Tourists Vote Green in Ireland
Saturday, 16 Aug, 2009
0
Dromoland Castle won silver award for environment
Green Hospitality Award Welcomes Results of Failte Ireland Visitor Attitude Survey
52% of visitors to Ireland would seek to stay in a hotel that has reduced its environmental impact and 35% would pay more, according to Failte Ireland’s visitor attitudes survey 2008.
The survey, which was carried out amongst 5,700 overseas holidaymakers who completed questionnaires between May to October 2008, revealed a strong trend of visitors becoming more environmentally aware and more conscious about the impact of their activities. One in every three visitors think about the environmental impact when booking their holidays, and nearly half of visitors surveyed agree to some extent that they would seek to offset carbon emissions when flying on holiday.
The survey is further backed up, in terms of consumer trends, by the 2008 Tripadvisor survey which found that 33% of USA Travellers would be willing to spend more for a hotel with environmental certification.
“We are obviously delighted with these findings as it further endorses the work of the GHA which assists businesses in the hospitality sector to reduce their carbon footprint”, said Maurice Bergin, Director, GHA. “Already our members are convinced of the value of introducing effective environmental management programmes as they have experienced substantial reductions in costs resulting from the programme, so this is just a further boost for them”
Achievements as a result of implementing the GHA programme include reducing waste going to landfill by 75%, reducing water consumption by 50% and reducing energy consumption by up to 30% all of which impact positively on the bottom line as well as on the environment.
The GHA provides a step-by-step approach to environmental management with awards given at Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum levels. The GHA is now recognised as the standard for environmental management within the hospitality sector in Ireland and is fully supported by Failte Ireland and the Irish Hotels Federation.
The Green Hospitality Award programme, currently has 150 members, and last year a total of 81 awards were presented nationally to businesses that are actively partaking in the programme. Those that are involved have already seen the positive results of their efforts. In 2008 the Environmental Protection Agency commenced funding the Green Hospitality Award, through its Green Business Initiative. This funding is planned to be available until 2011 and is designed to assist the award in spreading throughout the hotel and hospitality sector.
Valere Tjolle
Valere
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Clearing CSS/JS assets' cache... Please wait until this notice disappears...
Updating... Please wait...
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt
Qatar Airways offers flexible payment options for European travellers
TAP Air Portugal to operate 29 flights due to strike on December 11
Air Mauritius reduces frequencies to Europe and Asia for the holiday season
Airbnb eyes a loyalty program but details remain under wraps