Green Globe announces priority mission to Sri Lanka

Green Globe Certification has announced that following the PATA Travel Mart 2011, CEO Guido Bauer will conduct a priority mission to meet with leaders of Sri Lanka’s travel and tourism industry.

Discussions will be held on how certification under Green Globe’s internationally recognised Standard for Sustainable Travel and Tourism can contribute to a more successful industry.

Green Globe Certification CEO, Guido Bauer said, ‘Our Standard for Sustainable Travel and Tourism has been accepted for over 15 years by tourism professionals as the blue print for successful businesses and better communities.

“Green Globe is focused on the responsibility of each tourism business, understanding that each company has an environmental foot print that can be reduced and therefore collectively make a significant impact.

In Sri Lanka, it is also the social issues, particularly around reconciliation and preservation of unique culture that Green Globe can assist with. Green Globe’s Standard and system of certification can establish the basis of planning and team building across enterprises to ensure equity, respect and engagement with staff, management and owners”, added Bauer.

Green Globe, through its years of experience, has refined and packaged all the key concepts and practical measures that need to be in place for tourism businesses to survive and prosper within their destinations.

Today the challenges to build a successful tourism industry are more than just social-economic; they are climate related tying local environmental issues to global agreements on carbon emissions. Green Globe will be investigating how it can support local initiatives related to greening hotels. In addition the Green Globe system can assist tourism businesses to align themselves with the Sri Lanka Ministry of Environment’s National Green Reporting system, which will contribute towards ensuring all industries are more accountable for their resource utilisation and environmental impacts.

During Bauer’s time in Sri Lanka he will be showcasing some of the success stories from Sri Lanka hotels that have already been Green Globe certified.

Green Globe Certification is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide licence, Green Globe Certification is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is the only certification brand to be an affiliate member of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) an agency of the United Nations, and is partly owned by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC).