The last year has provided a testing time for all sectors of business, not least the travel industry. The global economic downturn brought with it a decline in international tourism in 2009, intensified by many other factors including consumer confidence, terrorism incidents, fluctuating exchange rates and the outbreak of swine flu.
At Thomas Cook Group, our response to challenging market conditions is to work harder and increase our efforts in going further to make dreams come true for our customers. Sustainability is no exception to this committed approach. We recognise the many virtues of travel, including the positive cultural exchange and the boost to local economies, but we are also aware of tourism’s impacts on the environment and societies. Our industry has a responsibility to address these issues and Thomas Cook Group, which founded its business with clear social intentions, is proactive in this area. In our sustainability reporting too, we adhere to international best practice: this report meets the Level B requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative’s G3 Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.
The issues we face are many and various and we do not underestimate the commitment and resource required of us in addressing them. These are issues like climate change, customer safety and supply chain management. We recognise that the environments of many holiday destinations risk being affected by climate change and, while it represents a cost to our business, we are working hard to reduce carbon emissions from all areas under our influence and control, including in particular aviation and hotels. Customer safety is, and always will be, our number one priority. And working closely with our suppliers, particularly hoteliers, we are focused on making sustainable business practice a beneficial choice for all parties.
We aim to have sustainability at the core of our business strategy. These responsibilities no longer sit on the periphery; their importance represents a genuine business risk. Customers, investors, employees, governments and communities no longer look for, but demand that, both time and money be invested in the preservation and protection of the incredible cultures and places we and our customers come into contact with.
In these pages, you can read about the progress we made in 2008/09, including: the initiatives we are adopting to reduce our contribution to climate change; the expansion of our work with the Travelife sustainability management system; and how our employees are working to a common set of values across the Group to deliver the very best service to our customers.
You can also read about our plans for 2010 and how we intend to reduce our total carbon emissions and extend the use of the Travelife system to all our business segments. A major focus for us in the coming year is also to improve our internal systems for managing sustainability issues, enabling us to produce more comprehensive reports in future.
These are early steps but important ones, taken with conviction, care and commitment.
Manny Fontenla-Novoa, Group Chief Executive Officer