreds of new MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences, now featured on a majority of our itineraries. These efforts illustrate our unwavering commitment to the road to net zero and our clear roadmap and aggressive action, as part of The Travel Corporation’s family of brands, which has achieved far beyond our original benchmarks, serving as a grassroots catalyst for the tour industry at large and a transparent resource for advisors servicing planet-forward travellers,” says DaSilva.
TTC Tour Brands and the Travel Corporation’s family of brands outline results from the introduction of the industry’s first Carbon Fund to the implementation of renewable energy and more:
Implementing the Industry Leading Carbon Fund & Net Zero Trip Roadmap
TTC Tour Brands completed its first year of the industry-leading Carbon Fund, with each brand contributing to a central pool aimed at reducing Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions, collecting over US$2 million and allocating US$1.88 million to various carbon reduction projects planned for 2024. In 2023, TTC Tour Brands as part of The Travel Corporation, reduced its Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 31% and Scope 3 emissions by 5% from its 2019 baseline. To reduce Scope 3 emissions, the ongoing Trip Carbon Calculator was updated, engaging over 800 partners and providing data for more than 700 trips, across the family of brands. This serves as the foundation for the new Net Zero Trip Roadmap, identifying high-reduction potential areas, and outlining the next steps for reducing the carbon footprint of The Travel Corporation’s itineraries by 27.5% by 2030. These steps include adding more vegetarian meals, promoting more people-powered itineraries, reducing miles driven and more.
Reducing Carbon Emissions by Saying Yes to “No More Stuff”
In 2023, the brands launched an industry-leading initiative ‘say no to more stuff’ after calculating that branded merchandise giveaways produce 6.5 million car-driven miles worth of carbon emissions every year. Funds that were used to purchase branded merchandise are instead reallocated toward projects that help fight climate change – donating instead to TreadRight Foundation nature-based solution partners GreenWave and Rainforest Rescue.
Making Travel Matter Across the World
TTC Tour Brands continues to build its portfolio of MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® (MTM) Experiences, adding approximately 180 new experiences in 2023, bringing the total to over 600 across its portfolio of brands. These immersive, impactful experiences are chosen for their positive social or environmental benefits to the people and places visited, actively advancing at least one of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Today, TTC Tour Brands has far surpassed its original goal of including at least one MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience on 50% of its itineraries by 2025, with 84% of itineraries now featuring at least one experience. Among the 180 new MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experiences introduced in 2023 are biodiversity talks and bee’s wax candle-making in Geneva on Trafalgar’s ‘Swisstainable’-certified Contrasts of Switzerland tour and making sustainable crafts with a local women-owned co-operative in Aswan on Insight Vacations’ Splendours of Egypt tour. Following a new nature-based solutions partnership with Trees for Life, Trafalgar, introduced a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® experience at Dundreggan Rewilding Centre on their Best of Scotland itinerary, where travelers can support the restoration of the Caledonian Forest and learn about the forest's history and conservation efforts.
Leveraging Food Waste To Support Innovative Fuel for Contiki Coaches
Contiki implemented HVO fuel for a subset of their European Coaches, through Atlas Reizen. Supported by the Carbon Fund, the sustainable biofuel alternative, produced from renewable feedstocks such as waste fats, oils, and greases, is expected to result in a significant 30-40% reduction in Contiki’s European trip emissions. Across the brands, the report highlights that 54% of the electricity used by The Travel Corporation now comes from renewable sources, surpassing the 2025 goal of 50%, one year ahead of schedule.
Local Dining Experiences Connect Communities with Travellers
TTC Tour Brands continues its commitment to supporting sustainable local food systems, with the goal of at least one local dining experience on 80% of its itineraries by 2025, which was achieved in 2023, two years ahead of schedule. These experiences showcase locally sourced ingredients, including meat, seafood, bread, and wine, all procured within a 30-50-mile radius. For example, guests on budget tour operator Costsaver’s Italian Scene tour can enjoy an Italian farm-to-table meal, with authentic cuisine prepared with organic zero-mile products grown on a local farm. Affluent travelers on Luxury Gold’s Classic South America trip will participate in an Argentinian Asado experience, visiting Fogón Asado to savor a 6-course tasting menu featuring the finest cuts of local meat and fire-roasted seasonal vegetables. Celtic travel experts, Brendan Vacations offer travellers farm-to-table dining on a Scottish farm tour, where they will learn about sustainable farming and enjoy a home-cooked lunch featuring home-grown and seasonal, locally sourced produce.
The Travel Corporation’s (TTC) third official Impact Report details the progress of its 41 award-winning brands against the 11 measurable goals of How We Tread Right, (HWTR) TTC’s 5-year sustainability strategy. View the comprehensive 2023 TTC Impact Report here.
