Choosing a holiday is, for many consumers, not just about cheap deals and summer sun; recent research shows that a growing majority of holidaymakers are looking to make a positive impact when they travel. In a survey conducted by Booking.com last year, 71% of travellers say they want to leave the places they visit better than when they arrived, up 5% on 2023.
In light of this, how are UK travel co-ops addressing the impact of their holidays, and how might travel be a force for good?
For walking tour operator HF Holidays, these considerations are shaped by its 48,000 members. Established in 1913 with the aim of making the great outdoors accessible to all, it now runs 260 walking holidays and sightseeing tours across 40 countries, with many of these trips planned and led by member volunteers.
“Not only do they plan the walks, but they also monitor the weather and the paths and whether they’re accessible, and keep those walks up to date,” says HF Holidays CEO Chris Simmonds.
HF Holidays regularly engages with members to inform them on what it is doing and ask their opinions on how the organisation should run.
“The co-operative ethos is still very much alive and well within the organisation over 100 years beyond its creation,” says Simmonds. He adds that many HF Holiday members have a passion for the great outdoors, the environment and nature, “so clearly they are also conscious of making sure that the organisation acts in a sustainable way”.
This member input, he explains, was a driving force for many of the co-op’s sustainability initiatives, including the move to become B Corp certified last year.
HF Holidays includes a carbon footprint measurement next to each holiday on its website, and is using this data to make changes to its holidays and properties, such as switching to renewable energy, reducing single use plastics, and increasing the use of local guides to reduce transport to overseas destinations.
It also works with environmental consultants ecollective to measure its emissions, as part of a strategy to reduce its carbon footprint by 5% each year, with the ultimate aim of reaching net zero by 2040 or earlier.
HF Holidays also works with partners to offer holidays that deliver positive social impact, such as its Western Yorkshire Dales Discover More Tour, which features a visit to Laura’s Loom, a weaving business that sources wool from local farms in the Yorkshire Dales and Cumbria. This in turn “preserves the region’s rich cultural heritage while promoting the sustainable use of local resources,” says HF Holidays.
Further afield, trips like the Maya Ruins & Volcano Trails holiday offer an opportunity to take part in a cooking class led by the San Antonio Women’s Co-op in Belize, formed by nine Mayan women to earn an income, learn new skills, and share their traditional knowledge not only with visitors but with the younger generation.
In addition, HF Holidays’ Pathways Fund supports the repair and maintenance of footpaths, stiles, and conservation projects, as well as offering assisted holidays to individuals or families facing financial difficulties nominated by members of the co-op.
Another travel co-operative taking direction from its members is Your Co-op Travel, part of the Midcounties retail co-operative. It has 70 high-street branches, and is the home of the tour operator brand Co-op Holidays.
“Our members have told us they want the Midcounties Co-operative to be a leading sustainable business, so we have made ‘Sustainable Impact’ one of the five key pillars of our society’s purpose,” says Mark Mitchell, head of Co-op Holidays.
“This means that, in co-operation with our members, colleagues and partners, we are focused on investing in innovative sustainability measures wherever possible.” Midcounties has an overall target of reducing its direct greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by January 2026 compared to 2019, and plans to reduce indirect emissions by 32% by 2030.
In 2022, Your Co-op Travel started collaborating with social enterprise and B Corp Ecologi to support carbon reduction projects and responsible tree planting around the world – and last year, it announced a collaboration with Byway, the UK’s only 100% flight-free travel platform.
Your Co-op Travel also offers “sustainably conscious adventures” for those looking for purpose driven experiences, such as its Pyramids and Nile Cruise, where travellers spend time in the SEKEM community – a project supporting farmers to adopting sustainable agricultural practices, with the aim of transforming barren desert into a thriving community.
“It has been really rewarding to continue to empower travellers to make sustainable and responsible travel choices,” says Mitchell,” and our team have a huge sense of pride in being able to offer holidaymakers environmentally responsible travel that remains both enriching and memorable.”
Both HF Holidays and Your Co-op Travel demonstrate the impact the co-operative model and member involvement can have when it comes to making travel a force for good.
“Ultimately, the ethos of a co-op is to represent a group of people who want to do something. So if there’s a group of people who want to participate in tourism, in a sense, that force for good can be shaped by the members,” says Simmonds.
In celebration of the 2025 International Year of Cooperatives, HF Holidays published a blog where team members shared their experiences of being part of a co-operative.
HF Holidays leader Chris Steel said that for the co-op’s members, guests, leaders, members, and staff, “there’s a real sense that HF Holidays belongs to us”.
“It’s not just ownership in a monetary sense,” he adds. “People believe that HF Holidays is a good thing and are deeply committed to it. One of the main reasons why our holidays are so great is the shared experience they provide. You feel part of an inclusive, welcoming community – one where everyone is valued and where people look for the best in each other.”
