ECO EXPANSION
As we’re all trying to be more conscious of how our actions affect the environment, sustainable tourism is on the rise – with resorts taking on a variety of initiatives to help protect the planet.
Many grown corals were placed back in the reef.
According to the World Tourism Organization, sustainable tourism is “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts – addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”
Back in 2005, the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme set out 12 main goals for sustainable tourism – from local prosperity to resource efficiency – and in 2014 Cornell
University released the results of the first Cornell Hotel Sustainability Benchmarking (CHSB) study, which focuses on various key components of sustainability including energy, and water usage and carbon emissions.
The CHSB is now released every year, with the latest report including more than 10,000 properties and 448 geographies. Over three-quarters of businesses currently have practices in place to reduce the impact their business has on the environment, and these are some of the eco spas going the extra mile.
SIX SENSES
Six Senses operates 19 hotels and resorts and 37 spas in 21 countries, with a further 18 hotels and resorts signed into its development pipeline. Sustainability is a priority for the chain – and in 2012 they began monitoring their efforts to ensure they measured up to the CHSB programme.
Some of their initiatives include growing their own organic fruit and vegetables, constructing onsite water filtration and glass bottling facilities, and supporting local sustainability projects. One recent project was a coral restoration initiative in the Seychelles – the first stage of which was successfully completed in May this year by the sustainability team at Six Senses Zil Pasyon. This is part of a larger habitat restoration plan, which continues to unroll on the island in collaboration with two local NGOs – the Ramos Marine & Island Reserve and Nature Seychelles – alongside the Seychelles National Parks Authority (SNPA). During the first two years of the coral restoration project, more than a thousand grown corals were transplanted back to the reef in the marine protected area between the northern side of Félicité and Coco Islands. sixsenses.com
LEFAY RESORTS
Lefay Resorts was the first Italian company in the tourism sector to sign an agreement with the Ministry of the Environment for initiatives aimed at neutralisation of CO2 emissions. This will be achieved through reducing its own electricity usage, implementing a biomass system for heating and cooling, and more. The resort was also the very first resort in Italy to be certified organic and ecological by Ecocert, and it even produces its own extra-virgin olive oil on the property.
Lefay runs two resorts in Italy, one in Gargnano on Lake Garda, and the other in the Dolomites. The Dolomites retreat is currently undergoing a huge expansion which will make it one of the largest spas in the Alps. lefayresorts.com