18_ttg_lux_ecotrip 11/6/09 15:13 Page 18
voice of
r
i
p
reason
Captain C P Krishnan Nair
t
Chairman, The Leela Palaces,
Resorts & Hotels
I have always had a passion for the
environment, and a desire to protect and
o
beautify it so future generations can continue
to enjoy it. While caring for the environment is
something most people can and should do,
regardless of wealth, it is no longer simply a
matter of reusing towels and recycling paper.
Today, the main focus is on corporate
responsibility by practising environmental
ec
protection and sustainability, and all
companies need to do their part, especially in
the travel industry. Given the ongoing debate
regarding the impact that travel has on the
environment, I believe it is increasingly
ALILA LEADS THE WAY IN MALDIVES important our industry highlights the work
Alila Villas Hadahaa is set to open in August and is being hailed as one of the greenest being done to protect it.
resorts in the Maldives. It is the first resort in the country to fully commit to the This can include using eco-friendly
standards of Green Globe throughout its design, construction and resort operation, chemicals and herbal pesticides, using waste
and has Green Globe’s Building, Planning and Design Standard status. flowers and dry leaves as manure, setting up
Alila’s sales and marketing vice-president, Doris Goh, said it was important to create inhouse sewage treatment plants and using
a resort that was sustainable and played a strong role in the community. treated waste water in the hotel gardens, as
“Operators, agents and clients are looking for something different in well as using home-grown food ingredients
the Maldives these days and we think we offer it,” she said on a visit to the from on-site gardens. The Leela Group
UK. “We will be encouraging local agriculture and engaging with people practises all these measures across our
on nearby islands in a much more integral way than many resorts do.” hotels, and guests really notice the difference.
Goh said guests would be encouraged to try new types of excursions. Many have remarked on the quality of the
One, called Growth of an Atoll, will take them to several islands to see ingredients in our food, and guests in Goa are
their various stages of formation. Guests will also have the chance to thrilled when they tour our spice garden with
see Buddhist stupas – dome-shaped shrines – not often visited or the head gardener to see which ingredients
highlighted, despite the islands’ 1,400-year Buddhist period. are used for which dishes.
The resort is running an opening promotion called Gift to Share (valid Being a luxury brand, our guests expect far
from August 1 to December 19) whereby accommodation charges will be more than the bare minimum when it comes
waived for every second night. For every night paid at opening rates to environmental programmes, and our
(nights from $750, valid for a minimum of three-night stay), Alila Villas Hadahaa will excellence in this field is one reason we have
provide one night free. Guests will be encouraged to reciprocate the resort’s generos- so many repeat visitors and guests often
ity by donating an amount of their choice to support the three Maldivian community remark on the environmental awards we have
projects spearheaded by the resort: research libraries in local schools, Maldivian craft won. The Leela Palace Kempinski Bangalore,
work in primary schools and community farming projects. for example, was recently recognised as the
Alila Villas Hadahaa has been designed with just 40 villas by SCDA and is the first best eco-friendly five-star hotel in India and I
luxury resort to open in the unspoiled southern atolls. was proud to be honoured by the American
“We count ourselves fortunate to be able to build such a beautiful property on the Academy of Hospitality Sciences for my
previously untouched Gaafu Alifu Atoll (pictured), and we seek to involve and give back contribution to environmental beautification.
as much as we possibly can to its lovely community,” said general manager Julian I am particularly proud of our ongoing
Moore, who spent many months interacting with the islanders. (alilahotels.com) support for the UN’s Environment Programme
Billion Tree Campaign, a global initiative to
encourage tree planting and to date, we have
planted more than three million plants and
ECO TIPS
trees. theleela.com
THIRSTY WORK Six Senses is to do away with “trendy imported bottled water”, introducing its
own drinking water produced on-site at each resort using the Classic Crystal system, which
Our guests in Goa are
produces water to EPA standards (sixsenses.com). CARING CARS In partnership with Nissan,
Europcar is to roll out electric cars for hire next year in France, Germany, Belgium, Spain,
thrilled when they
Italy, Portugal, the UK, Australia and New Zealand, and subsequently to other countries
(europcar.com). ISLAND INITIATIVES New moves on the 1,400-acre exclusive Caribbean tour the spice garden
island of Mustique include the creation of a charitable foundation,
orchard-planting, flora and fauna preservation, energy
conservation, education and local community programmes
(mustique-island.com). SCARLET AND GREEN Set to open
in August on a clifftop overlooking Newquay is one of the UK’s
eco-friendliest hotels. Built from the ground up to stringent
guidelines – including air-tight structures, reptile re-homing and
a roof planted with native sea thrift – the Scarlet is both
glamorous and guilt-free (scarlethotel.co.uk). FAIR’S FAIR
Fairmont Hotels and Resorts has been accepted into the World Wildlife
Fund’s Climate Savers Programme, pledging to reduce operational CO
2
emissions from
existing hotels to 20% below 2006 levels by 2013; any newer Fairmont properties will be
18
on the brand’s new Energy and Carbon Management programme (fairmont.com).
in the know
summer 09 ttgluxury.com
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60