Mitra-solusindo.com, JAKARTA - Acknowledged for implementing eco-friendly principles in its operation, 10 hotels were honored with the ASEAN Green Hotel Recognition Award 2012. The awards were presented during the ASEAN Tourism Forum on Wednesday, January 11, 2012 held at Grand the Kawanua Convention Center, Manado, North Sulawesi.
The 10 Indonesian hotels are: Matahari Beach Resort & Spa (Bali), Discovery Kartika Plaza Hotel (Bali), Holiday Inn Resort (Batam), Angsana (Bintan), Melia Benoa (Bali), Losari Spa Retreat & Coffee Plantation (Magelang, Central Java), St. Regis Bali Resort(Bali), Melia Bali Villa & Spa Resort, Dharmawangsa Jakarta, and Hotel Gran Melia Jakarta.
The awards were presented by the Minister of Tourism and Creative Economy of the Republic of Indonesia, Mari Elka Pangestu, who attended the ceremony together with all Tourism Ministers from the 10 ASEAN countries. “ASEAN Green Hotel Award is held every two years. Manado and Indonesia are the third hosts after Thailand in 2008 and Brunei Darussalam in 2010,” said Minister Mari Pangestu.
Other ASEAN hotels awarded were given to 71 hotels in other ASEAN countries, which are: Brunei Darussalam (1 hotel), Cambodia (10 hotels), Laos (8 hotels), Malaysia (10 hotels), Myanmar (10 hotels), Philippines (2 hotels), Singapore (10 hotels), Thailand (10 hotels), and Vietnam (10 hotels).
The ASEAN Green Hotel Award is an appreciation and recognition of tourism stakeholders for adopting the ASEAN Green Hotel Standards into their services. Environmental issues are the main aspects for the assessment, as stipulated in the ASEAN Green Hotel Standard document. Criteria and essential requirements include: environmental policy and hotel operation activities, utilization of green products, cooperation with local community and organizations, human resources development, solid waste management, energy efficiency, water efficiency, water quality management (indoor and outdoor), noise pollution control, waste water treatment and management, and toxic and chemical substance disposal management.
The close competition in the hotel industry and the growing awareness of environmental conditions such as climate change and global warming issues become the driving factors for the establishment of the Green Hotel Standards which were first initiated among ASEAN countries in 2007. With the awards, it is expected that the hotel industry will increase its competitive values in the number of visitors and the improvement of the service quality in all hotels within the ASEAN region, which ultimately support the vision of ASEAN as a single destination.
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