DESTINATIONS
Hotel Energy Solutions is working with a number of leading European destinations that are committed to the sustainable development of tourism and innovation in energy efficiency and renewable energies. The following destinations are planned to be HES Pilot Destinations, and will have the opportunity to boost their sustainability and competitiveness by testing the beta version of the HES eToolkit and receiving training from Europe’s leading energy and tourism agencies:
Haute-Savoie, France
The mountain professionals in Haute-Savoie are committed to generating wealth for the region through the development of sustainable tourism which takes into consideration environmental concerns. To decrease the ecological footprint of holidays in the region, local decision makers promote the use of renewable energies, greener transportation alternatives and ISO 4001 certification; for example, the latter has been implemented in a dozen of mountain stations.
Across the entire region from the top of the Mont-Blanc to the shores of the Annecy Lake, but also in the steering Committee of Winter Olympics “Annecy 2018″, there is a common goal: to always seek the fragile equilibrium between development and nature, to ensure the environmental conservation and quality of life. (Photo: © Savoie Mont Blanc / Haase)
Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Palma de Mallorca, capital of the Balearic Islands, is a bright city that offers a unique urban lifestyle within close proximity to scenic coastline, countryside and mountains.
The Instituto Municipal de Turismo (IMTUR) of Palma City Council has taken the Davos Declaration as inspiration for its ‘Palma, Responsible Tourism’ initiative aimed to raise awareness and promote shared responsibility and commitment to environmental, social and economic sustainability amongst public administration, private businesses, residents and tourists. The initiative promotes best practices in sustainability and is supported by Air Berlin, Insel Radio, El Corte Inglés, Coca-Cola and Sol Melià.
Bonn, Germany
Bonn is a medium-sized city with 316.000 inhabitants, situated within the densely populated region of Rhine/Main. Since 1991, the former capital of Germany mastered a significant structural change – and became Germany’s UN City, known as a hub for environment, development and international cooperation. “UN in Bonn – working towards sustainable development worldwide“ is the motto of 19 Bonn-based UN organisations, amongst them the Climate Secretariat, the UN Volunteers Programme and the Secretariat to Combat Desertification. Their endeavours are supported by a cluster of some 170 relevant actors: German Ministries, research institutes, development agencies, global players in economy and media.
The City of Bonn has taken an active role in this cluster and process – by raising awareness, by implementing municipal sustainability programmes, by networking, experience exchange and cooperation from local to global.
Bonn is the venue of UN and international conferences on sustainability issues. Since 2006, the project “Sustainable Bonn” has mobilized the conference sector to establish sustainable strategies and to go beyond “greening” by implementing social and fair criteria.
Strandja, Bulgaria
Strandja is a mountain in the south-eastern part of Bulgaria, reaching the Black sea coast, the highest peak of which on Bulgarian territory just exceeds 900 m. Part of the mountain is a Nature park, protecting its unique wildlife. A number of settlements exist within the park’s territory, providing opportunities for the development of rural and ecotourism. The Directorate of the park is actively working for the sustainable development of the area, implementing a number of projects for the sustainable development of the local tourism product. In the last two years a regional trade mark has been developed and launched to distinguish those accommodation providers and other tourism services suppliers, that cover certain requirements for sustainability, developed in a system of principles and concrete criteria, based on the concept of sustainable tourism development.
