Hotels will contribute to climate change mitigation whilst increasing their profits under a new UN backed ‘green' scheme. The UN World Tourism Organisation initiative has been trialled by over 100 hundred properties in four European locations; Palma de Mallorca, the Haute Savoie in France, Bonn in Germany and Strandja in Bulgaria.
The scheme offers hoteliers an on-line toolkit, called Hotel Energy Solutions, to evaluate their energy consumption. The e-toolkit will create a report showing current energy use and recommending renewable energy sources and ways to increase efficiency. Testing of the toolkit in the four locations was finalised in August, with positive feedback from hotel owners and managers.
Although hotels and other types of accommodation account for just two per cent of the world's global-warming carbon dioxide emissions the UNTWO says this footprint is a priority for the tourism sector. Over 50 per cent of the world's hotel rooms are located in Europe - the launch pad for the scheme. A global roll out is expected to follow at some stage although no date has been specified.