Travel is meant to be an escape - but it‘s sometimes hard to escape from single-use plastic as part of your trip. From tiny shampoo bottles in hotels to plastic-wrapped snacks on flights, travelers may encounter disposable items atalmost every turn. But TUI is on a mission to change that.

Leading this change are people like Serge, a seasoned Purser on TUI flights and Cabin Standards Executive for TUI fly Netherlands, and Simon Florin, Environmental Officer on the Marella Explorer cruise ship. As a member of the Global Tourism Plastics Initiative, TUI supports the initiative’s goal of eliminating problematic and unnecessary plastic packaging wherever possible by 2030. This ambitious goal is part of TUI's larger Sustainability Agenda – on land, at sea, and in the air.

"Every year, TUI Airline removes millions of plastic items"

On TUI flights, Serge has witnessed the transformation firsthand. “When I started working in aviation 20 years ago, single use plastics were everywhere. Over the last years, I luckily saw a total shift in mindset, leading to the phased removal of single-use plastic items from its operations, " he shares. The changes are obvious to the passengers: Plastic cups have been replaced with paper, distributed only upon request, and plastic wrapping for items like blankets or headphones has been eliminated. On long-haul flights, TUI is working on opportunities to reduce the plastic used to protect food, through better non-plastic packaging and reusable, washable dining equipment.

At sea, Simon Florin is leading efforts on the Marella Explorer. Since 2019, Marella Cruises has avoided around 9 million single-use plastic items, from straws to plastic vanity bin liners. The latest achievement the Romanian is proud of? A microplastic filter from the Cleaner Seas Group in the ship's laundry system, which the manufacturer says can capture up to 99% of microfibers – preventing them from entering the ocean.

TUI’s hotels are also joining the fight against plastic. Since 2022, the company has reduced the amount of plastic per guest night in its owned and managed hotels by 19%. The focus is on the principle of "Remove, Reuse, Replace" – avoiding single-use items wherever possible. In some hotels, TUI has also begun installing microplastic filters from the Cleaner Seas Group, extending the successful initiative from its cruise fleet to land-based operations.

"It's a journey, and there’s still work to be done"

Looking ahead, both Serge and Simon are clear about their mission. 'It's a journey, and there’s still work to be done. But every small change adds up,' says Simon. 'If we can further reduce single-use plastic on flights and cruises, that’s already a big win,' adds Serge."