SAN JUAN, PUERTO RICO—In May 2005, the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) Governing Council convened in Puerto Rico with the purpose of planning the strategies to advance the development of sustainable tourism in the Caribbean. During the meeting, Sir Royston Hopkin KCMG, Chairman of the Council, made the announcement of a new regional award for Green Globe-certified properties based on their benchmarking data submitted for the past two years to Green Globe and reviewed by EarthCheck.
The Best Overall Performer Award was granted to Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort in Aruba, a property that achieved best practice status in all indicators and has performed significantly above the best practice level. The Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa, also in Aruba, earned the Most Improved Performer for demonstrating the largest improvement in achieving the Green Globe benchmarks over two years.
“Both hotels have been active members of the Caribbean Hotel Assn. (CHA) since 1993 and 2000 respectively, and they show their commitment to the region by practicing sustainable tourism initiatives and supporting CHA events and programs,” says CHA Alec Sanguinetti, CHA’s director general.
The Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort is a distinct boutique resort with Dutch colonial-style architecture, located on Eagle Beach that has been owned and managed by the same family since December of 1989.
“We recognize the significant role we play in sustaining the natural beauty of Aruba, for the present and future of our communities and guests,” says Jurgen van Schaijk, owner and managing director of Amsterdam Manor Beach Resort. “Our commitment to the environment has moved us to adopt many sustainability procedures such as the minimization of use of energy, water and natural resources.”
Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa recently celebrated its recertification for the Green Globe 21 Standards. The continuous efforts of staff and management to fulfill the company’s vision and promise to preserve a safe and healthy environment for the Island of Aruba, its people and visiting guests, is showing great results. Since the commencement of the Green Globe program in 2003, the resort has been able to reduce electricity and water consumption per guest by 20 percent per roomnight.
“I can certainly encourage colleague resorts in the Caribbean to sign up for the Green Globe Certification program and learn how they can become better neighbors in their community and save hard dollars,” said Edgar Roelofs, director of operations of Manchebo Beach Resort & Spa.
This is the first time the Green Globe awards have been given in the Caribbean. It is proposed that similar international awards will be announced during the Green Globe and Green Tourism Caribbean conference, to be held in Jamaica from November 1-3, 2006. All successfully Benchmarked and Certified operations around the world will be eligible for these awards. The Caribbean leads the world with more than 50 percent of all properties globally, certified to Green Globe 21. CAST is the Alliance Partner for the Green Globe 21 program in the Caribbean and a complete list of Green Globe 21 certified properties is available at www.cha-cast.com.
