Virgin Holidays Launches E-Brochure for Sustainable Trips

A volunteer holiday in Africa is just one of a plethora of responsible holidays on offer. Credit: Responsible Travel

Virgin Holidays has created a new collection of holidays designed to provide customers with the opportunity to add a sustainable element to their overseas breaks.

There are five different holiday types within the collection and each provides tangible benefits to the people and/or environment in its destination. This can be in the form of helping out in communities through volunteering, directing holiday expenditure to smaller independent businesses, staying at properties which are using solar power and chemical free swimming pools or getting involved in conservation efforts such as turtle monitoring.

Among the opportunities on offer are volunteering in South Africa, Thailand or Kenya, biking through Bangkok or staying in one of the specially selected ‘small and real’ hotels. The Human Nature Collection holiday categories are:

• Giving Something Back – Combining award winning volunteer projects and exhilarating adventures that assist local communities in Kenya, Thailand or South Africa, these holidays enable visitors to gain life-changing experiences through cultural integration, challenge and adventure.
• Real World Adventures – Allow travellers to get acquainted with local food, culture and traditions in worldwide destinations, all in the company of an expert local guide.
• Back to Nature – A range of single centre holidays from the Virgin Holidays’ existing range, which allow customers to experience the natural world first hand.
• Small and Real – This selection of small and often family-run hotels offer an authentic feel of the local way of life across the Caribbean, US and Africa – perfect for those that want to feel part of the culture that they’re visiting.
• Travelife Awarded – A range of hotels from across Virgin Holidays existing programme that have all achieved sustainability awards for their ongoing contribution to local community investment and reducing their environmental impacts.

Commenting at the launch, Andrew Shelton, Virgin Holidays Marketing Director said, “Many of the hotels and excursions in the collection have been chosen because they prioritise employing local people and using locally owned businesses, so more of our customer’s money stays in the destination. This also allows our guests to interact with local people and get a more authentic experience.”

View The Human Nature Collection at Virgin Holidays or at Responsible Travel.