Explora Journeys partners with Travelife as part of pledge to build a sustainable future
Geneva, Switzerland – March 17, 2022 – Explora Journeys, the luxury lifestyle travel brand of the MSC Group, announced a partnership today with Travelife for Tour Operators, the internationally-leading training, management and certification program for sustainability in tourism.
Michael Ungerer, Chief Executive Officer, Explora Journeys said: “Working toward more sustainable travel experiences for our guests is an important part of our vision to become a truly defining and desired luxury lifestyle travel brand.
“Our deep respect for the ocean is the principal component of our journey and, out of a deep respect for local communities, our destination experiences are being designed to leave a positive impression and footprint.
“We are committed in this regard to work toward building and maintaining a mutual understanding and firm commitment to sustainable tourism and so I am delighted, therefore, to partner with Travelife, who can help us, our tour operators and travel advisor colleagues to achieve our ambition.”
Explora Journeys’ aim is to create a strong awareness among its partners when it comes to effective sustainability planning, maximizing social and economic benefits for the local communities its ships will visit, enhancing cultural heritage, and reducing environmental impact.
Naut Kusters, General Manager, Travelife, said: “Travelife’s sustainability management system naturally complements Explora Journeys’ commitment to create sustainable destination experiences. DMCs, tour operators, travel advisors and ports are integral to support any sustainable implementation and they will be encouraged with education and incentives. We applaud Explora Journeys for its efforts to promote holistic sustainability.”
The partnership with Travelife allows all Explora Journeys’ tour operators and partner travel advisors with free access to the Travelife online platform to provide a range of benefits toward sustainable tourism. Additional face-to-face trainings are provided in European destinations in the frame of the EU supported SUSTOUR project.
These include a comprehensive learning platform with 16 on-demand sustainability modules, which include final exams and certification upon completion of each module; activity-specific excursion checklists that meet internationally recognized sustainability standards; practical reporting and action planning tools for the effective implementation of sustainability practices; and best practice examples from the travel and tourism industry.
In September 2021, the Cruise Division of MSC Group reaffirmed its long-standing commitment to sustainability by pledging to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions in its cruise marine operations by 2050. The target covers both Explora Journeys and MSC Cruises and goes beyond ambitions laid out by the United Nations’ International Maritime Organisation to achieve a 50 percent reduction in emissions from shipping by 2050 when compared to 2008.
The luxury brand’s sister company, MSC Cruises, has partnered with Travelife for Tour Operators since 2018. To learn more about Travelife, please visit www.travelife.info.
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