Travel Foundation gets benefits for local communities and tourists

Helping tourism companies to benefit host communities and reduce tourism’s ‘footprint’ on the environment is at the heart of the Travel Foundation’s work. 

Nowhere is this strategy more important than in the Caribbean, arguably the most tourism-dependant region in the world.  As the largest creator of jobs in the Caribbean, the tourism industry indirectly generates jobs in retail, manufacturing, construction, telecommunications, and agriculture; as well as occupations that are directly associated with the industry such as tour and hotel operations.

All these activities can have adverse environmental effects, and coupled with the ever increasing dilemma of climate change, the Caribbean now must find a way to balance the environmental impact of tourism with the tremendous benefits that it can bring to destinations and the people who live there.

Over the past five years, the Travel Foundation has been committed to making companies aware of these issues and the need for a sustainable approach; and we are making real progress towards these goals.

In 2008 the Travel Foundation launched its Caribbean ‘Switch off Save Big’ water and energy saving programme in four islands.  This programme involves providing guidelines and training for hotel staff on simple, inexpensive but highly effective ways for hotels to reduce their ‘footprint’ by cutting down on water and electricity usage and saving significant amounts of money in the process. Over the period 2008-2010, 124 hotels participated in the programme , collectively saving well over US$700,000 in water and energy costs,  in addition to cutting down on the environmental impact of their property.

The Switch off Save Big Caribbean programme was driven by the success of similar Travel Foundation initiatives in Cyprus and Morocco and in total the Foundation has now launched water and energy saving projects working with hotels in ten destinations. 

A Sustainable Accommodations kit is available for hoteliers to use, complete with posters, and a training DVD with a step-by-step visual guide and detailed implementation tips for staff and management in each specific hotel department. An extended version of the guide has recently been launched on-line at www.travelife.org, ABTA’s rating system for hotels on sustainability.  The free guide called ‘Getting Started in Sustainability’ covers how accommodation providers can save water and energy, cut down waste, buy local, become a fair employer and monitor performance.

The  guide is just one example of the kind of education programmes that the Travel Foundation has introduced for Caribbean suppliers on the ground to improve tourism for visitors and the environment.

In 2010 the Travel Foundation office in Tobago partnered with the UNDP Small Grants Programme to launch waste reduction and organic composting initiative with 10 hotels in Tobago; and in early 2011 we received co-funding from the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (an ACP/EU joint Institution) to continue the implementation of further water, energy and waste reduction measures in hotels across Barbados, St Lucia and Tobago.

In addition to its water, energy and waste reduction work in the Caribbean, the Travel Foundation runs over 30 projects across 16 destinations to enhance local livelihoods and protect the environment.  These projects create best practice guidance and provide tools, guidelines and training so that tourism businesses can play a part in ensuring that tourism creates the greatest benefit for local communities and the environment.