Peter Long, chief executive of TUI Travel, admitted that there is no quick fix for Europe's largest tour operator as it seeks to reduce its carbon footprint and that the recession has made the task harder. Quizzed by Stephen Sackur of the BBC's HARDtalk in a session to mark World Responsible Tourism Day at World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, at London's ExCel exhibition centre, Long said: "We can't take easy wins, we can't make a discernible difference in just a couple of years, it's a slow burn. "It's easier for small-scale firms to make a difference but harder for large-scale operations like us because of the scale of what we have to do. "Investing in new aircraft and technology is the best way for us to take action on climate change," said Long. "The Boeing 787 uses very different technology in terms of composite materials and uses 20% less fuel as a result. Sackur asked why TUI Travel had cancelled 10 of the 23 Boeing 787s it had on order. "When that order was placed, it was very different economic times, so we had to reduce," said Long, "but we are expecting delivery on 737-800s for short-haul flights that are much more fuel-efficient. Long defended the actions the company has already taken. "We quantified our carbon footprint several years ago and 2008 witnessed an 8% reduction in carbon emissions," he said. "The target we have set ourselves in the years from now to 2014 is 6%." Asked why TUI Travel is not maintaining progress at the 2008 rate, Long said: "The figures are governed in terms of the aircraft we operate. One reason why the 2008 figure was so high was that we needed fewer planes after the merger. Operating more efficiently is more challenging than rationalizing our fleet. "Our flights burn 80gms of carbon emissions per kilometre flown, whereas 90gms-120gms per passenger are the industry average," he said. "We are more efficient because we fill the planes. We don't fly half-full or three quarters-full. "We could cut carbon emissions by 50% tomorrow by reducing our number of destinations," said Long, "but then, by the way, we would cause economic devastation in Mexico or Kenya because we no longer fly to those places. "There's a fine balance in terms of sustainability and the prosperity tourism brings to these countries." Long warned that in the long term people have to pay more to fly. "Costs will increase as emissions will have to be paid for when aircraft come under the scope of the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EETS) in 2012," he said. Long warned, though, that "if we are overtaxed that will be like going back 50 years". The TUI Travel boss also singled out the government's airport passenger duty (APD) for attack. "APD isn't being used to offset emissions, it's a tax," he said. "The EETS is being used to finance the development of second generation biofuels. We believe carbon emissions can't just be used for a tax grab, all the money must be recycled to address the environmental issues we face. "This is a long-term game. If we knew that revenue was being ring-fenced for sustainability and environmental projects, APD would be acceptable. Long also said TUI Travel is working with its partners in the hotel industry to introduce carbon-neutral standards. "Cooperation rather instruction is the way to get the best outcome," he said. "In the early days of mass tourism, in the 1950s and 1960s when Spanish resortswere being developed, sustainability wasn't an issue. "With a 40-year-old hotel, it is hard to turn it around. In the medium term a hotel like that has no future. But we can't just destroy swathes of hotels. "In the next 10 years, the landscape will change and that's the window we are looking at to really make a difference. "Islands like Majorca and the Balearics have changed dramatically in terms of reinvestment," he said. "They now have state of the art waste disposal, for instance, which has eliminated the need for landfill. "We need a healthy industry, though, for change to happen." - ENDS -

About World Travel Market World Travel Market, the premier global event for the travel industry, is the must-attend four-day business-to-business exhibition for the worldwide travel and tourism industry. Almost 50,000 senior travel industry professionals, government ministers and international press, embark on ExCeL - London every November to network, negotiate and discover the latest industry opinion and trends at WTM. WTM, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2009, is the event where the travel industry conducts and concludes its deals. WTM is owned by the world's leading events organiser Reed Exhibitions (RE), which organises a portfolio of other travel industry events including Arabian Travel Market and International Luxury Travel Market. RE holds more than 500 events in 38 countries throughout Americas, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific covering 47 industry sectors including aerospace & aviation, healthcare, manufacturing and sport & recreation. In 2008 RE, part of the Reed Elsevier group, brought together more than six million industry professionals from around the world generating billions of dollars in business.

For more information on the above press release please contact Paul Nelson, Press and PR Manager, World Travel Market - Email: Paul.Nelson@reedexpo.co.uk, Tel: 020 8910 7032