The DERTOUR Group is now labelling more sustainable offers from its tour operators DERTOUR, ITS and Meiers Weltreisen with the new "engage - people & planet" label. Head of Sustainability Laura Steden tells us what is behind the label, why it makes sense and what the future plans are.
Hotels that are certified according to the internationally recognised sustainability criteria of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) are marked with a dark green leaf in the shape of a heart. Around 1,800 hotels are currently marked with the engage signet in the catalogue portfolio, in addition to numerous hotels via bed banks such as booking.com.
Fairweg provides the database for this. The sustainability portal has a large number of accommodations worldwide with GSTC-recognised sustainability certificates. Travel agencies can recognise the offers provided by the DERTOUR Group with the engage label in the booking portal by the StayFair logo from Fairweg.
The DERTOUR Group has also started labelling more sustainable excursions and round trips. Offers that are not certified, but have been checked internally for a selection of generally recognised criteria for responsible tourism, are displayed with a light green leaf in the shape of a heart. When evaluating the excursions and tours, various aspects of travel were considered, for example locomotion and transport, socio-economic and cultural aspects, environmental protection and nature conservation as well as meals and catering. DERTOUR Suisse has been successfully using this two-pronged labelling system since 2019.
When evaluating the excursions and round trips, various aspects of travel were considered, such as locomotion and transport, socio-economic and cultural aspects, environmental and nature conservation as well as meals and catering. (Photo: Getty Images | © Uwe Moser, Finkenweg 8, 70806 Kornwestheim)
"Sustainability as an important aspect of holiday travel is here to stay. That's why we are currently expanding both the engage excursion portfolio and the more sustainable round trips and want to give travellers and travel agents quick orientation at a glance," explains Laura Steden, Director Corporate Responsibility at DERTOUR Group. "Our aim is for all international units of the DERTOUR Group to label their products with engage - people & planet in future, so that we have a uniform basis for more sustainable products across the group," Steden continues.
How holidays can be made more sustainable is also the topic of DERTOUR's current online magazine "Bewusst Reisen", the fifth issue of which has been published. It presents holidays that focus particularly on the environment and society.
In conversation with Laura Steden, Director Corporate Responsibility DERTOUR Group
one: There are now also a large number of seals in tourism. Do you think a kind of "umbrella label" helps consumers to make more sustainable travel decisions?
Laura Steden, Director Corporate Responsibility DERTOUR Group
Laura Steden: The number of seals in tourism is actually in the three-digit range. What's more, not all of the seals are reliable in terms of their criteria and rigour of verification. In very few cases, consumers know what is behind the label and can hardly distinguish between the labels. For this reason, an umbrella seal with recognition value helps to reduce the complexity a little and make decision-making easier.
At the same time, it can ensure that only those products are labelled that actually meet strict minimum requirements. This includes checking ecological, social and economic criteria in detail. In this way, "engage" allows consumers to actively opt for more sustainable options both when choosing accommodation and when selecting appropriate round trips or excursions. However, the impact of a trip depends on many factors. In addition, the DERTOUR online theme world 'Conscious travelling', for example, provides information and tips on sustainable travel.
one: Why did you decide in favour of the "engage - people & planet" label?
The green signet provides travel experts at the counter and travellers with guidance on more sustainable holiday offers.
Laura Steden: "engage - people & planet" was introduced by DERTOUR Suisse in 2019, while different approaches to labelling more sustainable travel offers existed within the entire DERTOUR Group. When looking for a solution for the entire DERTOUR Group, the tried-and-tested two-pronged model was the obvious choice: the dark green leaf in the shape of a heart is used to label hotels that are externally certified as sustainable, while the green leaf outline on a white background is used to label excursions and round trips that have been audited internally.
The hotels marked with "engage" are certified by standards recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Excursions and tours are audited internally using generally recognised criteria for responsible tourism. Engage is gradually being rolled out to the entire DERTOUR Group.
How many hotels and round trips do you want to recognise in the next few years?
Laura Steden: Around 1,800 hotels are currently marked with the engage signet in our catalogue portfolio. The trend is rising. With the opportunity to make exciting initiatives visible as part of 'Conscious Travel', we incentivise our partners in the destinations to make their offers more sustainable. Important hotel partners are actively encouraged to introduce sustainability management and have their hotels certified if they are not already doing so.
Our goal is to have 25 per cent of the hotels in our core portfolio certified by 2025. It goes without saying that we are setting a good example in the Group. The hotels in our Hotel Division are also being successively certified as sustainable. Checking and organising responsible round trips and excursions is very time-consuming. We have already implemented the first of these and more will follow in 2025.
