The project, which was launched at Abta’s Decarbonising Tourism event on Thursday (11 November), will include activities focusing on “what decarbonisation looks like” for different parts of the sector, including hotels, aviation, cruise, ground transport and destinations.

Mark Tanzer, Abta’s chief executive, said: “We have seen some good progress in recent years – including progress towards the development of sustainable aviation fuels and a number of businesses across travel and tourism setting targets and reporting carbon reductions, but that work needs to be scaled up and continue as a matter of urgency.  

“Through this collaboration we want to further develop the industry’s understanding of climate change and engage senior leaders in what they need to be thinking about for their businesses and the meaningful actions they can take.” 

Abta and Deloitte will also explore how travel firms can “deliver meaningful change” during the next year, by engaging with senior leaders from the association’s members. The project will build on the work featured in Abta’s Tourism for Good report.

Alistair Pritchard, Deloitte’s lead partner for travel and aviation, added: “We recognise that the industry has been through an extremely challenging period and recovery is an immediate focus, but we hope we will be able to support Abta members and the wider travel eco-system understand and tackle the transformative changes that businesses need to undertake. 

“Our collaboration will involve bringing greater clarity for the sector on the changes required to help business leaders plot their course to a more sustainable future.”