Making Responsible Tourism Matter in Asia
Good Lessons For Green Travel

Getting Green Travel Right in Asia

By Rick Gregory

Going green. Is it a fad? A public relations move? Or just a marketing manoeuvre masked in a green glow to obtain more customers?

And how do travelers sift through the assortment of eco-everything promises offered by luxury resorts and jungle lodges?

There are no easy solutions. But there are ways to check up on destinations and see how some operators are measuring up to your personal concerns and sustainable tourism standards.

Savvy travelers know where to spend their holiday dollars. They demand an eco-friendly environment, a feel for the local traditions and a sense of satisfaction that comes from being a low-impact visitor, not a detrimental intruder in a foreign locale.

“If you confess yourself as green, then the responsibility is actually very high because people are actually going to that particular hotel for that reason,” explains Yessy Hidajat, a manager at Alila Ubud in Bali. “Travelers are very intelligent, they know what they’re looking for, so nobody can just claim to be green, people have to see that a hotel is green.”

The global Green Globe 21 programme and Thailand’s Green Leaf initiative are two certification schemes that are paving the way for resorts to conform to a checklist of appropriate practices. These stamps of approval are valid indicators that some operators value the green travel movement and are cleaning up the tourism industry record one resort at a time.

In 2006, Wild Asia’s Responsible Tourism Awards sought to reward operators in Asia that performed well against certain social, environmental and economic criteria. These exemplary hotels and lodges demonstrated a high degree of commitment towards respecting local cultures, soliciting local businesses and achieving environmental gains.

So how do some operators get green travel right, while others seem to wallow in the muck of mass tourism? The Wild Asia team found four common lessons from its survey of Asian businesses that are already making a difference in the industry:

• Commitment from the top – Responsible tourism efforts must be part of the entire business strategy, this means that all parties – investors, owners and top management – are committed and clear in implementing its objectives.
• Getting staff on board – Effective practices are the result of a team effort, thus it is important to initiate green programmes and allocate time for these activities on and off the property.
• Defining, maintaining and improving performance – Sustainable tourism requires a thorough review of ongoing practices and periodic assessments to identify areas for continued improvement.
• Communicating your programme - Everyone from management to staff to guests should understand the efforts behind, and goals of, responsible tourism by effective communication methods.

The Evason Phuket Resort & Six Senses Spa is fully certified under Green Globe 21 and scores high marks for its environmental management performance. “Son and Eva, the owners, are very passionate about the environment, from trees being cut to having everything as ‘back to nature’ as possible,” states Alasdair Junor, the General Manager. “From a company point of view, it has always been our policy to look at and consider environmental issues. The building materials we use are from sustainable sources and even the bins in the room are made of recycled paper mache.”

In Bali, community aspects are central to the island’s exotic charm. The Alila Resort group sets the direction by viewing staff as representatives of the community in their hotels. With an 80% local hire rate, management encourages open discussions about its operations and expects surrounding villagers to be informed as well. Work agreements are jointly negotiated with community leaders to ensure overall fairness and allowances for cultural traditions.

Successful resorts build team spirit by challenging everyone to be part of the solution. At Evason Phuket, management and hosts (a more respectful term than staff preferred by the company) are divided into Harry Potter type boarding school teams – Aqua, Fire, Earth, and Wind. “What I’ve done is to try to involve hosts to give them a little more empowerment and autonomy,” says Area GM Junor.

These groups compete for house points based on regular activities, like sporting, but each house also receives 10,000 dollars for an environment or social activity. “Whether it’s for helping the local school buy books or computers or helping the aged, it’s up to them.”

More and more hotel companies realize that environmental protection and social welfare are important to their guests. And it’s not a passing fancy, but a passionate wave of green behaviour that is changing the tourism choices consumers make. Responsible operators can try to achieve Green Globe status or go green using various available checklists, such as Wild Asia's free downloadable version, that are not as costly.

The point is to get in gear, whether high or low, with green travel. “If it starts off as a trend, then so be it. At least the environment is benefiting from it,” clarifies Alasdair Junor. “I’ll never want anyone to think that we’re doing it for the wrong reasons, we are doing it for the right reasons, that’s the environment.”

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