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Posts Tagged ‘Sustainable Travel’
Monday, February 16th, 2009
 Uniworld has a green policy which aims to reduce C02 energy consumption and waste throughout its international operations and offices.
In 2008, Uniworld conducted an energy audit of its offices and has implemented a range of measures which seek to reduce its overall carbon footprint, usage, and also increase the recycling of consumable products. New initiatives have seen the additional installation of efficient lighting, introduction of an IT energy-saving policy, incentive staff car pooling schemes, at desk recycling, environmentally-friendly procurement, and a staff environmental education and involvement program.
Uniworld also strives to help its local communities and has introduced a staff volunteer program whereby each staff member volunteers for a local charity of their choice two days a year , as well as the company supporting a range of charities throughout the year. Uniworld reviews its environmental performance on an ongoing basis and is committed to continuous improvement across energy and waste management, as well as contributing positively to fostering sustainable tourism in communities around the world.
Uniworld has partnered with Sustainable Travel International™, allowing passengers the option to calculate the carbon footprint of your travel and contribute towards projects that will reduce the C02 emissions in the atmosphere on your behalf. This voluntary scheme invites you to pay a contribution based on the amount of carbon likely to be generated from your travel. You can choose to offset your air travel, coach travel or the energy consumed staying in your hotel accommodation.
Tags: erope river cruise, river cruise uniworld, Sustainable Travel, uniworld, Uniworld, uniworld river cruise
Posted in River Cruises, Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Cruises, Uniworld | No Comments »
Saturday, December 27th, 2008
The Antarctica Peninsual is currently one of the fastest warming area on the planet, with temperatures & related ice-melt increasing at an even faster rate than had been predicted. .An article written by Emanuella Grinberg from CNN describes the situation in more detail.
Want to make a difference? Join a mission with luxury tour operator, Abercrombie and Kent aboard MV ‘Minerva’ with award-winning scientist Dr. James McClintock to an Antarctic research station, where they present equipment critical to the monitoring of Antarctic climate change. Along the way, travelers journey in Zodiacs and on land to explore the region’s coastline and wildlife.
An Antarctica expedition will leave you breathless. These journeys are rich in education and exploration. The older expeditions ships are not the only option anymore. Cruise lines such as Holland America feature Antarctica combined on some South America cruises, as well as the luxury line Silversea onboard the Prince Albert II.
Book now, and you also save $1,000 per person on the A&K voyage, as well as other early booking savings on 2009-10 Antarctica trips.
Tags: a and k, aandk, Abercrombie and Kent, antarctic tour, antarctica, antarctica blog, antarctica cruise, antarctica cruises, antarctica expedition, antarctica tours, Antarctica Travel, cruise antarctica, sustainable cruise, Sustainable Travel
Posted in Abercrombie and Kent, Antarctica Travel | 2 Comments »
Wednesday, December 24th, 2008
Adventure Center is a One-stop source for world-class sustainable adventure travel experiences at affordable prices. Choose from a range of over 1,000 adventure vacations worldwide including hiking and biking trips, cultural tours, African safaris, Antarctica expedition cruises, and much more. The environmental effects of a trip are key considerations during the itinerary design process. Everyone involved with the organization of a trip, from tour leaders to office staff, promote and adhere to sustainable travel principles, which travelers are encouraged to embrace.
Backroads, Country Walkers, National Geographic and Mt. Travel Sobek are all adventure companies offering unique itineraries including hiking, biking and walking trips to lessen the environmental impact and allow travelers to be culturally unobtrusive.
Would you be more likely to travel with a company that promotes environmentally friendly practices over one that doesn’t?
Tags: adventure travel, Backroads, biking travel, Country Walkers, hiking travel, Mt. Travel Sobek, National Geographic, Sustainable Travel, walking
Posted in Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Tours, Sustainable Vacations | No Comments »
Friday, December 5th, 2008
 El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels announced the launch of its “Passion por el Medio Ambiente” program. The translation is Passion for the Environment. The program is designed to encourage staff & guests’ participation in environmentally sustainable practices.
