Co-Lab Rhodes: TUI tour guides switch to e-bikes – number of cars reduced by half
- Pilot project is part of TUI's initiatives for sustainable transport at holiday destinations
- In the Co-Lab, TUI, the governments of the South Aegean and Greece develop models for more sustainable holiday destinations
- Guest service in hotels more often with bicycles than with cars
Rhodes is an important destination for TUI to develop new sustainability initiatives. The Destination Co-Lab Rhodes was founded for this purpose. Experiences and initiatives from the Co-Lab Rhodes are to be transferred to other holiday destinations and thus advance the industry in its sustainable transformation. Both approaches count for TUI: the major strategic initiatives and smaller projects that can be implemented immediately, are role models for other destinations and thus can have a major impact. From now on, for example, the TUI service team on Rhodes travels from hotel to hotel with new bikes. 30 e-bikes and 30 cargo bikes have arrived for the 250 tour guides on the island.
The TUI bikes will help reduce emissions and provide the team with more environmentally friendly transport options. The Rhodes team will use the e-bikes for distances longer than a 40-minute walk, while regular bikes will be available to the team for distances longer than 20 minutes. The number of cars available will be reduced from more than 100 to 60. By 2024, this number will be further reduced. The e-bikes pilot project brings the island one step closer to its goal of being climate neutral by 2030.
“Short journeys by car are thus increasingly a thing of the past. Colleagues in guest services are using e-bikes and bicycles when going from hotel to hotel on the island. Only for longer distances will they continue to use cars. Co-Lab Rhodes is the ideal place to launch the pilot project and gain insights,” says Sebastian Ebel, CEO of TUI Group. TUI Group, the TUI Care Foundation and the governments of the South Aegean region and Greece had joined forces in January 2022 and established the Destination Co-Lab Rhodes to jointly develop a holiday destination sustainably at all levels.
About TUI Group
The TUI Group is one of the world's leading tourism groups and operates worldwide. The Group is headquartered in Germany. TUI shares are listed in the MDAX index of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and in the regulated market of the Lower Saxony Stock Exchange in Hanover. TUI Group offers its 20 million customers integrated services from a single source and forms the entire tourism value chain under one roof. The Group owns over 400 hotels and resorts with premium brands such as RIU, TUI Blue and Robinson and 17 cruise ships, ranging from the MS Europa and MS Europa 2 in the luxury class and expedition ships in the HANSEATIC class to the Mein Schiff fleet of TUI Cruises and cruise ships operated by Marella Cruises in the UK. The Group also includes Europe's leading tour operator brands and online marketing platforms, for example for hotel-only or flight-only offers, five airlines with more than 130 modern medium- and long-haul aircraft and around 1,200 travel agencies. In addition to expanding its core business with hotels and cruises via successful joint ventures and activities in vacation destinations, TUI is increasingly focusing on the expansion of digital platforms. The Group is transforming itself into a global tourism platform company.
Global responsibility for sustainable economic, environmental and social action is at the heart of our corporate culture. With projects in 25 countries, the TUI Care Foundation initiated by TUI focuses on the positive effects of tourism, on education and training and on strengthening environmental and social standards. In this way, it supports the development of vacation destinations. The globally active TUI Care Foundation initiates projects that create new opportunities for the next generation.
