Make Holidays Greener campaign gets biggest response yet
More than 6,500 industry staff and holidaymakers took part in this year’s Make Holidays Greener campaign, nearly three times the 2,275 who supported last year.
These included 120 ABTA member and travel businesses, from tour operators to hotels, up from 75 last year.
Supporters took part in 119 clean-up activities worldwide and reduced, reused, recycled or removed an estimated 3,834 tonnes of waste, including food and plastic.
According to ABTA, this is the equivalent weight of the number of plastic bottles needed to stretch more than three quarters of the way around the Earth, if laid end to end.
The campaign was launched in June by ABTA in partnership with Travelife for Accommodation with the theme ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’.
Activities included a holiday clothes swap and providing people with water bottles that filter as they re-fill to avoid using single use plastic bottles.
Meanwhile, a total of 1,386 holidaymakers made sustainable holiday pledges, up 8% on last year.
ABTA said the campaign also reached more than 565,000 people via social media, both through its channels and travel bloggers sharing the messaging.
Nikki White, ABTA director of destinations and sustainability, said: "The industry continues to make great strides in reducing the amount of waste it produces.
"I would like to thank everyone who has participated this year and look forward to seeing the industry further develop its approach to sustainability in the years to come. ABTA Members are also reminded that support is available to them year round if they would like to continue their initiatives beyond this year’s campaign."
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt