If, like me, you have been watching David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II, the chances are you were as shocked as I was at the extent of plastic pollution in our oceans. So moved was my daughter’s primary school that the impact of plastics on the environment has become a key focus of their learning this term.
For those of us working in travel, the problem could not be more acute.
With so much of our business depending on sending people to coastal resorts, it is arguably in our interests more than anyone’s to ensure they are preserved.
So hats off to former Travel Republic chief and ex-Abta board member Kane Pirie for not only recognising the severity of this issue but also pledging to do something about it.
Some might argue that his ‘plastic tax’, which he plans to levy from 2019, will have limited impact in the overall scheme of things. But what if this started a trend and other much larger companies followed suit to encourage firms to clean up their act?
Doing nothing is not an option. And believing there’s plenty of time to act is also misguided. We applaud Kane’s stance and urge others to take action too – and quickly.
Globes glory
We continued to receive emails this week about the Globe Travel Awards, which we were proud to host earlier this month.
Check out which suppliers agents voted as their winners, and all the fun our 1,250 guests had on the night in our 40-page Globes special.
Comment from Travel Weekly, January 25 edition