Accor and online travel company Expedia Group are joining forces to extend the UNESCO Sustainable Tourism Pledge. This tripartite agreement will see 3,358 global Accor hotels join together to promote environmental sustainability and sustainable tourism worldwide.
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 pledge launched in October 2019 with the Tourism Authority of Thailand, UNESCO and Expedia Group. Accor’s hotels join more than 500 hotels in Thailand that have signed since the Thai microsite was established in 2020.
“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 and distribution for 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.”
“Everyone needs to play their part in promoting sustainable tourism and helping preserve travel destinations," said Zuhairah Washington, SVP, strategic accounts, Expedia Group. “This partnership with Accor is about taking needed steps at a global scale to minimize waste in the tourism sector."
A version of this story originally appeared on Hotel Management's sister site Hospitality Insights.