Like every year, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) commemorates World Tourism Day on 27 September, a day that this year emphasises the need to make more investments that are better oriented towards people, the planet and prosperity, with a special focus on the promotion of responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism through “green investments”.
The sector is increasingly aware of its impact and, therefore, its responsibility and capacity for positive collaboration with the local communities in which it operates. In line with this increasing responsibility within the hospitality industry, earlier this year Palladium Hotel Group, launched, Palladium Cares, a new identity under which the group’s projects in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility are encompassed, and which is articulated around 3 pillars: Our People, Our Community and Our Planet, aligning with the priorities outlined by the UNWTO this World Tourism Day.
At the launch of Palladium Cares, the group announced two new plans with different areas of action for Europe and America and is delighted to share their progress on the occasion of World Tourism Day.
To ensure the functioning of all the initiatives launched, Palladium Cares has implemented the creation of CSR Cabinets in each hotels, whose work is to monitor and analyse the compliance with these initiatives, as well as raise awareness amongst the collaborators that make up Palladium. Hotel Group.
Children, the first cause of commitment of “4 causes to take action” in Europe.
With the launch of Palladium Cares, the hotel company announced the European launch of the “4 causes to take action” project, which will be developed in four phases throughout the year, and which this year focuses on: childhood, inequality, the planet, and care of the elderly.
For three months, the hotel and corporate teams of Palladium Hotel Group, in collaboration with local NGOs, focused on each of the four selected causes, carrying out projects of positive impact for the local communities in which the group operates.
A total of 16 NGOs targeting children from disadvantaged backgrounds, such as Nuevo Futuro, Children with Cancer, Juegaterapia, Fundación Nemo, Cáritas or Sonrisa Médica, participated in 22 activities which included 130 volunteers from local hotel teams. The activities, which involved 325 local children, were dynamic, fun and educational, including visits to the Puy du Fou theme park, Aquarama, wheelchair paddle tennis sessions, entertainment for hospitalised children, and day passes to some of the group’s hotels, movies, parties or workshops, amongst other initiatives.
Gloria Juste, director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Palladium Hotel Group, commented “This type of initiative represents a social transformation that has both an internal and external impact. Externally, we accompany those from disadvantaged backgrounds through activities that are offered in specific intervention projects directed by expert NGOs, whom we extend our thanks to for collaborating with us. Likewise, it has been wonderful to the see the campaign have a positive impact internally. “Palladium Group has shown us their spirit of solidarity, sensitivity and commitment to the local communities in which they carry out their professional activity, and we are very proud of the company we belong to.“
After this first phase, “4 causes to take action” continues with the next cause, focused on reducing inequalities among adults, for which it will be collaborating with a range of different local organisations.
Vocational education and training, a key field of action in America
In the Americas, where Palladium Hotel Group has a presence in Mexico, the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Brazil, – Palladium Cares has launched several local projects to promote training opportunities with the aim of benefiting those who face greater difficulties to develop professionally due to lack of resources. With this, the group seeks to impact the prospects of development, projection, and job stability, not only for future professionals in the tourism sector, but also of the qualified workforce necessary for the key industries that make up the local business fabric of the destinations in which Palladium Hotel Group operates.
To carry out this initiative, the group has begun the creation of Training Centres that, in coordination with local authorities, organisations and educational institutions, such as Fundación Origen in Mexico, Heart NSTA Trust in Jamaica or the Imbassaí Institute in Brazil, will articulate the educational programs, as well as grant access for the local population to these training opportunities. This in turn will contribute to closing the gap and thus improving the prospects for stable and qualified employment of the local population. The company’s objectives, amongst others, are to benefit up to 2,500 people in Mexico and 600 annually in Jamaica.
