The Hindu Business Line : ‘Eco’ ing responsible tourism

Have you ever thought that the winter break you have been planning for ever so long can actually help you save electricity and water for the world, let you be one with nature, promote indigenous cultures, provide local employment and improve your hea lth thanks to organic farming?

This is exactly what eco-hotels and resorts hope vacationers will look for when they chalk out their next holiday plan. With the number of hotels and resorts eager to add the ‘eco’ tag increasing, it pays to know why they strive to be in this special clique, what gets them the footfalls, their marketing strategies and price points.

Every eco-hotel or resort has its own set of facilities and features that give it the ‘eco’ status. Basically, there are three types of eco-hotels and resorts — those that are one with nature in their location and promote nature-related activities; others that ensure their property leaves as few footprints on the environment as possible by having water recycling plants, undertaking rainwater harvesting measures and other methods of conserving water and electricity; and a few others that go the extra distance by sustaining the environment, the people and the ethos of the city they are set up in.

India gets eco-advantage

When The Orchid, Mumbai, a five-star property started 12 years ago as an ecotel, it was construed as an ‘economy hotel’. The concept of an environment-friendly hotel was absolutely alien to Indian travellers then. However, today, it is the first hotel in Asia to be certified as an eco-friendly five-star hotel. After campaigning for ‘wealth out of waste, advance locality management, saying no to cut flowers, beach clean-ups and its anti-plastic stance’ and incorporating an architectural design that promotes a green revolution right from its eco-friendly foundation stone, it takes pride in being the world’s only ‘ecotel’ to be certified with the ISO 14001.

That’s not the only feather in the cap for ecotourism in India. Barefoot at Havelock, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, is rated by The Guardian of the UK as one of the 30 best green places to stay in the world and The Dune EcoVillage & Spa near Pondicherry is an internationally known eco-destination.

Growing numbers

Despite a lukewarm start, the pace at which the concept is picking up is heartening. The very fact that there are eco Web sites for travellers to India with plenty of options for eco-activities, eco-tours, eco-packages and eco-resorts is proof of the growing curiosity amongst travellers for eco-friendly vacations.

And it’s not just international travellers who are conscious of their travel plans; eco-hotels and resorts have seen a steady increase in the number of eco-sensitive domestic guests.

Akshay Rawat, General Manager, Business Development, Barefoot Group, says that while their guest list is dominated by international travellers, they have witnessed a steady increase in the number of domestic guests.

The ‘alert individual traveller’ today visits holiday destinations after substantial research and having checked out a hotel or resort’s environmental and socio responsibility. According to statistics in the Indian Tourism Web site, “eco-tourism is the fastest growing market in the tourism industry according to the World Tourism Organisation with an annual growth rate of 5 per cent worldwide, representing 6 per cent of the world GDP and 11.4 per cent of all consumer spending.”

Falling into green spaces

There are many hotels that fall in the category that focus on promoting nature and its pleasures by setting up recycled wooden cottages amidst the greens, organising nature trails or forest camps, encouraging bird watching and eco-adventure activities such as white water rafting and trekking.

National Parks and sanctuaries that house resorts are popular options, so are camel safaris in Rajasthan and houseboat cruises in the backwaters of Kerala, to name a few. This category finds the largest numbers of takers as people are always game for a rendezvous with nature.

But taking ecotourism to a whole new level is a handful of hotels and resorts that go beyond exploring the beauty of nature. While The Dune EcoVillage & Spa is known for using completely recycled wood and stone for its accommodation and its certified organic farm,

Our Native Village, located on a 12-acre farm in Hessargatta, a village in Karnataka, uses solar power, wind mills and bio-gas to generate 95 per cent of its electricity, while reviving the traditional culture, games and art forms of the area.

Then there is the 360 degrees Leti in Uttaranchal and Barefoot at Havelock that do a lot for the local community by developing the local infrastructure. Ninety-two per cent of Barefoot’s employees are localites!

Balancing luxury and eco-sensitivity

Most ecohotels and resorts fall in the four to five-star category. The Royal Gardenia, ITC’s new hotel in Bangalore, is the latest entrant on the eco-chart that offers guests a plush ambience, with a wind-cooled lobby and vertical hanging gardens with drip irrigation incorporated in them.

Similarly, Barefoot Resorts has recently launched a new suite which is nature-cooled, in addition to other nature-cooled rooms.

The Dune lets you soak in a whirlpool tub but ensures that the shampoo bottle is made of recycled glass, the loofah is plant fibre and not plastic and the towels are made of organic cotton.

Sunil Varghese, General Manager, The Dune, explains, “Luxury can be both tangible and intangible. For us, luxury is not imported furniture and chandeliers but organic food, linen and bath products and, more importantly, a luxurious experience.’

More the merrier

The marketing strategy of these properties is simple. Once the eco tag is included, it attracts the attention of those who believe in the concept of responsible tourism.

Rawat adds that travellers these days are sensitive about how the money they pay through tariffs is spent, and if any is spent for community development. That makes them part with the premium tariff attached to most of these properties, as their operational costs are initially high, almost 20 per cent more than regular hotels, especially in the case of those who invest in recycling plants and modern systems to conserve water and electricity.

However, once the guests check in, they have the choice to involve themselves completely in the cause. Barefoot at Havelock involves its guests in exercises such as beach cleaning.

The Dune educates interested guests in organic farming and acquaints them with Ayurvedic homemade remedies.

The Orchid and The RainTree – An Ecotel Hotel, have an ‘eco button’ and a ‘green button’ in every room.

If the guests press the button when checking in, they automatically become their eco-friendly customers, who then participate in all their little efforts in conserving electricity, for instance, by increasing the temperature of the air conditioner by two degrees.

“Over a period of time, our guests have been showing a tendency to increasingly press the eco button. Earlier, there used to be very few people who were pressing it, but now more than 20 per cent of the guests staying with us press the button,” adds Anil Paranjpe, Vice-President (Operations), The Orchid, Mumbai.

Syed Amjad Hussain, Environment Manager at The RainTree, the first eco-sensitive business hotel in South India, adds that they have about 80-90 guests every month who press the ‘green button’, mostly international guests.

And what brings them back to their hotel as well as feel involved in the eco-initiatives are the constant updates and communication with these guests post-visit.

With eco-consciousness rising amongst tourists, a unique experience that challenges the traditional notions of luxury seems welcome.

Related Stories:
The Rain Tree Hotel gets Ecotel certification
Top hotels don `green' colour

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