Expedia Group and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) have joined forces with 3,358 global Accor hotels to further extend the UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Pledge.
The Pledge launched in October 2019 with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, UNESCO and Expedia Group. Accor’s hotels join over 500 hotels in Thailand that have signed The Pledge since the Thai microsite was established in 2020.
The UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Pledge promotes responsible practices, community resilience and heritage conservation, with the ultimate goal of changing the nature and impact of global tourism. Under The Pledge, parties commit to supporting the reduction and elimination of single-use plastics and promoting local economy and culture.
The expansion of The Pledge comes at a time when travellers’ awareness of and demand for tourism sustainability practices continues to grow, with Millennials and GenZ taking the lead with heightened environmental consciousness. Importantly, these young travellers (up to age 40) share heightened concerns over the environmental impact caused by travel when choosing a future trip, which might be attributed to the aftermath caused by COVID-19. With Accor joining this Expedia Group and UNESCO initiative, The Pledge extends to almost 100 countries promoting sustainable tourism globally.
“We have a responsibility to offer sustainable and tangible solutions to our guests to reduce the impact the hospitality sector has on the environment,” said Markus Keller, SVP Sales & Distribution from Accor. “Accor and all of the hotels in its network have long-standing commitments in this area, for our decision to remove all single-use plastic items from guest experience in our hotels by 2022. We want to accelerate our efforts, which is why we are today joining the UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Pledge in partnership with Expedia Group.”
To learn more about how Accor’s hotels are working with the Pledge to become more sustainable and environmentally friendly CLICK HERE.
