New resort activities designed to help holidaymakers make a positive contribution to destinations are being introduced by Thomas Cook this summer.
The 13 ‘Love Local’ experiences will cost from £12, enabling travellers to meet local communities and help preserve holiday destinations.
Destinations featured include mainland Spain, Lanzarote, Gran Canaria, Mexico and Cuba.
More will be added throughout the season with the aim of having 70 by summer 2020.
Experiences include living like a local for a day in Cuba and cycling through vineyards and olive groves in the Spanish town of Reus.
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The initiative follows Cook research which found that two in five Britons are more likely to choose activities which benefit the local community in some way than they were ten years ago.
Half of holidaymakers are more likely to take a trip to a market to mingle with locals and support independent businesses than they were a decade ago and a third are more inclined to opt for experiences that feature local traditions.
Cook UK head of sustainability in destination, Sandra Killick, said: “Tourism is vital to so many of the countries where we send holidaymakers and our new Love Local programme will enable our customers to make a meaningful difference to the people, economy and environment of the destinations they have been holidaying at for many years and for many more years to come.”
This week Cook relaunched its iconic Airtours brand to sell dynamic packages.
The brand, which became synonymous with package holidays in its 90s heyday, will sell a larger range of short and medium-haul holidays using three to four-star hotels from bed bank partners.
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