TUI Hellas Heraklion First Greek Travel Company to be Awarded Travelife Certificate

The tourism program officer of the United Nations Environment Program, Helena Rey (center), awarded two companies with the Travelife Certificate for Tour operators & Travel agents at the Dutch tourism trade fair Vakantiebeurs: Greek DMC TUI Hellas and Dutch tour operator All for Nature Travel. The awards were received by Spyros Kritikos (TUI Hellas Heraklion) and Annemiek van Gijn (All for Nature Travel).

TUI Hellas in Heraklion, Crete, has become the first Greek travel company to be fully certified by Travelife – the international sustainability system for Tour Operators and Travel Agencies.

The awarding took place on Wednesday during the “Changes in Tourism” event held on the sidelines of the Dutch tourism trade fair Vakantiebeurs.

TUI Hellas was recognized with the Travelife certification in recognition of its long-term efforts and frontrunner position regarding sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. The company complies with a series of standards, related to an operators’ office management, product range, international business partners and customer information.

“Responsible Leadership is one of TUI Group’s core values. It underlines our commitment to sustainable development and to making a positive impact on society,” the destination manager of TUI Hellas Crete, Spyros Kritikos, said.

“We at TUI Hellas here in Greece consider it both our duty and our pleasure to work on promoting the principles of sustainability in Greek tourism.”

With EU support, trade associations all over Europe have committed themselves to Travelife that supports more sustainability throughout the sector.

“The certification of TUI Hellas Heraklion is a significant landmark in Greek tourism,” Travelife’s account manager for Europe,  Silvia Hendriks, said.

In Greece, the Travelife system is supported by the Greek Tourism Confederation (SETE) and the Hellenic Association of Travel & Tourist Agencies (HATTA). Both trade associations collaborate with Travelife on the promotion of sustainable management among their members.

“This certification can inspire all Greek tourism businesses to work in a more sustainable way and fully value and help their clients to fully appreciate our country’s cultural, natural and social treasures,” the sustainability coordinator for HATTA, Angeliki Rossolatou, said.

On his part, SETE’s general manager, Alexandros Lamnidis, underlined that the Travelife certified achievement proves that travel companies in Greece are on the right track concerning their sustainability strategies and compliance.

“We hope that more companies will soon reach this specific stage and improve the country’s status overall,” he said.