Meliá is seventeenth in the ranking of Spanish companies in all industries for Corporate Governance and Responsibility commitments and performance, a key area in company strategy.
ITB CSR Day features climate change as its key topic - Focus on human rights, fighting poverty, wildlife conservation and environmental protection at the 14th Pow-Wow for Tourism Professionals - Women's Day Special event on International Women's Day on 8 MarchBerlin, 4 March 2019 - Tourism with a vision of the future: socially responsible tourism has been on the agenda of the World's Leading Travel Trade Show for many years. This year, with its wide range of workshops, seminars and lectures on social responsibility, ITB Berlin (6 - 10 March) will help to raise awareness for many issues, to which the ITB CSR Day at the ITB Berlin Convention and the 14th Pow-Wow for Tourism Professionals in Hall 4.1b will make an important contribution. At events taking place on two stages experts and exhibitors will examine topics concerning socially responsible tourism, sustainability and human rights.
Natural is sustainable. In accordance with this motto, Deutsche Hospitality reduced the CO2 emissions of its hotels by using green electricity. The analysis of the previous year's figures is now showing the first successful results.
Following guest feedback, a vegan suite is now available for reservation at the design-led Hilton London Bankside. The suite, created in partnership with multi-sensory design experts Bompas & Parr and given the thumbs up by The Vegan Society, offers a vegan experience throughout, from a plant-based check-in desk and keycard to vegan-friendly beddingand eco-cotton carpet.
The Gyle at Edinburgh Park, Premier Inn, has become the UK's first battery-powered hotel in a bid to improve energy efficiency, secure power supply and enable energy cost savings on-site.
Dr. Nikos Igoumenidis is a Heraklion, Crete native elected to the Hellenic Parliament to represent his region, home city, and Crete back in 2015. A cardiologist by profession, he's a former Director of Cardiology at the clinic of the University General Hospital of Heraklion (PAGNI), and currently responsible for tourism on behalf of SYRIZA parliamentary group. We had the privilege recently of discussing with Dr. Igoumenidis the character of Crete hospitality and tourism to come including emerging alternative tourism trends such as; wellness/medical tourism, cultural tourism, and the underdeveloped rural tourism niche. Here is what one of Crete's most respected and informed officials had to say on these subjects.
On Thursday, April 5th Travel Massive Crete and the Cultural Association of Argyroupoli, in collaboration with the Parish of Argyroupoli, the Cretan Gastronomy Center, and the Municipality of Rethymno will host a unique summit "Traditions: Powerful Tools for Rural Tourism Development."
Tourism as an instrument for mutual understanding and sustainable development is at the centre of the international university project "The Value of Human Rights on the Camino de Santiago: Harnessing the Power of Tourism to Promote Cross-Cultural Dialogue and the Achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals". Over five days, students specializing in a variety of fields, from twenty universities in 13 countries, will travel 100 km on different routes of the Camino de Santiago, putting into practice the principles of sustainable tourism they have previously analysed.
ITB Berlin Daily: A look ahead to the next ITB China in Shanghai +++ Zambia emphasises the importance of developing sustainable tourism +++ Luxury lifestyle attitudes are changingThe Social Media Newsroom of ITB Berlin has online news from the world's leading travel trade show at http://newsroom.itb-berlin.de/en.
The tourism sector's role and responsibility in contributing to sustainabledevelopment on a global scale was the central message delivered at the opening of the 2018 edition of the ITB Berlin travel trade show by Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Speaking in the presence of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tourism ministers from around the world and the leaders of the tourism sector, Mr. Pololikashvili stressed how tourism not only needs to consolidate current growth rates, but "to grow better".
From 7 to 10 March 2018 at the ITB Berlin Convention leading international speakers from industry and science will present valuable ideas and suggestions and provide first-hand expertise and information. Fascinating lectures and panel discussions and topical, exclusive surveys as well as reports on best practices will await visitors to the leading think tank of the international travel industry. Admission is free for trade visitors at ITB Berlin.
