TUI Care Foundation launches global programme to support sustainable tourism entrepreneurs - Get updated on what's happening in tourism!

The TUI Care Foundation has launched a new global initiative designed to support small tourism businesses with affordable financing, mentoring and industry visibility. Implemented in partnership with the UnTours Foundation, the programme aims to help locally rooted enterprises expand their operations while increasing the social and environmental benefits of tourism.

Tourism accounts for more than 10 percent of global GDP and employment. However, small and medium-sized enterprises — which represent around 80 percent of tourism businesses worldwide — often struggle to access the capital needed to innovate and scale sustainable practices.

To address this challenge, the new TUI Futureshapers Global initiative combines low-interest impact loans with tailored mentoring and technical support. Over the next two years, up to eleven tourism enterprises in key destinations will receive financing designed to support growth and sustainability. The loans are repayable over two years, with repaid funds reinvested into future initiatives, creating a revolving investment model.

Financing combined with training and market access

Beyond financial support, participating businesses will receive training in financial management, sustainability practices and impact measurement. The programme also provides visibility within the tourism sector and helps entrepreneurs expand their professional networks and access new markets.

Through these measures, the initiative aims to create or safeguard at least 100 jobs while supporting an additional 100 livelihoods in tourism destinations.

Building on successful pilot projects

The initiative builds on a pilot phase launched in 2022, when seven tourism businesses across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean received flexible investment capital. These enterprises created jobs, supported local livelihoods and welcomed more than 25,000 travellers while integrating sustainability and community engagement into their business models.

Examples include One One Cacao in Jamaica, a craft chocolate company that works with more than 60 smallholder farmers and combines sustainable agriculture with tourism experiences. Another project is Global Coralition, which uses underwater sculptures to regenerate coral reefs while creating new ecotourism opportunities and supporting marine conservation.

In India, the programme has supported PashooPakshee, a social enterprise that trains artisans from rural communities to produce environmentally responsible handicrafts inspired by local wildlife and traditions.

Partnership for inclusive tourism development

The initiative is implemented together with the UnTours Foundation, a non-profit impact investor supporting businesses that generate measurable social and environmental change. By combining investment capital with technical expertise and access to the global tourism sector, the partnership aims to accelerate more inclusive and resilient tourism development.

TUI Futureshapers is part of a broader programme supporting tourism entrepreneurs in 48 countries, including Greece, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Laos, Cambodia and several destinations in North Africa. The initiative focuses on helping people transform social and environmental challenges in tourism destinations into sustainable business opportunities.

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