Impact loans and mentorship to empower tourism entrepreneurs: TUI Care Foundation launches new global initiative for sustainable tourism business models

• New initiative provides affordable financing and mentorship to tourism SMEs in destinations worldwide
• Small tourism businesses will receive low-interest loans and technical support over the next two years
• Programme focuses on enterprises that strengthen community benefits, create jobs and drive sustainable tourism innovation

The TUI Care Foundation has launched a new initiative designed to support small tourism businesses in destinations worldwide with affordable financing, mentoring and visibility. Implemented in partnership with the UnTours Foundation, the initiative helps locally rooted enterprises grow their operations whilst strengthening the social and environmental impact of tourism. 

The tourism industry is one of the world’s largest contributors to global economic activity, accounting for more than 10% of global GDP and employment. Yet small and medium-sized enterprises – which make up around 80% of tourism businesses globally – often struggle to access the capital needed to innovate and scale sustainable practices. The new TUI Futureshapers Global programme addresses this challenge by combining low-interest loans with tailored technical support and mentoring. Over the next two years, up to eleven tourism enterprises in key destinations will receive investment through affordable impact loans. The loans are structured for repayment over two years, with repaid capital reinvested into future initiatives, creating a revolving model that will continue generating impact in the years to come.

Beyond financial support, participating businesses benefit from extensive training and mentoring on financial management, sustainability practices and impact measurement. The programme also provides visibility opportunities within the tourism sector, empowering entrepreneurs to strengthen their networks and supporting them in reaching new markets. Through these measures, the initiative enables the creation or maintenance of at least 100 jobs whilst supporting a further 100 livelihoods in tourism destinations.

The project builds on the success of a pilot phase of the TUI Futureshapers Global initiative launched in 2022, through which seven pioneering tourism businesses across Asia, Africa and the Caribbean received flexible investment capital. These enterprises created new jobs, sustained livelihoods and welcomed more than 25,000 travellers, whist also integrating sustainability and community engagement into their business models.

One example is One One Cacao in Jamaica, a craft chocolate company that combines sustainable agriculture, tourism experiences and local value creation. The enterprise works directly with more than 60 smallholder cocoa farmers across rural parishes, promoting agroforestry practices and paying above-market prices for cacao to strengthen livelihoods and biodiversity. Visitors can take part in guided cocoa farm tours, chocolate-making workshops and tastings that showcase Jamaica’s cacao heritage while connecting travellers with local producers.

Global Coralition is another example – a social enterprise that combines art, science and community engagement to regenerate marine ecosystems while creating new ecotourism opportunities. By installing large-scale underwater sculptures that gradually transform into living coral reefs, the organisation helps restore damaged marine habitats while attracting divers and visitors. These projects are paired with coral farming, mangrove restoration and community training initiatives, creating new livelihoods while strengthening marine conservation and climate resilience in coastal destinations.

In India, the programme has supported PashooPakshee, a social enterprise that creates sustainable livelihood opportunities for women and marginalised communities living near wildlife habitats. The organisation trains artisans to produce environmentally responsible handcrafted souvenirs inspired by local biodiversity and cultural traditions. By linking conservation, craft production and tourism markets, the initiative helps communities see wildlife protection as an economic opportunity while preserving traditional skills and supporting women’s economic empowerment.

The TUI Futureshapers Global initiative is implemented in partnership with the UnTours Foundation, a non-profit impact investor which dedicates its resources to supporting businesses that create meaningful social and environmental change. By combining catalytic investment with technical expertise and access to the global tourism ecosystem, the partnership aims to demonstrate how impact investing can accelerate a more inclusive and resilient tourism sector.

It is part of the global TUI Futureshapers programme which supports entrepreneurs in 48 different countries including Greece, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Laos, Cambodia and North Africa, and empowers people to turn social challenges into entrepreneurial opportunities in holiday destinations.

About the TUI Care Foundation

Building on the potential of tourism as a force for good, the TUI Care Foundation supports and initiates projects which create new opportunities and contribute to thriving communities in tourism destinations all over the world. Connecting holidaymakers to good causes, it supports education and training opportunities for young people; drives the protection of natural habitats and the marine environment; and helps local communities to thrive sustainably and benefit from tourism. The TUI Care Foundation builds on strong partnerships with local and international organisations to create meaningful and long-lasting impact. The independent charitable organisation was founded by TUI, one of the world’s leading tourism businesses, and is based in the Netherlands.

About Untours Foundation

UnTours Foundation’s mission is to unleash capital and kindness to nurture ideas and build healthy, sustainable communities. The Foundation works to alleviate poverty by providing low-interest loans and flexible investments to social entrepreneurs and businesses, both across the United States and around the world. Its capital creates employment and valuable goods and services in economically impoverished communities, and the Foundation seeks to fuel projects that are leading-edge, replicable, and green. By investing rather than giving grants, UnTours Foundation recycles its resources, making capital available again and again to visionary investees.