Eco hotels in Thailand

Some interesting actions from Banyan Tree Hotel group in Thailand. The group is
investing towards a more sustainable tourism: Banyan Tree Phuket has been built on the site of an abandoned tin mine – described by the UN as a ‘toxic wasteland’.

Now, the land has become a wildlife sanctuary, with indigenous plants and true wildlife. They also donate $2 for hotel guest – to the Green Imperative Fund. The funds go to sea turtle rescue, Asian rainforest preservation, and giving poor children an education in Thailand.

It is good to note that Phuket has been making a huge push in the last few years to build eco-friendly hotels, as they have seen first hand the impact so many visitors can have on the environment.

PATA (Asia Pacific Travel Association) encourages Green Travel

Green news from Asia Pacific…. The PATA (travel agents association of Asia & Pacific) has set up a program intended to help the travel industry learn about sustainability from a cost savings perspective, while at the same time reducing its carbon footprint.

This program is called ched the PATA Sustainability Index – it has been organized with the Green Globe Index. It is focusing on hotels, dive sites and other operations. The Guide for PATA Sustaibable Tourism can be viewed at www.pata.org/patasite/index.php.

the 50 eco-hotels of your dream !

Lets start with their selection in Asia:

Maria Thomas, London, and may other editors publish a great selection of eco-hotels on the Times Online at the following address: http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/travel/holiday_type/green_travel/article630054.ece

Best hand-picked places in Asia by the Times Online are:

The Phu Chaisai Mountain Resort & Spa, Chiang Rai in Thailand.

Sukau Rainforest Lodge in Borneo, Malaysia

Sri Lanka’s Kimbuk River

India , Dandeli ‘s Jungle Lodges

and these lovely guest houses in the Himalaya …

Enjoy the trip !

Some more green hotels for Novotel (Accor Group)

An executive at Novotel , Evan Lewis – Vice President Communications for Accor Asia Pacific, annouced announced today that 32 hotels and resorts have achieved the Green Globe Certification in Asia Pacific. A followup from our report from Septeber 2008 available at http://blog.greenty.com/2008/09/more-on-novotel-and-green-globe.html

The most recent hotels to have joined the program include Novotel Hong Kong Century, Novotel Hong Kong Nathan Road and Novotel Hong Kong Citigate.

More info at on eco-hotels in the world at https://www.greenty.com/

The best green destinations of this world

Interesting survey from two different organizations:

According to Grist and Treehugger, the top green cities in the world would be:

According to Grist:
1. Reykjavik, Iceland2. Portland, Oregon, U.S.3. Curitiba, Brazil4. Malmö, Sweden5. Vancouver, Canada6. Copenhagen, Denmark7. London, England8. San Francisco, California, U.S.9. Bahía de Caráquez, Ecuador10. Sydney, Australia11. Barcelona, Spain12. Bogotá, Colombia13. Bangkok, Thailand14. Kampala, Uganda15. Austin, Texas, U.S.

According to Treehugger:
1. Portland, OR2. Freiburg, Germany3. Zermatt, Switzerland4. Montreal, Quebec, Canada5. Austin, Texas, USA

Whats yuour take on this ? Happy to hear your comments…

For more info on eco-hotels in these destinations, please click on :

travel green in France with this guide …

Dear readers,

for those of you planning a trip to France, we highly recommend that book from Dorian Yates; much more than a travel book, the guide includes listings of health food stores and farmers’ markets, public transit information, alternative health care facilities, green businesses, yoga and spiritual centers.
Nice way to visit the country in an alternative, greener way
More info on Green Travel at www.greenty.com and Green Travel in France at http://ecotourismehotel.blogspot.com/

Some better designed solar panels…

American company SRS Energy has just announced a good news for eco hotels : a major issue raised by hoteliers to install solar panel was their poor outlook.
SRS Energy has developed the Solé Power Tile, a roof tile designed to sustainably convert sunlight into electricity without compromising aesthetics. The Solé tiles are suppposed to be lightweight, unbreakable and recyclable. A solar technology is embedded inside each tile, so they can function independently.
A great opportunity for our hotel industry readers that can find more info at www.srsenergy.com