Tourism Minister tells industry to be greener

Tourism minister Barbara Follett today called for the industry to be more environmentally responsible in order to secure its long-term future.

Launching a ‘sustainable tourism framework for England’ at the Best of Britain and Ireland Show​ earlier today, Follett said businesses needed to make sustainability more of a priority.

She said: "If we value the future of our world and if we want to protect our country`s unique tourism offer for future generations, we must take sustainability seriously and not see it just as an add-on luxury.

“There are already many businesses doing exemplary work in this area but more must to do so and soon. We have to challenge our thinking about what is on offer and how businesses are run.

"This will not be easy in difficult economic times, but a sustainable approach can be good for business too."

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has produced a list of six key challenges for the tourism sector produced in line with those in the Government’s tourism strategy for 2012.

Businesses will be encouraged to make green improvements to buildings and equipment to ensure they are environmentally friendly, source local food and make jobs available to people living locally.

The Government also advises that companies advertise more off-peak breaks and promote non-seasonal events to encourage use of facilities all year round and therefore reduce short-term seasonal demand.

A spokesman for the British Hospitality Association said that many companies were already making efforts to reduce their carbon footprints but with more than 200,000 individual outlets in the hospitality and catering sector, some would be ahead of others.

He said: "Companies are introducing all kinds of recycling, waste management and other measures that wouldn`t have been considered 10 years ago. But we have to recognise that many hotels are in old buildings that are typically difficult to `green`."

Find the full sustainable tourism framework here