El Dorado resorts has been committed to the environment for years, including installing solar panels throughout all of their properties. They also have implemented quality controls over towels and sheets, restroom sensors and the use of green cleaning suppliers like Johnson Diversery. Among sustainable practices implemented, a major recycling initiative is also underway. El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels has taken extensive measures to ensure that all garbage is separated and recycled properly including dangerous waste, organic items, glass and paper. Employees have undergone an extensive training program outlining the MARTI initiatives and illustrating the benefits derived by its implementation. Employees are also encouraged to bring in recycled goods from home once a week, which are processed on property.
Eco-conscious guests will enjoy the extra care taken at these resorts. El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels is a fabulous collection of luxurious All Inclusive Adult-Only beach resorts located throughout the most beautiful sites and exclusive beaches of the Riviera Maya in Mexico. Providing a breathtaking view of the Caribbean Sea, El Dorado Spa Resorts & Hotels standout by exceptional hospitality service, innovating Gourmet Inclusive Cuisine and outstanding accommodations that transform your dreamlike vacation into a lifetime experience.
To check prices on Mexico vacation packages, click here
Tags: el dorado, el dorado hotels, el dorado spa resorts, green hotel, green hotels, green hotels mexico, luxury resort mexico, mexico vacation package, sustainable hotel, Sustainable Travel, wine spectator award
Posted in Sustainable Travel | No Comments »
Thursday, November 20th, 2008
Collette has announced the launch of its newest initiative, Project Green & Blue. The program is Collette’s latest step in reducing its carbon footprint & environmental impact. The domestic tour operator’s initiative is aimed at ensuring Collette’s worldwide offices are operating as “green” as possible on a day-to-day basis.
“Everyone needs to take responsibility for the impact they have on our environment,” said John Galvin, CFO. “We want to do everything we possibly can to leave the world a better place as a result of our being here.” Project Green and Blue is aimed at doing just that.
On Arbor Day, Collette planted 519 trees, one in honor of each of their employees. Collette is also working on the design & construction of the new Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) certified building for their office in Canada. The building should be complete in April 2009 will include a geothermal heating system, so they will use less fossil fuel for heat.
Future projects will include installing a 20-kilowatt wind turbine in the company’s Vermont retreat location which will provide renewable energy for the house and in clean energy that can be sold back to the utility company. They will also make changes & upgrades to their corporate office in Rhode Island including replacing lights & installing water saving fixtures, installing programmable thermostats & occupancy sensing light systems, as well as changing over to environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Collette Vacations makes traveling the world simple and hassle-free. For more information on their travel packages visit: http://www.atlastravelweb.com/collettetours.shtml
Tags: collette tour, collette tours, Collette Vacations, green travel, Sustainable Travel, volunteer vacations
Posted in Collette Vacations, Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Tours | 1 Comment »
Tuesday, November 18th, 2008
Tourism Cares’ Mission is to preserve the travel experience for future generations. Volunteers from the travel and tourism industry clean up & restore culturally significant, tourism-related sites needing care & rejuvenation. More than 2,000 volunteers have donated more than 20,000 hours at sites across North America.
The next project is April 16-18, 2009 to restore Gettysburg. Corporate sponsors are accepted.
Tags: Sustainable Travel, tourism cares
Posted in Sustainable Travel | No Comments »
Monday, November 17th, 2008
The American Hotel & Lodging Association is completing it’s guidelines to help hotels become more “green.” At this point, there is no plan to create a certification program, but rather ask for minimal environmental guidelines to be followed. Some items being addressed are energy saving measures such as towel & linen reuse programs, waste management & use of fluorescent bulbs & digital thermometers. It’s not much, but it is a start to what we hope will be increased changes in the coming years.
Many individual hotel chains are taking their own steps to help the environment. InterContinental Hotels has set up a new Innovation Hotel, which is a specially dedicated section of the IHG web site that will showcase the hotel’s green efforts both now & for properties in the future. Many things are being put into place within the next few years, such as solar roof panels, recycled furniture & low-emissions paint, where other items such as “green roof” & rainwater harvesting will take more time to implement as new hotels are built.
Ask an agent to assist you in finding hotels worldwide that are committed to the environment & “greening” the hospitality industry.
