TUI: Crete to Become Model Destination for Sustainable Food on Holiday

Elena Kountoura, Greek Minister of Tourism and Thomas Ellerbeck, TUI Group Member of the Group Executive Committee, TUI Care Foundation Chairman of the Board of Trustees.

By Nikos Krinis in Berlin

The TUI Care Foundation and Futouris on Thursday presented a joint project to run on Crete that aims to link the most important economic factors of the Greek island – tourism and agriculture. The project “TUI Cares for Crete – Sustainable Food” was presented to the media at TUI’s offices in Berlin on the sidelines of the ITB travel trade exhibition.

The project sees the TUI Care Foundation networking 47 wine producers, two vineyards, 25 olive-growers and one olive mill with the local tourism sector and thus contributing to developing the Greek island into a showpiece for sustainable food on holiday.

TUI Care Foundation project “TUI Cares for Crete” presented to the media in Berlin.

“With the TUI Care Foundation, we are committed to helping the people in destinations all over the world”, said Thomas Ellerbeck, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the TUI Care Foundation, adding that TUI is strengthening Crete as a forward-looking holiday region and opening up new perspectives there for wine and olive growers.

“With the development of the largest Greek island as a showcase for sustainable agriculture and sustainable holidays, we would also like to help make Greece even more attractive as a tourist destination,” he said.

The focus of the project is on the two main products of Crete – wine and olive oil – and ecological cultivation and processing processes.

In addition, seven traditional Cretan vines will be particularly promoted through the production of local wines.

In order to enable guests to visit local production sites and to communicate directly with wine- and olive-growers, an innovative and interactive excursion programme is being developed. Awareness and communication measures will accompany the project.

In the long term, an improvement in regional food quality and quantity in holiday hotels should be achieved, the negative environmental impacts of agriculture should be reduced, as well as the local economy strengthened. In addition, holiday guests will benefit from an expanded regional Offer of dishes in hotels and on excursions.

Bart Lyrarakis, Managing Director of the Lyrarakis Vineyard on Crete, emphasizes the importance of the project for the preservation of local wine varieties. His vineyard was already involved in the pilot phase “Sustainable Viticulture” in 2016, in which sustainable cultivation practices were implemented in cooperation with the 47 local wine-growers and wine evenings were held in selected hotels.

Greece and TUI share the same vision

Present at the presentation was Greek Tourism Minister Elena Kountoura who underlined that Greece’s tourism growth this year is steadily being achieved in a sustainable and forward-looking manner.

“This sustainable approach through our national tourism policy guarantees that Greece and its people as well as visitors from all over the world benefit from tourism”, she said.

“We are very pleased that together with TUI Care Foundation and Futouris, we share the same vision, and we can now lead the way with an innovative project, aiming to further strengthen Greece as a sustainable holiday destination, that offers unique and authentic experiences 365 days a year.”

According to the minister, 2017 is a year of dynamic growth for Greece as a global attractive tourism destination, following two consecutive years of record-breaking results.

The promotion of the project was announced in Berlin as part of the presentation of the programme of the TUI Care Foundation. Following its foundation in 2016, the first 30 projects were selected in 25 countries, which are being financially supported this year.

According to TUI, in total, more than four million euros are being made available to promote sustainable tourism worldwide.