Lanka poised to be a green destination for tourists

The safety of the planet cannot be compromised at any cost. The tourism industry, one of the largest consumers of energy launched a programe to green all hotels that would help sustain business and market to the global arena.The Switch Asia Greening Sri Lanka Hotels Project funded by the European Union was launched by the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce (CCC) at a ceremony held in Colombo on Tuesday.

The project will be carried out by CCC Solutions (Pvt) Ltd. the implementing arm of CCC with a grant of Euros 2 million from the EU.

The project targeting the SME hotel sector is implemented with the objective of reducing the cost of operations, helping suppliers to adopt best practices, promoting responsible tourism and increasing market acceptance.
EU Ambassador Bernard Savage said climate change is a major challenge that should be addressed urgently if the world is to avoid jeopardising the safety of the planet.
He said, motivating change at policy level, production processes and consumption patterns is crucial to achieve sustainable development.
President, Tourists Hotels Association of Sri Lanka, Srilal Miththapala said that the project targets 350 hotels across the country encouraging an efficient use of all sources of energy to position Sri Lanka as the green destination for tourism."There is a conception that the hotel sector is a guzzler of energy which is not true. Many hotels have adopted environment friendly methods converting traditional production systems", he said. Miththapala said tourists arrivals this year has increased and the industry is well poised for a quick revival.The tourism industry anticipates a good winter with a series of events lined up for the season.The air travel restrictions lasting over two weeks caused huge losses to the global travel and tourism industry. Though no exact estimates have been made the crisis caused substantial losses to Sri Lankan tourism.
The Chairman, CCC, Dr. Anura Ekanayake said if France could attract around 80 million tourists a year there is no reason why Sri Lanka cannot entice at least one million visitors initially.
The Responsible Tourism Partnership, the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority and the Institute of Environmental Professionals of Sri Lanka will partner the programe. (LF)