When you hand a tour operator anything from £500 to £1,500 for your two weeks in the sun, what do they do with it? And who benefits?
These were some of the questions Tearfund asked 100 UK-based tour operators at the end of last year. The results are published in a report 'Tourism - putting ethics into practice'.
The operators interviewed ranged from the big names (Thomson, Airtours, First Choice) to smaller, more specialist ones such as Dragoman (overland operator) and Rainbow Tours (going to Southern Africa). Tearfund also tried to interview the main Christian operators, some of whom (e.g. MasterSun, Highway Journeys) were very co-operative and had plenty of good practice to demonstrate. Others could not find the time to speak to them. A full list of those contacted is in the report.
