On May 29th, Dutch tour operator TUI Netherlands held a conference on sustainable tourism at the Fuerte Hotel in Conil. The meeting, which took place throughout the week, had as its main objective to publicize the benefits of betting on sustainable tourism in the province of Cádiz, and the use of different renewable energy resources in its accommodations.
Speakers included Antonio Arcas from the University of Cádiz, Stefanie Boomsma of TUI Netherlands, technicians from the Provincial Tourism and two experts in the field: Fiona Humphries and Andreas Koch, an expert in the use and promotion of renewable energy in hotels and one of the creators of “Green for Free”.
The conference ended with a visit to Hotel Fuerte Conil, venue of the meeting and a pioneer in the province of Cádiz in applying sustainability criteria to their daily operations.
FUERTE CONIL, A PIONEER RECOGNIZED BY TUI
According to TUI, Fuerte Conil ranks among the world’s most sustainable hotels, as reflected in the establishment’s Corporate Social Responsibility report, which showed a 15% reduction in energy consumption.
In addition to this energy optimization, TUI auditors greatly appreciated the use of renewable energy, waste management controls and the environmental awareness of Fuerte Hotels to employees, who taught organic gardening workshops in the hotels and conducted awareness activities outlining the ‘responsible path’ to guests.
PRIMARY MEASURES RESPONSIBLE:
- Responsible Food: The Conil hotel offers a menu of organically produced food and beverages, which help conserve vital natural resources and respect biological cycles.
- Environmental Policy: The hotel has a public sustainability policy, which is a benchmark of conduct and decision making for all members of the organization.
- Recovered Waste: The hotel separates and manages its output, using methods of valuing the same (recycling and/or reusing) to achieve a lower pollution impact on soil and groundwater.
- Renewable Energy: The hotel has renewable energy facilities. It’s minimal impact on the environment is significantly lower than those of conventional energy and they are almost always reversible.
- Fair Trade: The hotel uses Fair Trade products, offering an alternative to conventional product options, which take into account ethical values including social and environmental aspects in addition to the economic criteria.
- Local Suppliers: The hotel has pledged to actively seek out to vendors and supplies that are as locally sourced as possible.
- Social and Environmental Projects: The hotel invested and is involved in projects that embody a strong commitment to the improvement of their economic impact, respect the environment and contribution to social cohesion and local levels.