Flooding in Richmond forced drinkers to arrive by boat at the White Cross pub yesterday

March 5th, 2010

Visitors to the White Cross pub in Richmond were left no option but to arrive by boat yesterday as the River Thames broke its banks. The cosy riverside establishment in Surrey has a special high-tide entrance in case of flooding but even this was inaccessible on foot. The much-loved pub regularly gets cut off, usually [...]

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Climate change is emerging as one of the greatest challenges for modern society.

At Travel PR, we are highly aware of the need for the travel industry to act responsibly. We strongly encourage Responsible Tourism among clients, both in terms of carbon management and impact on local environments and economies.

AITO - the Association of Independent Tour Operators - for example, takes its responsibilities to the environment, to local cultures and to sustainability very seriously. Sue Ockwell has been involved with environmental issues on behalf of AITO for 20 years. AITO is the first tourism industry to incorporate a commitment to Responsible Tourism into its business charter. Its member guidelines are based on five key objectives:

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Explore - from January 2008, Explore - the world’s leading adventure travel specialist - will carbon offset all flights on its tours by funding specific offset schemes from a part of the tour cost. Explore is the first sizeable tour operator to include the cost of the offset in the price of the holiday. In one fell swoop Explore is taking grass-root action to offset CO₂ emissions, as well as supporting sustainable ‘green’ development in the very areas of the world that need it most.

Sunvil Holidays was the first tour operator of any size (25,000 passengers per annum) to implement a carbon offset opt-out policy; it automatically includes the appropriate amount to carbon offset its customers’ flights on all invoices. Customers who don’t wish to carbon offset therefore have to deduct the amount from the invoice. In 2007, over 50% of Sunvil’s clients opted to offset their flights. Sunvil Holidays and its clients have been successful in raising a total of £21,231.87 for various verified offset projects so far.

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