TUI Turtle Aid Greece

The long-term survival of loggerhead turtles in the Mediterranean is conservation-dependent, which means that their nesting habitats need to be protected. Tourist development near nesting beaches can have a devastating impact on the sea turtle population nesting there. In the Cretan towns of Rethymno and Chania, there has been a significant decrease in the number of nests recorded in recent years.​

TUI Turtle Aid Greece strengthens tourism stakeholder engagement in sea turtle conservation by protecting hatchlings, educating tourists as well as locals, and implementing a turtle-friendly tourism certification scheme for beachfront businesses in northern Crete. The project also surveys turtle activity on the island of Rhodes to develop recommendations on how to protect them there too. 

In northern Crete, coastal erosion, climate change and a significant increase in the number of beachfront businesses in Rethymno and Chania mean that the chances of survival for the local sea turtle population have decreased. In particular, the businesses don’t always comply with light pollution guidelines or remove beach furniture after sunset, making nesting on the beach a real challenge for the turtles. Without the tourism sector’s active involvement in turtle conservation going forward, the future of this endangered species could be at risk.

TUI Turtle Aid Greece protects 45,000 hatchlings from 540 nests by conducting daily surveys and undertaking proactive nest management on the beaches in Chania and Rethymno. Five beachfront accommodation providers work towards and receive a newly implemented turtle-friendly tourism certification. Additionally, 30 further beachfront businesses increase awareness about turtle protection with employees and visitors.

The programme also provides marine conservation education and turtle-friendly tourism to 60,000 people, including 54,000 tourists and 6,000 local community members. Two information kiosks offer public presentations as well as beach excavations and guided beach walks.

TUI Turtle Aid Greece is also undertaking surveys on Rhodes to catalogue and monitor sea turtle activity and numbers. In cases where turtle nesting activity is recorded, potential threats to the safe incubation of the eggs is assessed and recommendations made for the future. 

PROJECT PARTNER

ARCHELON, the Sea Turtle Protection Society of Greece, aims to protect the sea turtles and their habitats in Greece through monitoring and research, developing and implementing management plans, habitat restoration, raising public awareness and rehabilitating sick and injured turtles. 

FOLLOW
TRITON!

Turtle1
Your decision – your user experience at tuicarefoundation.com

We use cookies and other technologies that are necessary for services and functions on our website.

In addition, and provided you consent and select "Agree", we and our up to five third-party partners may place cookies on your device, use other technologies and collect and process personal data [e.g. IP address] from you in order to suggest personalized content to you on our website and to carry out measurements and analyses. Data transfer to third countries [e.g. USA] may also be possible, where the EU data protection level may deviate and access by authorities there cannot be ruled out.

You can find more information under "Settings" and decide which cookies and which cookie-based processing of your data you wish to reject or accept. Further information about cookies can be found in the Cookie Notice.

Managing your cookie settings

Use the "Status" control to decide for yourself which cookies we are allowed to set. Save your settings by clicking the "Agree" button.

You can change these settings at any time. You can find further information about the processing of your data in our Privacy Notice.

Cookies Description Status
Necessary Necessary Cookies are required for the app to function and cannot be switched off in your systems. We need necessary Cookies so that the service you request on our app functions properly and so that you can move around our app and use its functions, such as filling out forms. Cookie Notice
Statistics These Cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so that we can measure and improve the performance of our app. They help us answer questions about which pages are most popular, which are least used and how visitors move around the app. If you allow statistical Cookies, we can use this aggregated information to improve our service and the usability of our websites for you. All information collected is aggregated and is therefore anonymous. This information may be transmitted to our partners such as Meta Platforms Ireland Limited, Google Ireland Limited, Pinterest Europe Limited, Microsoft Ireland Operations Limited (Privacy Notice) if you also agree under "Marketing". Cookie Notice