Our tour operators Explore Worldwide, Inghams, Inntravel and Santa’s Lapland have set ambitious targets to reduce emissions and we have been reporting in detail on our carbon footprint for a few years now. Lowering our impact requires buy-in and effort from all of our employees; and the benefits we offer are key to not only embedding a sustainable mindset across our team, but also enabling people to make choices that are better for the planet.
One benefit that regularly grabs attention is our low-carbon travel policy. This allows team members to earn extra paid holiday when they travel long distances by rail or under their own steam instead of flying. It applies whether someone is travelling for work or pleasure; and means that even if a journey takes a bit longer, it does not involve sacrificing time at your destination. If someone chooses to go to Italy by train instead of plane, for example, they are rewarded with an extra day’s paid annual leave.
As tour operators, most of our carbon emissions come from customer flights. We would love more customers to travel flight-free, particularly from the UK to Europe, so this benefit encourages our team to practice what we preach. We introduced this benefit in 2023 and this year, have been promoting it more heavily with an internal series called The Scenic Route. This involves team members sharing stories of flight-free trips they have taken, showing just what, and where, is possible. We have had reports on cycling to France, taking a dog by ferry to Spain; even getting as far as Morocco. So, as well as enabling our team to experience some great adventures, it has had the added benefit of sparking conversations and connections.
As a benefit, I feel the low-carbon travel policy sets us apart from what other organisations offer, while also contributing to our carbon reduction goals.
Nicky Lyle is group HR director at Hotelplan UK