Deutsche Hospitality has entered into a long-term cooperation agreement with the Reiner Meutsch FLY & HELP Foundation. Steigenberger's COO Thomas Willms marked the start of the new arrangement by handing over a cheque for €60,000 to Reiner Meutsch, who set up the organisation and still acts as its President. The aim of FLY & HELP is to support education in developing countries. The donation made by Deutsche Hospitality will be used to help fund and expand two schools in Uganda and Sri Lanka.Some of our contribution comes from donation boxes, whilst further sums were generated via the "Deutsche Hospitality 1 x 1" project. The company uses this scheme to create a charitable pot, to which €1 is added for every online booking made via its own websites. Donation boxes for the FLY & HELP project have been placed in the foyers of all IntercityHotels since as long ago as 2013. The money collected has already helped to finance a new cistern and further classrooms for a school in Rwanda attended by 759 pupils."Children are our future," says Thomas Willms, COO of Steigenberger Hotels AG. "For this reason, it is only right and fair to offer them good prospects. Living up to social responsibility is something that is very close to our hearts. FLY & HELP provides children with access to education and thus enables them to determine the course of their own lives. We are proud that the assistance we give helps to achieve this." Over the coming years, Deutsche Hospitality intends to keep using the donations raised via "1 x 1" to back the foundation's work and will also retain its dedicated donation boxes."I am very grateful to Deutsche Hospitality for the support it has provided to my charity over a period of many years," stated Reiner Meutsch, President of the FLY & HELP Foundation. "This assistance is helping to build a better future for children in developing countries. Many people have become aware of FLY & HELP simply because of the various campaigns, flyers and posters. This produces follow-up donations which permit the construction of more schools."Local children living within the immediate vicinity of many Deutsche Hospitality hotels also had cause to celebrate over the festive season. "A Christmas tree full of children's wishes" is a long-standing campaign via which hotels work in conjunction with a social institution at their own location, such as the German Society for the Protection of Children or children's and young people's homes, to make dreams come true for disadvantaged youngsters. During the period leading up to Christmas, trees hung with gift requests from needy children and young people are erected in the entrance areas of participating hotels. Guests then have the opportunity to take down these cards and fulfil one of more of the wishes. This year saw numerous Steigenberger Hotels and Resorts and IntercityHotels get behind the project once again. Steigenberger Hotels AG Corporate Office also participated.
This is the fifteenth time that the focus in Hall 4.1 will be on Adventure Travel & Responsible Tourism, with next year featuring coastal ecosystems as the key topic. At events under the heading of 'The Coast – A wealth of beauty, cultural treasures and biodiversity facing major threats' visitors to the 13th Pow-Wow for Tourism Professionals will be able to find out more from papers and discussions about sustainable and responsible tourism. The key topic will be coastal protection.
ITB Berlin is proud to announce their membership in the Adventure Travel Conservation Fund (ATCF), an international nonprofit focused on funding on-the-ground conservation projects around the world. The ATCF provides members in the travel and outdoor industry an avenue to directly support projects that are critical to protecting the future of adventure travel.
The Social Media Newsroom of ITB Berlin provides regular online updates at http://newsroom.itb-berlin.de/en from the World's leading Travel Trade Show.
All over Europe, more than 20 million people engage in naturism, or naturist tourism. Without having Spain as a competitor, countries such as Germany, France and Greece have made their way to the top of the list of naturist destinations. While in these countries there exists a more deep-rooted tradition, this type of tourism didn't arrive in Spain until 1975 and its exploitation was paralyzed 10 years after it began. Naturism in Spain is lagging behind but it is developing fast. According to a study conducted by “Hosteltur”, more than 30 000 people routinely engage in naturism in Spain and more than 500 000 do so occasionally. Despite the large number of interested people, the scarceness of offerings in Spain cannot keep up with the demand for naturist destinations.
Madrid, Spain, hosted the 105th meeting of the Executive Council of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) between 11 and 12 May. The Meeting focused on current trends and challenges facing the tourism sector and on the three priorities of the Organization - safe, secure and seamless travel; the impact of technology in the tourism sector and sustainability.
Conference Aston, Birmingham's largest residential conferencing venue, is celebrating after attaining a TripAdvisor gold GreenLeader award for its commitment to environmentally friendly practices.
In a world where mass tourism has begun to have a seriously negative impact on holiday destinations, businesses need to turn their attention to making operations more sustainable in order to keep in line with increasing demands on our planet. A new report written by María Arribas of Horwath HTL Spain details eight reasons why tourism professionals should strive for sustainability.
The potential of mountain tourism to foster economic development, as well as to raise awareness on environmental protection, was the major topic addressed at the 3rd World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) Euro-Asian Mountain Resorts Conference. The event was held in Tbilisi, Georgia on 4-7 April, under the patronage of the Ministries of Tourism and of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia.