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Carbon Footprint

Expedia's Green Hotel Program

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Expedia offers Green Hotel program

(Dive Travel Business News - May 11, 2010 ) --  Dive Travel Specialists take note: The world's leading online travel agency Expedia has recognized the value of providing eco-friendly hotel offerings to travelers who prioritize environmental sustainability and want to travel in a socially responsible manner.  read more »

Oceans to open Earth Day 2010

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Oceans Movie opens Earth Day 2010

(DiveTravelBusinessNews.com - Nov 21,2009) -- DisneyNature is following up on the record-breaking success of its Earth movie (released on Earth Day 2009) with Oceans to be released on Earth Day - April 22, 2010.

French Directors Jacques Perrin and Jacques Cluzaud take viewers on a mystical journey through the planet's five oceans, exploring its playful nature and harsh realities  through the eyes of the weird and wonderful creatures who live there. 

"These filmmakers have given us the pleasure of looking over their shoulders - to get in a school of fish, to be a dolphin, to be a whale - and swim along with them," says Dr. Sylvia Earle, Explorer in Resident at the National Geographic Society.

Featuring spectacular never-before-seen imagery captured by the latest underwater technologies, the movie trailer demonstrates Oceans' unprecedented look beneath the sea. read more »

Maldives Proposes Green Tax before it Disappears into the Blue.

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Maldives Tourism Dept

(Dive Magazine - Sept 9, 2009) -- According to Dive Magazine (UK), the Maldivian government plans to impose a US$3 per day Green Tax on its visitors. The plan, which is yet to be approved by parliament, is expected to bring in $6.3 million USD annually from the 700,000 tourists who visit its islands.

Under threat of climate change, the Maldives archipelago,  located in the Indian Ocean, is under siege by rising sea levels that may submerge many of its islands by 2100.   Maldivian President Nasheed has launched an initiative to make the islands the first carbon neutral country in the world where all energy used on the islands coming from renewable sources in 10 years time. 

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ResponsibleTravel.com Drops Carbon Offsetting

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Carbon Offsets

(Telegraph.co.uk - Oct 16, 2009) -- Responsibletravel.com, a travel company that specialises in responsible holidays, has announced that it will no longer give its customers the opportunity to offset their carbon emissions.

The move represents a sea change in its attitude towards the impact of flying on the environment. The company was among the first travel organisations to introduce carbon offsets in early 2002, and is now one of the first to remove them for environmental reasons.

“We believe that the travel industry’s priority must be to reduce carbon emissions, rather than to offset,” said Justin Francis, managing director of responsibletravel.com. “Too often offsets are being used by the tourism industry in developed countries to justify growth plans on the basis that money will be donated to projects in developing countries. Global reduction targets will not be met this way.” read more »

Economic downturn may spur green efforts

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(June 2, 2009 - DTN) - Travel Weekly - The global economy went into a meltdown last year just as the green travel movement had begun gaining significant momentum with ecofriendly hotels, improved fuel efficiency across all transportation segments and the growing popularity of carbon offset programs. The effort reached a high point in October, when thousands gathered at the World Conservation Congress in Barcelona to establish a coherent sustainable-travel agenda. 

Throughout the downturn, the challenge has been to protect green momentum from markets awash in red ink. 

While the goals of all those players remain lofty, the persistent economic strain on companies' finances since last fall has to some extent made it harder to justify the cost of green initiatives. But in a serendipitous twist, it turns out that many green initiatives also help cut operating costs, which is giving businesses across the spectrum an incentive they didn't have before the credit crisis turned Western economies sour. read more »

Beware of Greenwashing!

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(April 23, 2008 - Tribune Media Services) -- Book an airline ticket, save the planet. Re-use the towel in your hotel; stop global warming. Rent a hybrid car; reduce our dependence on fossil fuel.

Lofty promises made by airlines peddling gimmicky carbon offsets, resorts hawking convoluted green initiatives and companies with shiny new fleets of high-maintenance cars to rent.

And empty promises.

In fact, there’s no credible evidence that the greening of travel is saving the Earth. But here’s what we do know. A recent Deloitte survey found that nearly half of all travelers try to be “environmentally friendly” when they’re traveling, and almost a quarter of them are willing to pay more for green hotels, resorts and rental cars. Another poll by Travelocity found that almost three-quarters of active travelers were prepared to pony up more cash for a greener getaway. read more »

Global Tourism Struggles to Go Green

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(April 30, 2008 - AP) -- Citing green hotels, coconut oil fuel for airlines and even recyclable golf tees, executives in the tourism industry, one of the world’s largest, say they are urgently trying to shrink tourism’s oversized environmental footprint.

But with global travel projected to keep soaring, and those very leaders still eager to expand their own ventures, some doubt such efforts can significantly lessen global warming and other ecological woes.

“There are no simple solutions,” Anna Pollack, head of a British tourism consultancy, told a two-day conference which ended Wednesday. “Tourism is both a victim of and a contributor to climate change.”

More than 230 tourism executives, government officials and analysts attended the Pacific Asia Travel Association meeting in Bangkok, billed as the region’s first to seek practical solutions to climate change.

Pollack, CEO of DestiCorp, urged delegates to face the hard realities of tourism’s impact. read more »

PATA Signs Agreement to Reduce Carbon Footprint of Event

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(January 11, 2008 - PATA) --The Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) signed a new agreement with EC3 Global, managers of the Green Globe brand, to help significantly reduce the carbon footprint of its landmark new event, the “PATA CEO Challenge: Confronting Climate Change.” Green Globe is the leading international environmental benchmarking and certification program for the travel and tourism industry.

“It is critical that PATA leads by example and does everything possible to minimize the carbon emissions produced by this important and historic event to confront climate change,” said PATA President & CEO, Peter de Jong. On April 29-30 travel and tourism industry leaders will gather in Bangkok for the inaugural PATA CEO Challenge. It will be the first time that decision-makers from all sectors of Asia Pacific travel and tourism meet to discuss and agree to practical solutions to confront climate change. read more »

Eco-Friendly & Charitable Part of the Package

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(May 8, 2008 - Modern Agent) -- Here’s something to think about for those who offer dive vacations with a difference - helping travelers get over “travel guilt”… Beyond Vacations is calling itself the First Green and Charitable Tour Operator, with vacations conducted in an environmentally and socially responsible manner, offsetting the carbon footprint of its vacation packages, and donating 20 percent of its profits to charities. read more »

Sustainable Summer Travel Tips

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(April 8, 2008 - DTN) -- As travelers begin to make summer vacation plans, Sustainable Travel International, a leading not-for-profit organization that specializes in promoting sustainable and eco-friendly tourism, offers travel tips to those who want to make a more conscious effort to be environmentally and culturally aware during their vacations.

More and more travelers want to know what they can do to help reduce their impact and respect the socio-cultural and economic needs of their destination or host country. read more »