Properties promoting 'greener' Caribbean

CONTRIBUTED - (From left) Josie Maffessanti, Lee Issa, chairman of Couples Resorts, and Jean Watson chatting at a cocktail reception hosted on the front lawns of Couples Ocho Rios to commemorate the resort's 27th anniversary celebrations recently.

INCREASING NUMBERS of Green Globe 21 properties featured on new brochures in
the Caribbean, where tourism depends so heavily on the
beauty of nature, pristine beaches, unspoiled rain forests, quiet caves, colourful coral reefs, and increasing numbers of hotels and resorts, are engaging in environmentally-conscious practices.

In fact, tourism businesses around the world are becoming increasingly aware that preserving the environment, natural resources and cultural heritage of the destinations they promote
is not only necessary for the good of future generations, but also essential to the very survival of the tourism industry ­ and their
own businesses.

The initiative of the United Kingdom Federation of Tour Operators and the European-based Tour Operators Initiative to review their code of conduct in order to require from all their hotel suppliers to actively preserve adjacent natural ecosystems and enhance community livelihood, shows this is much more than a passing fad.

GREEN GLOBE CERTIFICATION

Since last year, 19 new Caribbean properties have successfully obtained the coveted and demanding Green Globe 21 certification, elevating the number of Caribbean-certified properties to 67 ­ a whopping 35 per cent increase since January 2003. In addition, Dominica became the first country in the world to be Green Globe 21-benchmarked, a landmark for the Caribbean destination.

In order to promote the success of these properties and encourage travellers to favour 'green' properties, the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST), produced a brochure featuring all Green Globe-certified and benchmarked properties in the Caribbean. This brochure will be largely distributed to travel agents and tour operators at international events, such as FITUR in Spain, Caribbean Marketplace, and the World Travel Market in London, where it was already distributed last November.

"We practise 'green' standards because we believe it is the correct way to do business ... and a responsibility we have ­ not to take more than we give from our beautiful island destination, for future generations ..." says Susan Biemans, sales and marketing manager at Bucuti Beach Resort in Aruba, a multiple award-winning property.

GOOD RETURN ON INVESTMENT

Meanwhile, best environmental practices, including the installation of solar panels, water-saving devices, and the implementation of recycling programmes, for instance, allow considerable savings on a property's operational costs.

"Within the first two years of implementing an efficient environmental management system, the return on investment can reach twice the initial costs," says Deirdre Shurland, director of CAST, the Caribbean Hotel Association's environmental subsidiary.

To summarise, there are three major reasons why a business should implement environmental and responsible practices: responsibility towards one's environment and future generations; considerable cost savings; and the third one is marketing.

There is an increasing number of environmentally-conscious travellers willing to pay extra for unique vacation experience at unspoilt destinations. The brochure produced by CAST is aimed at assisting Green Globe certified and benchmarked hotels to tap into this marketing potential.