Working to ensure a sustainable future for our holidays
Holidays are now seen by many as an essential part of life. Amongst other things they provide the chance to spend time with loved ones, experience new things, recharge your batteries and take time out from the pace of daily life. The memories of holidays often last a lifetime.
At FATTA we believe that holidays are special and we’re working with our members to help keep holidays special for years to come.
FATTA and its members recognise that holidays can have positive effects on both people and the environment that go far beyond the personal enjoyment factor that we take from our time away. We believe that through adopting a sustainable approach to our industry, we can help minimise any potential for negative effects and maximise the positive impacts that tourism has.
What is sustainable tourism?
Put simply it’s about creating Better Places to live and visit.
Nowadays, there’s so much information about sustainability it can be hard to make sense of it all. Rather than add to the confusion, we wanted to talk about sustainable tourism and what it means in plain English. That’s why we’ve coined the concept Better Places. Sustainable tourism doesn’t have to be complicated, it’s simply about tourism that helps to create Better Places to live and visit.
To do this, it means tourism should:
Over the years FATTA has built strong relationships with various stakeholders and organisations locally and around the world. FATTA uses its voice to encourage and to ensure that tourism contributes to protect or enhance local environments, creates opportunities for local communities and helps develop national economies.
FATTA recognises that in doing this, the tourist experience can be enhanced and Better Holidays can be enjoyed.
Solutions for global tourism
We believe that outside of travel agents, tour operators and hotels, the tourism industry is made up of a huge number of different businesses that all play a part in helping to make holidays happen. As such, we strive to disseminate more global awareness in sustainable tourism so as to have a Better Place for communities to live and prosper.
Project Involvement
One such solution during 2021 to 2022, is FATTA’s involvement (directly and indirectly through its membership) in the SUSTOUR project. SUSTOUR supports SMEs towards achieving Travelife certification. Travelife for Tour Operators was developed by Dutch and UK travel associations and their members, in close collaboration with NGOs. This collaboration resulted in an innovative Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) training and assessment system for the tourism sector. As a result, hundreds of travel professionals worldwide now have knowledge and practical online tools to operate their business more sustainably.