Online travel agency Luxtripper has partnered with ‘profit for good’ company Trees4Travel to allow clients to offset CO2 emissions created by their trips.
It is the first luxury travel company partnership in the UK by Trees4Travel, which is aiming for B-Corp status.
Under the agreement, each Luxtripper holiday will be calculated individually to work out its carbon cost. Luxtripper and Trees4Travel will cover the cost of half the trees needed to offset each holiday, so clients only need pay half the amount required.
Customers can choose to offset this cost by planting indigenous trees in chosen sites worldwide. The trees will offset the CO2 emissions within ten years and will be planted in protected areas so that they can continue offsetting throughout their lifetime.
The agency has calculated it will cost around £60 to offset a week’s holiday in the Maldives, based on planting 20 trees at a cost of £3 each.
Luxtripper founder Nena Chaletzos called the deal a “significant moment”.
She said: “Protection and preservation of the world around us is one of our founding values and we are committed to making our presence in the travel industry a positive one for the planet.
“Our customers are increasingly environmentally-conscious, and this partnership allows them to be more in control of their own sustainability efforts, knowing we’ll match their donations.”
She said that despite a “pause” over the last 16 months, the agency’s fight against climate change remained critical, adding: “With a continuing light shining on our industry, it’s our responsibility to ensure we return to travel in the right way.”
Trees4Travel, started in 2020, is involved in reforestation projects and plants a variety of indigenous trees to help restore natural ecosystems and works closely with local communities.
Trees4Travel founder Nico Nicholas said: “We’re very excited to be partnering with Luxtripper, our first UK leisure company. Their vision for sustainable travel is aligned with ours and their growing customer base of eco-conscious travellers will make a significant impact on the planting projects we are running across the world.
“Our vision is to use travel as a force for good, and to support the entire travel industry to be carbon positive, as well as working with destinations to do the same.”
The latest Deloitte/Travel Weekly Travel Insghts report showed that 60% of UK adults planning an overseas holiday this year were concerned about sustainability, up 5% on 2020. For 16 to 34 year olds, the figure rises to 70%.
Tourism is thought to account for 8% of annual global CO2 emissions and deforestation for 20%.