THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The freedom to have the drink of one’s choice is not the only factor that prompts a tourist to visit a destination. These days it is ‘potential carbon footprint’ a destination could leave behind that has become the chief determinant that influences top corporate clients to offer business to high-end hotels and resorts. Compliance with responsible tourism norms is no more an option for hotels and resorts in the state, it has become a business necessity. “A big corporate’s decision to hold a convention or mega event in our property depends on the potential carbon footprint that their event or convention or stay would generate. The lesser the better,” said a senior official at Vivanta by Taj. Carbon footprint is a measure of the greenhouse gases emitted by a particular activity, organisation or individual.
In the case of hotels, it refers to the environmentally sustainable practices adopted by a hotel. It could be the use of solar power or the use of recycled paper bags or effective garbage treatment or amount of raw materially sourced locally or all of them. The higher the number of environmentally sound measures put in place in a property, the lesser the carbon footprint. With a large chunk of business now coming from Meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions (MICE) tourism, top-end hotels have no choice, but to go in for responsible tourism initiatives like local procurement and solar power. Nearly 20 hotels and resorts in Kovalam, for instance, have opted to procure their raw materials from local units. The number is 15 in Kumarakom.
“Even individual clients have suddenly turned discerning. Our IT clients from Bangalore invariably ask us about potential carbon footprints,” said Mr Vancheeswaran of Wayanad Tourism Organisation. A top tourism official said that the plan is to convert the entire state as ‘responsible tourism’-compliant. The stumbling block, however, has been the lack of a standard model to assess potential carbon footprint. But the World Travel and Tourism Council has now evolved one called ‘Hotel Carbon Measurement Initiative’. The aim of HCMI is to develop a common language which will provide clarity to customers who would like to understand their carbon footprint.
