Tour operator TCS World Travel has launched a new philanthropy programme focused on sustainability and community building in its most popular destinations.
The Seattle-based company plans to offset the carbon footprint for all trips during 2019 and beyond through a partnership with Sustainable Travel International, while also making contributions to charity projects in its leading destinations.
TCS president Shelley Cline said: “We make it a priority to leave a positive impact on the destinations we visit and enrich the lives of those who live there.
“We’re committed to travelling responsibly and reducing our environmental footprint, as well as to ensuring we are helping the communities in these important destinations.”
Sustainable Travel International has calculated the carbon footprint of all TCS’s airline trips in 2019. It is buying carbon offsets equivalent to this amount, which will be used to protect 600 acres of the Peruvian Amazon, as well as funding a water-filtering programme in Cambodia.
TCS’s ongoing community projects include donating $1.1 million to the Ujenzi Charitable Trust, which improves access to healthcare services for poor and vulnerable people in 22 countries, including India and Tanzania.
The company also supports Gorilla Doctors in Rwanda, which works on the conservation of wild mountain and eastern lowland gorillas through veterinary care in the wild.
Other initiatives include collecting unspent local currency from clients at the end of their trips to give to community projects, while TCS offers two annual employee volunteer days so staff can take part in community initiatives in the Seattle area.