An exciting opportunity linked to the Better World Detectives

For the last year or so I've been involved with the ongoing development of resources linked with the travel company TUI. These resources come under the banner of the Better World Detectives, which connects with TUI's own sustainability statement of Better Holidays, Better World.

The resources introduce students at key stages 2, 3 and 4 to key ideas related to sustainable tourism, and are free to download. They reflect TUI's work on promoting more sustainable and greener holidays.

The Primary resources are based around the fictional resort of Sonrisa, which is based on Costa Rica. They introduce students to sustainable fishing, the impact of tourism on local corals, and the efforts to protect local turtle nesting sites.
The Secondary resources are focussed on sustainable sourcing of food for hotels, carbon footprints, ocean plastics and the impacts of overtourism. These go into more depth, including a look at how tourism can impact on the health and well-being of residents of Costa Rica and a real-life case study of a Rainforest Alliance conservation area in Mexico. Both sets of resources feature lesson plans, resources and planning documents.
Coming soon are two new exam-style packs, with case studies of Iceland and Mexico, which will be ideal for GCSE or advanced KS3. You can sign up to receive these on the TUI stand at the GA Conference in Manchester, and they will be available to download from their website from mid-April.
The next phase of the development of the resources will involve teachers, and one of those teachers could be you.
This exciting opportunity will take you on an expenses paid trip to MEXICO! The destination will be the Riviera Maya, where TUI is developing sustainable tourism initiatives in partnership with the Rainforest Alliance.

Go here to find out more

It will be an incredible and rare opportunity for peer-to-peer working and training, and probably a once-in-a-lifetime CPD experience. It has a competition element, and is being organised by TUI Care Foundation (which is TUI's sister charitable organisation, devoted to making tourism a force for good).


This is a three-stage competition, running from the start of April to mid-August 2019.

1. Register your interest and download Lesson 6 of the Secondary resources by 31st May

2. Teach Lesson 6 to students, and complete the application form which will be in the 'You've registered' email you'll receive when registering by 30th June.

A shortlist of names will then be announced in early July.

3. Those who are shortlisted will be asked to create a 10-20 minute activity that they would take to Mexico with them if selected by 7th August.

4. The final winners will be announced in mid-August.

Those selected will be able to meet local teachers in a peer-to-peer CPD training environment, where they will engage with teachers from the Riviera Maya, and visit locations in the area to learn more about sustainable tourism in the area and, together, create ways to mutually use them in your respective classrooms, whether in the U.K. or Mexico. 


The trip will take place at the end of October 2019, during the October half term. The main experience will last four days: 2 days in a CPD environment, 1 day on an excursion and 1 day in a school in the Riviera Maya. It isn’t essential but would be beneficial if applicants have an understanding of Spanish, though this should in no way deter non-Spanish-speaking applicants from applying.
All expenses will be paid, teachers selected will just need to cover their travel insurance and be available for those dates.
TUI representatives will be at the GA conference, where you can find out loads more information about the competition and register your interest directly with them. The TUI stand is Stand 40, near the main entrance to the main hall.

You could also come along to a session which I'm involved in too if you like.
Thursday 11 April
11.40-12.30
Lecture Plus 7
Celebrating sustainable tourism: Key facts, new developments and case studies
Alan Parkinson, Ian Corbett from TUI - Senior Manager in Sustainability, Becky Kitchen from the GA - CPD, Curriculum and Marketing Manager
We'll be in room 1.219

Contact Maddie Duggan, Better World Detectives Project Manager at
info@betterworlddetectives.co.uk for further information, or speak to Maddie at the GA Conference.

Best of luck to all who enter the competition. It's a very exciting opportunity to visit a part of the world which few will get the chance to experience.