Newmarket Holidays has announced it will support a UK peatland restoration programme as part of the operator’s ongoing Travel for Good initiative.
The tour operator is donating funds for every customer carried from January 1, 2024, to support peatland restoration across the North Pennines AONB and Unesco Global Geopark – an activity that reduces the amount of carbon being released into the earth’s atmosphere.
As well as donating £1 per passenger throughout 2024, the company is planning additional support initiatives. This activity will initially run through 2024, but Newmarket Holidays views it as a long-term relationship as part of its Travel For Good initiative.
The peatland restoration programme covers an area four times the size of Newcastle.
As well as cutting carbon release, healthy peatland can mitigate the effects of flooding, benefits biodiversity, reduces the risk of wildfires and improves water quality.
This campaign is part of Newmarket Holidays’ Travel for Good strategy, which includes the operator monitoring its own carbon emissions, partnering with charity Just a Drop, and reviewing its escorted tours to include donations and visits to local projects helping vulnerable people or protecting endangered wildlife.
Niel Alobaidi, Newmarket Holidays chief executive, said: “Not only is peatland important for wildlife, but it also represents a huge carbon store, so is essential in efforts to tackle climate change.
“We are really grateful for this opportunity to be able to directly support the continuing restoration of these areas, which provides an immediate benefit in terms of reducing emissions, as well as a wide range of additional benefits to society.”
Paul Leadbitter, Peatland programme manager for the North Pennines AONB Partnership, added: “We welcome the opportunity to work with Newmarket Holidays and other businesses which are already working on their internal carbon footprint but also looking wider to see how they can further support the conservation sector’s efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.”