Tags: american hotel & lodging association, environment hotels, green guidelines, green hotels, intercontinental hotels, sustainable hotels, Sustainable Travel
Posted in Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Hotels | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 11th, 2008
Collette has always given back to local communities through their involvement in Tourism Cares since 2002. Their employees volunteer on projects including preservation & beautification projects at Plimouth Plantation, Nuweetooun School in Exeter, Rhode Island & the National Park site at historic Ellis Island. The Collette Foundation was launched in 2007 to help children around the world. With over 150 volunteers who establish & manage projects in Australia, China, Costa Rica, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, South Africa and the U.S. In South Africa for example, the foundation is supporting rural communities by supplying Hippo Water Rollers. The use of these rollers in remote villages allows a safer way to collect water, as children were carrying too much wait for their backs, and they can collect 5 times the amount of water they used to in one trip. 100 families were given the Hippo Rollers in January of this year. In the U.S., Collette works with Second Harvest Food bank. Volunteer employees help raise money, package food & assist with the Backpack program, which provides a pack of food to each participating child on Fridays. Each backpack includes small pop top entrees, such as beans & franks or chili, along with cereal, a fruit cup, chocolate milk and snacks to make sure the children & their families have food over the weekend & during school vacations.
Watch the Collette Foundation video, & look for future posts on the new Project Green & Blue.
Tags: collette, collette tours, Collette Vacations, Sustainable Travel, volunteer travel, volunteer vacations
Posted in Collette Vacations, Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Tours | No Comments »
Wednesday, November 5th, 2008
Celebrity Solstice arrived in Ft. Lauderdale Nov. 3rd. The ship will be named in formal ceremonies on Nov. 14, & will embark on its inaugural season Nov. 23 on 7-night Eastern Caribbean cruises roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale. In the spring, the ship will sail to Europe & have 10- & 11-night Mediterranean sailings r/t from Rome.
The Solstice will offer some great new features for guests, but my focus is to discuss Celebrity’s environmental efforts. From it’s design, Celebrity focused on the hull to ensure a more fuel efficient ship. The ship will also have 80 solar panels which will provide some of the ship’s power.
Celebrity then partnered with 3M to create a window coating that will deflect the heat that comes in, reducing the amount of air conditioning needed to cool the ship. The tinting should also extend the life of the carpeting by protecting it from sun damage. Other changes include the use of LED lighting and river rocks in their buffets to keep food chilled versus ice cubes.
Celebrity Cruises’ Ocean Fund also awards marine conservation grants throughout the year.
We feel Celebrity has set the example, & consumers will be looking for cruise lines to introduce more innovations to save the environment as new ships are built.
Tags: celebrity, celebrity cruise, celebrity solstice, solstice, sustainable cruise travel, Sustainable Travel
Posted in Celebrity, Cruise News, Cruises, Solstice, Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Cruises | No Comments »
Thursday, October 30th, 2008
Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL) has been named a finalist in Condé Nast Traveler magazine’s 2008 World Savers Awards. The awards honor 38 travel companies from around the world for their leadership in social responsibility in five key areas: poverty alleviation, cultural and/or environmental preservation, education, wildlife conservation & health.
In 2007 alone, the recycling program saved 2,200 mature trees, 2,300 gallons of gas & 672,000 gallons of water. This translates to enough saved timber resources to produce more than 27.28 million sheets of newspaper; enough gasoline to drive more than 64,500 miles; & enough fresh water to meet the daily fresh water needs of more than 8,960 people.
NCL began recycling used cooking oil from its ships at the Port of Miami in early 2007. More than 15,000 gallons of used cooking oil have been offloaded & donated to an organic farmer in Vero Beach, Fla., who converted the oil to 870 gallons of usable bio-diesel for his farming equipment.
Tags: conde nast traveler, cruise ncl, cruise norwegian, ncl cruise, norwegian cruise, norwegian cruise line, norwegian cruises, Sustainable Travel, world savers award
Posted in Cruise News, Cruises, Norwegian, Sustainable Travel, Sustainable Travel - Cruises | No Comments »
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