NEWTON, MASS.—TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel community, announced the results of its annual travel trends survey of more than 3,000 U.S. travelers. The primary trends identified are that travelers appear to be going lean and green by visiting national parks, hiking, and engaging in adventure activities. A greater amount of Americans said they will be environmentally conscious in their travel decisions in 2009, and more plan to visit eco-friendly hotels in the coming year. TripAdvisor also unveiled its TravelCast list of emerging hotspots for 2009, and atop the list is Budoni, in Sardinia, Italy. The top emerging hotspot in...

FRANKFURT, GERMANY—Nominations are now being invited for the IMEX Green Awards 2009. The annual awards, which are presented during the international trade show’s Gala Dinner in Frankfurt, have become a strong indicator of new trends and developments amongst suppliers and buyers within the global meetings industry. The awards comprise three different environmental category prizes and one that recognizes an outstanding contribution to a local community project—the Commitment to the Community Award. The most established award, the Green Meetings Award, increasingly attracts extremely strong entries from corporations and agencies worldwide that have embraced the principles of green meetings and, as...

LONDON—The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)—the business leaders’ forum for the Travel & Tourism industry—announced its call for entries for the Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, WTTC’s sustainable tourism accolade, in association with Travelport and The Leading Travel Companies Conservation Foundation. The Tourism for Tomorrow Awards are presented annually to tourism organizations that are demonstrating best practices including helping to improve the livelihoods of communities and supporting the protection of natural and cultural heritage through sustainable tourism development. The awards are given in four different categories addressing all sectors of the travel and tourism industry: • Destination Stewardship Award—For destinations comprising a...

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.—Cheyenne Mountain Resort has become an official Partner Member of the Green Hotels Association, solidifying the resort’s commitment to protecting the environment through a multi-faceted, resort-wide program of water- and energy-saving and waste-reducing practices and other eco-friendly actions. “At Cheyenne Mountain Resort, we have been steadily reducing our impact on the environment by adopting such practices as buying local and organic produce, switching to energy-efficient lighting, using environmentally friendly paints and implementing cost-effective towel and linen reuse options for multiple-night guests,” said Laura Neumann, the resort’s vice president and general manager. “Now we are cementing our commitment to...

PITTSBURGH—The Green Meeting Industry Council announced that their 2009 “Greening the Hospitality Industry” Conference will be held February 24 to 26 in Pittsburgh at the LEED Gold certified David L. Lawrence Convention Center. This conference will provide timely, professional education and invaluable networking opportunities through presentations, workshops, and a tradeshow. Key industry leaders will discuss green meeting practices for meeting and event planners, hotel properties, convention and conference venues, and suppliers to the meeting and event industry. Participants will have an opportunity to share practices in roundtable discussion groups. The latest environmentally responsible meeting products and services will be...

CHICAGO—For the first time in its five-year history, the Green Meeting Industry Council (GMIC) is branching out with a local chapter. It will be located in Chicago. It is an outgrowth of a meeting that took place earlier this year at GMIC’s national conference in Vancouver, B.C. It was there that a group of Chicago area meeting professionals got together to discuss the possibility of a chapter and the need for Chicago’s hospitality and meeting community to be more proactive in seeking out and hosting green meetings. GMIC is also pursuing other chapters in the United States and internationally...

BEVERLY HILLS, CALIF.—For every medal Team USA receives at the upcoming Olympic and Paralympic Games, Doubletree will donate trees to a variety of need-based, reforestation projects across America through the Arbor Day Foundation. For every gold medal, Doubletree will donate 100 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. For every silver medal, Doubletree will donate 50 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. For every bronze medal, Doubletree will donate 25 trees to be planted in the athlete’s honor. The countdown campaign for the Doubletree U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Commemorative Forest initiative began with the first medal events...

PARSIPPANY, N.J.—Health-conscious travelers—especially those suffering from allergies and asthma—may breathe easier at Wyndham hotels thanks to the upscale chain’s new Wyndham ClearAir initiative to offer allergy-friendly guest accommodations. While eight Wyndham hotels offer the rooms today, all will be required to convert 10 percent of their room inventory or a minimum of 25 rooms into allergy-friendly environments by the end of 2009. Wyndham Hotels and Resorts is the first national upscale lodging chain to mandate allergy-friendly rooms systemwide. The chain’s move responds to guest concerns over rising consumer health issues and costs associated with allergic reactions. According to the Asthma...

PHOENIX—Many hotels and resorts now tout their environmentally friendly practices to lure eco-conscious travelers. It can be hard for consumers to tell if a hotel is truly eco-friendly or just employing sneaky PR tactics. iStayGreen’s social network will create accountability, forcing properties to own up to whether they’re truly green or greenwashing. iStayGreen.org lists more than 95,000 lodging properties worldwide with just under 3,000 currently Green Leaf Rated (their proprietary green rating system). “Our members separate fact from hype,” says Richard Varner, founder of iStayGreen.org. “We’ve created a social network structure, much like Facebook, where our members can rally together...

SAN FRANCISCO—Keep the Green or Give the Green gives hotel guests the choice of accepting a $20 gas card from Chevron or a $20 carbon offset credit. With the help of Carbonfund.org, the carbon offset credit represents the reduction of CO2. The more people who opt for the carbon offset, the better chance we have at reducing harmful chemicals that continue to damage our ozone at an alarming pace. By requesting the carbon offset, a $20 dollar credit is donated in support of a number of different carbon-reducing projects that help save the environment. Guests can choose from reforestation, renewable...