The European tour operating giant will work with the Greek government and authorities in the South Aegean region on the Rhodes Co-Lab project, which will last for five years.
Tui said that the project aimed to turn Rhodes into a “a beacon for sustainable transformation of holiday destinations”, with successful initiatives and ideas developed on the Greek island eventually being duplicated and scaled up in other destinations.
Fritz Joussen, chief executive of Tui Group, said: “We want to achieve for the first time a fully sustainable destination. This would then become a role model for global expansion.”
Joussen added that the lab would look for innovations to improve all types of sustainability, including environmental issues as well as economic and social sustainability. The goal was to create a “holistic” approach.
He also urged the industry to work together to come up with solutions and insisted Tui’s move to set up the Co-Lab was not about “tactics or becoming more competitive”.
“We will be learning what’s good and what’s not so good,” explained Joussen. “These learnings can then be duplicated to other destinations.”
Work has already started on one of the Co-Lab’s first projects, which aims to improve Rhodes’ waste and water treatment systems, as well as recycling.
George Chatzimarkos, governor of the South Aegean Region, added: “Tackling the challenges ahead it is a complex task and we understand that nobody can do it alone.
“I believe that this great alliance, with a leader in the global tourism market, such as the Tui Group, goes beyond the narrow limits of our common commitment to this endeavour.”
The Rhodes Co-Lab, which will be managed by a team of sustainability experts, will look at several different areas of how to improve the island’s sustainability over the next five years.
This includes growing tourism sustainably while conserving resources and creating new jobs for local people, as well as preserving and restoring biodiversity, and reducing the ecological footprint of tourism on the island.
Thomas Ellerbeck, chairman of the board of trustees of the Tui Care Foundation, said: “It’s not a project of Tui, it’s a joint project. We are extending an invitation to all partners in the industry to join us. We need the support of all partners.”
