Testing of the toolkit, launched by the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and its partners, was finalized recently in more than 100 European properties in four different pilot destinations – Haute-Savoie in France, Palma de Mallorca in Spain, Bonn in Germany, and Strandja in Bulgaria – with positive feedback from hotel owners and managers.
Although hotels and other types of accommodation account for only two per cent of the world's global-warming carbon dioxide emissions, UNWTO says addressing this comparatively small yet important footprint is a priority for the tourism sector. Of the world's 5.9 million hotel rooms, over half are located in Europe, where the project has been launched initially.
The Hotel Energy Solutions (HES) e-toolkit, the main output of the Hotel Energy Solutions project, provides hoteliers with a report which shows their current energy use and recommends appropriate renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies and actions. It further sets out what kind of savings on operational expenses hotels can expect from their green investments through a calculator measuring returns on investment.
While Hotel Energy Solutions is a UNWTO-initiated project supported by the European Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation under the Intelligent Energy Europe programme, it is expected to be rolled out globally over the coming years. Once adapted for non-EU Member States, the project will benefit hotels worldwide.
"I would encourage our hotel sector to look into this development as it could have benefits for them as well as for our country especially when we look at making a positive contribution to improving the local and global environment by reducing our footprint.
"This is something for the Sint Maarten Hospitality & Trade Association to look into if they haven't already," Minister of Tourism and Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunications Hon. Franklin Meyers said on Tuesday.
The project has been implemented in partnership with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the International Hotel & Restaurant Association (IH&RA), the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC), and the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (ADEME).