Sustainable Travel Ambassadors petition Tui on captive dolphins

Brands including Gold Medal, Ocean Florida, Tui Group and Attraction World continue to sell SeaWorld in Florida for example, while Tui Group and Jet2holidays sell Loro Parque in Tenerife. TTG’s ‘Big Question’ in August explored the issues in more detail.

Katheryn Wise, wildlife campaign manager at World Animal Protection UK said: "Tui Group continues to profit from cruel dolphin captivity around the world, selling tickets to dolphin shows and swim-with experiences where these intelligent marine predators are kept in small, barren tanks, performing circus tricks for tourist entertainment. We are thrilled that so many independent travel agents are using their powerful role in the industry and encouraging Tui as a major UK travel brand to do the right thing and stop selling and promoting dolphin captivity.”

Kiwano’s Rebecca Woolford added: “Demand for more sustainable and responsible holidays is rising, but animal welfare remains a missing piece. Equally, the travel agent community won’t and cannot afford to wait for more customers to demand the changes this industry needs to see.”

In response to the open letter, Tui Group told TTG in a statement: “At Tui we base the development of our animal welfare strategy on the ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines, an internationally recognised standard. The ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines were developed in collaboration with industry experts, zoological organisations, scientists, and NGOs.  

“We are currently reviewing the Tui animal welfare policy for venues with cetaceans in captivity as the ABTA Animal Welfare Guidelines no longer contain specific guidance on these. We are doing an in-depth analysis of scientific research and having an open dialogue with different stakeholders, including NGOs, scientists and experts on the subject, to take the most responsible decision. We are deeply committed to ensuring that animals in captivity are in good condition.

“We are convinced that through our animal welfare strategy and audit processes in collaboration with our suppliers we can change the industry from the inside out.”

The webinar, ‘Rethinking Wildlife Tourism’ can be watched below

Read more from TTG’s Sustainable Travel Ambassadors workshop on animal welfare, featuring Intrepid’s global environmental impact manager Dr Suzanne Etti, in our write-up of the session.