United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
TUI HQ staff targeted by animal welfare campaigners
Animal welfare group PETA is targeting TUI employees in its campaign to force the operator to stop selling tickets to SeaWorld.
The group has placed a poster on a bus stop near to TUI’s Luton HQ that shows an orca trapped in a glass bowl alongside a plea not to support what it calls marine ‘abusement parks’.
"While the majority of the travel industry is moving away from parks that confine far-ranging orcas to cramped concrete tanks, TUI is still propping them up," said PETA director Elisa Allen.
"PETA is urging TUI to do right by orcas in 2020 and stop selling tickets to SeaWorld’s watery prisons."
TUI said it is ‘committed to working only with excursion venues that agree to uphold the Global Welfare Guidance for Animals in Tourism’, which was formulated by ABTA.
"The venues we feature are subject to an extensive and independent animal welfare audit programme to ensure that they are upholding global animal welfare standards," it said.
However, PETA is calling on TUI to follow its competitors Virgin Holidays and British Airways Holidays and stop selling tickets to SeaWorld, which it claims keeps orcas in cramped tanks and drugs them to reduce their stress levels.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations