Kategorie: News
Tyrolean tour operator has developed its own ECO strategy
Can you travel and protect the environment at the same time? Not so easy, especially when you fly halfway around the world. How can you balance that with your awareness of the environment? Werner Thiele, managing director of the Austrian diving travel company Waterworld-Feel the Elements (www.waterworld.at) has thought about this in Corona times and has changed and invested a lot, which we think is good for the travel company.
Simple things such as LED lighting are not witchcraft, but still something that should not be left out. With certified green electricity, it is often more difficult. However, exactly this green electricity was directly feasible at the company headquarters in the Austrian Tyrol, since the regional energy provider Kraftwerk Haim offers real 100% green electricity around Wattens, Kolsass and the neighboring villages through its own small hydroelectric power plants. So it made sense to convert the company vehicle fleet to electric mobility as well. Since 1.1.2021, the two company cars have been driving only electrically, thus saving several thousand liters of fossil fuel per year.
When selecting destinations, the tour operator is also increasingly relying on sailing ships and catamarans, as these can often travel using wind power without fossil fuels. Also ever more combination journeys are offered, in order to minimize unnecessary long-distance flights. It is better to take a longer combination vacation once a year than to sit on a plane twice to travel to distant destinations. That saves ticket costs as well as time in the airplane, but above all also kerosene, which contributes in a proven way to the global warming. By the way, Waterworld recommends spending the short vacation in your own country. Waterworld partners offer beautiful freshwater diving destinations where you can practice for your diving vacation or spend a vacation with your family back home. Then your conscience doesn't have to feel quite so bad when it's time to "hop on a plane and go on a long-distance trip!"
Reforestation projects as CO₂ compensation
But this is not the only area where the company is working in a more environmentally friendly way. Also the dispatch of all travel documents was already changed some time ago and only on special request the documents are sent by post. A further plus of the digitization is that Waterworld improved the quality of the documents: even more informative and comprehensive travel documents have been put together; ideally to start dreaming about the destination as soon as they arrive. Anybody who still likes to receive its documents by paper will get them, of course. Also here Werner Thiele considered new ideas: The documents are sent in grass cartons of the company Biobiene (Bio Bee). For those who want to take liquids with them, Waterworld sends zip-lock bags made of recycled plastic, as well as resistant and durable luggage tags made of a high-quality silicone-hard plastic mixture that lasts half a traveler's lifetime at minimum.
The main item, however, is and remains the flight to the vacation destination. Here, it has long been possible to buy CO₂ offset certificates oneself from various certified organizations. Waterworld has also come up with something else here that is 100% more tangible and also fun, animates divers and brings them together. As of now, you can pay a voluntary small amount per person into Waterworld's in-house CO₂ program. The amount is updated weekly on the website and doubled by Waterworld at the end of the year. This amount is used to purchase tree seedlings, which are planted together in locally changing reforestation projects every year in a Waterworld event. Press representatives will always participate to report on the event. The first event will take place in early summer 2022, when Waterworld celebrates its 25th anniversary.
The Waterworld ECO symbol
Wherever the new symbol - an ECO lettering framed by a fern and a shark - is visible, a trip specially selected by Waterworld is tempting, which contains one or more particularly sustainable features that justify this award. Be it that with small groups under 12 persons nature and animal world are disturbed minimally, or also by the fact that the travel goal is reached without use of fossil fuels only with the strength of the wind - thus under sails. Waterworld has come up with a number of ideas to make the (diving) trip even more nature-loving and sustainable.
Further ideas will be implemented in the near future, and ideas from customers are also very welcome.
Further information:
waterworld.at/nachhaltigkeit-bei-waterworld