Abta chairman Noel Josephides has hailed Travel Foundation plans for an industry lottery, due to launch in December, saying: “This is going to create a big buzz.”
The Travel Foundation sees The Travel Lottery as a way to engage consumers and support sustainable tourism projects.
It will cost £2 to enter and offer cash prizes of up to £5,000, with a guaranteed minimum prize of £1,000 a month.
The charity lottery will target holiday bookers with the message: “Win the cost of your holiday and support the places you visit.”
It will be open to consumers through shops and as part of the online booking process of partner companies as well as through a dedicated site.
Consumers will be invited to buy lottery tickets when booking a holiday or travel-related services, or simply when researching travel.
A minimum 50p per lottery ticket will go to project funding at the start, but the Travel Foundation sees this rising to £1 or more once the lottery is established.
Companies selling the tickets will earn up to 20p from each ticket, which they will be encouraged to donate back to the Travel Foundation or use to support other charities.
The Travel Foundation will formally unveil The Travel Lottery at its annual general meeting in London on September 17, when it will also announce the launch partners.
The industry charity currently relies on industry donations and consumer contributions to fund its growing number of destination projects and hopes these will continue. Its annual income is close to £1.2 million.
Travel Foundation acting head Salli Felton said: “The aim is to increase the scale and positive impact of what we do.
“Who doesn’t want to win money? Who doesn’t want to go on holiday?”
Josephides, who chairs the Travel Foundation, said: “This is an exceptionally simple and neat idea that I hope will be a huge success.
“Any company selling a holiday or tourism-related product can get involved and, by doing so, make a huge difference to the destinations on which we all depend.
“I urge companies to sign up.”
The Travel Foundation celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, having been formally launched at the Abta Travel Convention in 2003.
Felton said: “This is about the next 10 years. The vision is to create a stand-alone funding stream for sustainable projects.”