Eco-Consciousness Rising In Tourism

"Please put towels you wish changed on the floor and those you wish to re-use on the towel bars." These signs increasingly appear in the guestrooms of top hotels all over the world. Check the plumbing in the best of Boston or Bermuda; Copenhagen or Carmel Valley and find sophisticated water-conserving models not yet available to the average homebuilder. Cynics may observe such eco-aware economies increase hotel profits, but you knew that. Doing well has ever been the hands-down marketplace argument for doing good.

Throughout the 4.4 trillion dollar tourism industry taking care of the environment is recognized as attraction in itself. At Jumby Bay, Antigua, celebrity guests whose bills run upward from $1000 per night are on Pasture Beach at 2 a.m. assisting nesting sea turtles by covering their tracks against predators. The exclusive resort purchased in 1998 by Robin Leach and his partners and operated by RockResorts will continue to monitor this ancient annual event as well as to preserve the habitat of permanent island wildlife.

In the Florida Keys Earth Day is the yearís biggest draw at famous Cheeca Lodge in Islamorada. The Queen Conch Restoration Project on Long Key is the current hands-on project, and local high school students conduct a "Coral Reef Classroom" on Cheeca Rocks. Nowadays the way to go after deep-sea fish is catch-and-release with the Keys chapter of the Nature Conservancy a regular benefactor of tournaments.

On St. Croix, the eco-package directed by a resident naturalist at The Buccaneer is as much in demand at the exclusive 300-acre resort as the honeymoon special. Nor is it just observation. Guests participate in turtle counts, measures and weigh-ins. They help maintain trails and do beach clean-ups as necessary. Then they break for an afternoon at Buck Island National Monument where snorkelers going to the underwater trails learn first of all to do no harm.

On Hilton Head Island, near Savannah, South Carolina, the Southeastern Ecological Institute has developed an exemplary Ecotour Handbook of Port Royal Sound for The Westin Resort, a posh oceanfront property known for its championship golf courses and tennis courts. This complements the Westin's "Coastal Discovery" package which offers a choice of nine historic, cultural or ecological tours utilizing all-terrain bicycle, watercraft and footpower. The vast waterway includes rivers and wetlands embracing islands, historic sites and wildlife refuges. Professional guides instruct and oversee the excursions both for the safety of the participants and the protection of the creatures and habitat.

The eco-map provided to participants includes a "Timeline of Life" on Hilton Head Island that begins 450 million years ago when the ocean extended a far as what is now Columbia, South Carolina. Human habitation began nearly 10,000 years ago, and the history of natural and cultural resources is an open-ended exploration.

The elevated walkways that avoid disrupting habitat in parks and on properties throughout the Caribbean were developed by an innkeeper-naturalist on St. Thomas seeking a way to the beach from his cliffside property. To see total use of solar and wind energy as well as recycling at its practical best whether of waste plastic or scrap rubber tires, visit Harmony Resort, Estate Concordia and Maho Bay Camps on St. John, U.S. Virgin Islands, all testing-models for our National Park Service. Sonesta International Hotels has a company-wide policy of revitalizing local communities and, in turn, promoting tourism as well as recycling and energy conservation. In Boston this means working with the Museum of Science to create an outdoor Science Park. In Egypt, a "green program" plants trees, bushes and flowers as well as pushing for pollution controls in places where the pall of industrial exhaust has in the past been equated with prosperity.

Denmark's Best Western Hotels can display the "green" diplomas given by His Royal Highness Prince Henrik for the company's environmentally responsible practices and commitment to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Denmark. Each of the affiliate's 37 hotels must implement each year five more of 22 environmentally sound practices from installing energy-saving lighting to serving organic foods in the dining rooms.

Best Western, largest lodging brand in the world with nearly 3500 independently owned and operated hotels in 63 countries, has a long history of earth-friendly policies. These include educating guests on ecological strategies, using natural materials wherever possible and providing recycling bags for individual guestrooms. In Reno, Nevada, the Best Western Airport Plaza Hotel has rechanneled its rain gutters so that parking lot run-off now waters deep-root cypress trees. For this and a myriad of other programs, the hotel has been receiving commendations for energy conservation since 1975.

The Tokyo Bay Hilton located adjacent to Tokyo Disneyland was in 1998 named the first Ecotel Certified Hotel in East Asia. The hotel received Ecotel Globe Awards in solid waste management, employee education and community involvement (all 811 members of the hotel staff were trained in both global and local environmental issues and operating procedures) and legislative compliance and native land preservation. Previously the hotel had received (and will continue to receive) the coveted "Green Globe" awards in energy management and water conservation and preservation. The awards are made by HVS Eco Services, a United States based environmental consulting firm for the lodging industry, and represent compliance with more than 100 pages of criteria.

Bermuda, lacking any groundwater supply, has always been an example of successful conservation. Those marshmallow-white roofs are finished with a sealing coat of lime to neutralize acid rainwater as it runs down into underground cisterns to be pumped as needed. Large hotels here use desalinization or reverse osmosis for their supply, and the 1993 Clean Air Act to control pollution is rigidly enforced. Need a taxi? Phone or find a taxi stand. Cruising wastes fuel and isn't allowed. The hit of the Southampton Princess Hotel is the Dolphin Quest, a program created and monitored by veterinarians in a three-acre lagoon opening into the sea. The dolphin-human encounters are designed not only for memorable interaction between the bottlenose animals and people, but the money generated helps support marine education, conservation and research projects.

The saving of significant historic structures is as practical as altruistic when the non-profit National Trust for Historic Preservation oversees the conversion of architectural treasures and landmark properties to hotels and resorts. Each member of the Historic Hotels of America is steeped in environmental as well as cultural awareness, offers exemplary regional cuisine and promotes visits to little known sites that might otherwise close for lack of interest and funding.

Sustainable tourism? Common sense? Whatever. Pick up your towels.

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