World Travel Awards for eco-resorts, eco-hotels, eco lodges and eco-tourism organizations

For these last posts of the year I thought it was interesting to bring to your attention the best eco lodges, eco hotels, eco resorts, eco organizations as elected in the 15th World Travel Awards, voted by travel agents worldwide.

The 2008 World Travel Award Winners for Green are:

World’s Leading Conservation Company
Shamwari Game Reserve, South Africa
World’s Leading Eco-friendly Airport
Singapore Changi Airport
World’s Leading Eco-Lodge
KumbukRiver, Sri Lanka
World’s Leading Green Cruise Line
Sea Cloud Cruises
World’s Leading Green Destination
Costa Rica
World’s Leading Green Hotel
Chateau Mcely, Czech Republic
World’s Leading Green Resort
AquaCity Poprad, Slovakia
World’s Leading Green Tour Operator
Tribes Travel, United Kingdom
World’s Leading Green Transport Solution Company
Europcar
World’s Leading Responsible Tourism Scheme
Quest, England
World’s Leading Sustainable Tourism Scheme
Green Airport Initiative

Work in Eco-tourism! some job offers …

Our colleagues from http://www.travelmole.com/ have just realeased a very interesting news:

“TIES website features jobs, internships and volunteer opportunities with our members from around the world. We encourage you to explore these diverse employment opportunities and to learn about careers in ecotourism and sustainable tourism. Working in ecotourism can be, particularly in these tough times, a great way to stay ahead and develop competitive skills in the ever-growing green markets.”

Jobs include:
Cook for Maho Bay Pavilion Restaurant
Web & Marketing Producer for Holbrook
Volunteer for Holbrook’s Sarapiqui Conservation Learning Center
Resort Designmier for Mithun
Trip Leader & Experienced Guide for O.A.R.S.
Group Leader for Intrepid Travel Management
Office Roles for Intrepid Travel Specialists for Intrepid Travel Retail Stores Enlightenment
Lecturers for Holbrook Travel

Planeta.com ‘s book of the year

The website Planeta.com has just released the winners for its third-annual book of the year award.

The winners are:

in the Environment category – Watching Giants: The Secret Lives of Whales
in Food – Eat Smart in Sicily

in Guidebooks – Traveler’s Tool Kit: Mexico and Central America

in Tourism – Disappearing Destinations: 37 Places in Peril and What Can Be Done to Help Save Them

Other awards include the Colibri Ecotourism Award, the Ecotourism Spootlight Award and the brand-new Indigenous Tourism and Biodiversity Website Award.

Air New Zeland goes Green !


Another airline goes green : Air NZ is enabling passengers to buy carbon credits – and the fees go directly into projects like the Tararua wind farm on New Zealand’s north island.

Air NZ is also optimizing things like speed and weight with the goal of reducing their carbon emissions by 100,000 tons in five years.

More important, they plan to become the first airline in the world to test a biofuel made from the nut of an Indian plant, called jatropha. They’ll test it later this year and already plan to be using it on 50 percent of domestic flights by 2013.

Let’s follow this !

More info at http://www.airnewzealand.co.nz/aboutus/environment/

Another major hotel chain goes into the Green business : Element by Starwood

Interestingly enough, it is not any chain but the leading luxury chain, Starwood, the US based owner of Sheraton, Westin, St Regis, Le Meridienm, A-Loft, etc.

They have just started a new brand, dedicated to green travel, Element …

The first property opened in July in Lexington, USA.

The Element hotels are built with technology that saves water and cuts electric use, including heat-reflecting roofing materials, energy-efficient appliances and 16-foot windows to allow natural light into common areas. Laundry bags will be reusable, hybrid cars will get preferred parking, and garbage cans in the rooms will make it easy for guests to recycle.

Starwood has chosen the LEED label for these hotels: Starwood has applied for certification for the Element hotels under the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System.