In honor of World Environment Day, which took place June 5, two more major travel brands announced plans to reduce or eliminate single-use plastics.
The Travel Corporation (TTC) announced that it has committed to eliminating single-use plastics across its worldwide portfolio of 29 travel and tourism brands by 2022. The TTC has created a “Multi-Year Plastics Elimination Strategy” with its nonprofit arm, the TreadRight Foundation, that includes an immediate ban on more than 60 types of single-use plastic items, including straws, stir sticks, water bottles, plastic bags and cutlery at the organization’s 40 global offices. The initiative will continue with the gradual, complete elimination of single-use plastics across all of the TTC’s worldwide operations, including on its Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and U by Uniworld cruise ships, all of its Red Carnation Hotels and all of its other travel experiences.
Hotel and resort brand Bahia Principe has also announced plans to ban single-use plastics at all of its all-inclusive hotels in the Caribbean and Spain by 2020. The brand will replace single-use plastic cups and straws with reusable or biodegradable alternatives. These changes are now in effect at Bahia Principe’s four properties in Riviera Maya, Mexico, and at a corporate level with all Grupo Piñero – the brand’s parent company – offices initiating a plan to reduce plastic usage in January, with the goal of banning all plastics by the end of the year.
The two travel brands are the latest to announce plans to ban single-use plastics. Last week expedition cruise line Hurtigruten announced that it will ban all single-use plastics fleetwide by July 2. As of July 16, Alaska Airlines will replace its single-use, non-recyclable plastic stir straws and citrus picks with sustainable alternatives in its airport lounges and on all of its domestic and international flights. Finally, Hilton has said that it will eliminate plastic straws across its managed hotels in the Asia Pacific region by the end of 2018, as well as transition away from plastic bottles in its conference and event spaces.
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