Tickets for the first Travel Lottery draw go on sale on December 27 as the industry gears up for its busiest booking period of the year.
Customers will have the chance to win back the cost of their holiday – up to £5,000 – in a monthly draw while supporting good causes.
At least 20 firms are expected to be promoting and selling tickets by the end of 2014, with an ambition to sell at least 100,000 tickets and raise more than £50,000 for good causes in the first year.
Travel Lottery tickets will be promoted initially with launch partners Midcounties Co-operative Travel and Holiday Extras, who will offer customers the option of buying a £2 ticket as part of their booking.
It will also be possible for customers to buy tickets direct from a new website at thetravellottery.co.uk.
Funds raised from the Travel Foundation initiative will go towards protecting and investing in communities and natural environments in holiday destinations from Cyprus to Sri Lanka and from Turkey to Thailand.
At least 50p from each ticket sold will go directly to support charitable projects run by the Travel Foundation, with a further 50p contributing to the prize fund. The hope is that, as more and more organisations back the lottery, more than half the cost of the ticket will go towards charitable activity.
As well as raising vital funds for charity, The Travel Lottery creates a new revenue stream for ticker sellers, who can earn up to 20p per ticket. Companies can choose to donate this to the charities they support or add it to their bottom line.
Graeme Jackson, head of partnerships at the Travel Foundation, said: “There’s been a huge buzz about the lottery since it was announced in September, and we’ve had lots of companies already coming forward to ask about getting involved.”
The charity’s chairman Noel Josephides said: “This really is a win-win for everyone involved – for customers who have a chance to win a cash prize every month, for travel firms who can earn commission and support their corporate responsibility, and ultimately for the destinations which we rely on and send our customers to every year.”
The charity’s projects in 2014 include:
- Helping beach operators in Kenya earn a better living from tourism and provide hassle free tours for holidaymakers to enjoy.
- Finding new ways to help local businesses grow and thrive alongside all-inclusive hotels in Cyprus.
- Supporting local communities in Jamaica and Turkey to sell great tourism experiences.
- Continuing to develop the business skills of Mayan women in Mexico so they can supply locally produced honey products to hotels.