Accor and Expedia team up to expand UNESCO sustainability pledge globally

FRENCH multinational hospitality company Accor has joined forces with international vacation system Expedia Team to broaden the UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Pledge (The Pledge) into 96 international locations to encourage sustainable tourism globally.

This tripartite arrangement
will see 3,358 Accor motels globally be a part of collectively to market environmental
sustainability and sustainable tourism all over the world.

The Pledge was launched in October 2019 with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) and Expedia. It promotes liable procedures, local community resilience and heritage conservation, with the aim of transforming the nature and effects of worldwide tourism. Taking part functions dedicate to supporting the reduction and elimination of single-use plastics and promoting nearby overall economy and lifestyle.

Accor qualities are between
the about 500 accommodations in Thailand that have signed The Pledge because the Thai
microsite was set up in 2020.

“The expansion of The Pledge will come at a time when travellers’ awareness of and need for tourism sustainability tactics continues to improve, with Millennials and GenZ getting the guide with heightened environmental consciousness,” claimed Expedia and Accor in a joint statement when saying their partnership.

Markus Keller, SVP gross sales
& distribution at Accor, mentioned the hospitality group has a  “responsibility to provide sustainable and
tangible solutions” to its attendees to cut down the affect the sector has on the
environment.

“Accor and all of the inns
in its network have lengthy-standing commitments in this space, for our choice to
clear away all solitary-use plastic things from guest expertise in our motels by
2022. We want to speed up our efforts, which is why we are these days becoming a member of the
UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Pledge in partnership with Expedia Team.”

He added that it is Accor’s “ambition” to continue on to push the adjust in the direction of constructive hospitality. “Joining The Pledge with 3,358 of our lodges is a continuation of our group’s sustainable development programme, World 21 – Acting In this article.”

Accor launched Earth 21 in
2011 and is based all over 4 strategic priorities: function with our staff members,
include our visitors, innovate with our companions and get the job done with area communities
two critical issues are tackling foods and making sustainability. It included that “hotels can be illustrations of excellent green tactics
and forces for optimistic alter in the group. All it requires is to start out with
a few simple commitments.”

 Zuhairah Washington, Expedia Team senior vice
president, strategic accounts, extra the partnership with Accor “is about
using required ways at a global scale to minimise waste in the tourism sector”.

She elaborated: “The UNESCO
Sustainable Tourism Pledge aims to convert phrases into action and is a testimony of
our developing dedication to collaborating intently with the hospitality sector in
get to improve environmental and sustainable tourism consciousness and
practices across the globe. Anyone requirements to engage in
their element in selling sustainable tourism and encouraging maintain journey
places.”

In a linked growth, the
German Federal Ministry for Financial Cooperation and Advancement has delivered 2
million euros to assistance expand the Pledge throughout 7 international locations – Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Cambodia, Georgia, Indonesia, Kenya, Namibia and Vietnam. The
programme will aid UNESCO’s get the job done to make tourism arise more robust from the
COVID-19 crisis and really encourage sustainable development in the sector.

“The collective effort is all
the additional vital as the pandemic has hit the tourism and lifestyle sectors hard.
We hope that the initiatives of Germany, Accor and Expedia, will motivate other
significant gamers in the sector to be a part of us and commit to present more accountable
tourism,” reported UNESCO director typical Audrey Azoulay commented,

Perspective video of how Accor hotels are operating with the Pledge

• Highlighted image credit: Petmal/Getty Photographs