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 HAI Hotels Directory | HAI Journal HAI Journal July-September 2004 Click below links which are part of the HAI Journal July-September 2004 Issue.
President
Vice President Hony. Treasurer Hony. Secretary World Environment Day is a good occasion for the hospitality industry to take stock of the eco-friendly initiatives taken by hotels, during the year that has gone by, to conserve the environment. From planting trees to using solar energy, to constructing smart buildings to collecting litter, hotels in India are leading by example. Take the case of the Leela Kempinski in Mumbai that has invested in maintaining massive gardens in and around the premises of the hotel to encourage greenery and environment friendly ambience. The hotel also uses natural gas as boiler fuel that almost nullifies the air pollution, compared to oil fired ones. The Orchid hotels are an example of what all can eco-friendly hotels achieve from the basic architecture of the building, to water conservation, to use of rubber wood instead of real wood. The Lake Palace in Udaipur, The Park in New Delhi use energy saving devices to conserve electricity, reuse biodegradable waste generated in their hotels and deploy various techniques to conserve water. There is growing international awareness of the centrality of environment to long term economic growth, human development and stability of the planet. The environmental challenge is even more stark in developing countries where five billion of the earth’s six billion people live. Another two billion people will be added to global population over the next 25 years- with huge demands for energy and economic growth in an environmentally sustainable way. In this mega human endeavour, hotels equally need to match their actions with the scale of the challenge - this is the spirit that guides the ‘Green Week’ that HAI annually celebrates in its member hotels, inspiring hotels to go green. R K Puri President of India's Address on Tourism "When the environment is beautiful and happy; Dr A P J Abdul Kalam The President of India, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam, in his address to the joint session of both Houses of Parliament, after elections to the 14th Lok Sabha, made an unprecedented reference to the crucial role that the tourism industry can play in the development of the country. He emphasised that preservation of culture, heritage and environment was a national priority. “Our rich cultural heritage is a matter of national pride and the foundation of our unity in diversity. The Government will actively strive to preserve our national heritage in all its manifestations. In the same vein, the Government will take all possible steps to preserve the richness of our bio-diversity, with special emphasis on preserving the wildlife,” said the President. He further added, “The Government recognises the importance of tourism in providing gainful employment to a wide spectrum of job-seekers from the unskilled to the specialised, even in remote parts of the country. The Government will provide appropriate incentives to promote rural, heritage, adventure and eco-tourism and establishing high quality tourist destinations...” Winds of change are wafting across the Indian tourism scene as the new Union Minister of State for Tourism, Smt Renuka Chowdhury, has unfolded her grand vision of how she wants to position India as the tourism destination country of the twenty first century. The new plan of action has clearly signalled that tourism in the 21st century will be all about the environment, which India is ideally placed to offer to the rest of the world. It has tremendous natural beauty, a wealth of cultural attractions, a rich history, seaside destinations, mountains, forests and wildlife. Smt Renuka Chowdhury has been quick to emphasise that the time to act is now to preserve our environment, not just for our children, but for the tourists and travellers of tomorrow who will demand nothing less than environmentally sustainable and socially acceptable tourism. It is a measure of the new importance of tourism as an enabler of socio-economic development of India that the Planning Commission has raised the plan allocation of Ministry of Tourism from Rs. 350 crore to Rs. 500 crore which would sustain the efforts at translating Smt Chowdhury’s vision into reality. Night bazaars in Delhi and Hyderabad, eco-tourism experience at Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar islands, an integrated time-bound action plan to promote infrastructure development and untapped areas like medical and health tourism, shall be the focus areas. Uma Pillai takes over as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism Smt Uma Pillai, IAS, assumed charge as Secretary, Ministry of Tourism, on 2 August 2004. She was earlier the Secretary, Department of Defence Production & Supplies, Government of India. A student of English Literature from the University of Lucknow with a brilliant academic record, she joined the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) in 1968. In the course of a distinguished service career, Smt Uma Pillai has held several important assignments in the Centre and in the State Government of Uttar Pradesh. Tourism marketing meet: Towards increasing India’s share in global market “Tourism is all about experience. All segments of the industry need to work in sync to deliver the ultimate incredible experience by obtaining synergies through co-ordinated efforts,” said Smt. Renuka Chowdhury, Minister of State for Tourism, after inaugurating the Tourism Marketing Meet held in New Delhi from 1 - 3 July 2004. The meet was attended by Smt. Rathi Vinay Jha (Secretary, Ministry of Tourism), Amitabh Kant (Joint Secretary, Ministry of Tourism), G. Shanker Dhar (Joint Director General, Department of Tourism), 12 overseas and 21 domestic officers of the department and a host of top industry representatives. The Minister observed that out of the plan allocation of Rs. 500 crore for tourism, a substantial proportion would be invested for overseas marketing. Key players such as the tourism, civil aviation and finance ministries would co-ordinate their tasks to make targets more easily achievable. She also said that there would be better coordi-nation between the Ministry of Tourism, Civil Aviation and Finance to acc-elerate overall growth through tourism. Mr Lalit Suri, President, Hotel Association of India, also addressed the Overseas Directors of the Government of India Tourist Offices abroad and apprised them of the initiatives and measures being taken by the hospitality industry in India to remain contemporary and offer world class facilities and standards to the tourists. He referred to the massive financial stake of the hotel industry in the hotel infrastructure created in the country and emphasised that “a favourable environment needs to be created to accelerate and fuel the growth of hotel infrastructure of world class standards and to strengthen tourist confidence in India”. Kofi A Annan, United Nations Secretary-General on the World Environment Day The theme of World Environment Day 2004 - Wanted! Seas and Oceans: Dead or Alive? - emphasises that society can no longer view the world’s seas as a convenient dumping ground for our waste, or as an unlimited source of plenty. The marine environment is facing challenges that, if not addressed immediately and effectively, will have profound implications for sustainable development. The theme of World Environment Day 2004 - Wanted! Seas and Oceans: Dead or Alive? - emphasises that society can no longer view the world’s seas as a convenient dumping ground for our waste, or as an unlimited source of plenty. The facts are clear. The world’s seas and oceans are becoming increasingly tainted by untreated waste water, air-borne pollution, industrial effluent and silt from inadequately managed watersheds. Nitrogen overload from fertilizers is creating a growing number of oxygen-starved ‘dead zones’ in coastal waters across the globe. Marine litter is killing up to a million seabirds and 100,000 sea mammals and turtles each year. With more than 40 per cent of the human population already living within 60 kilometres of a coast and the proportion growing, these problems are likely only to increase. Moreover, despite the growing reach and intensity of commercial fishing operations, total global fish catch is declining. Nearly three quarters of world fish stocks are being harvested faster than they can reproduce. There is an urgent need for concerted action, on land and sea, at the national, regional and international levels. Mechanisms already exist, including the Global Plan of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities, the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and UN Food and Agricultural Organisation action plans for fisheries. Nevertheless, the continuing depletion of the world’s fish stocks and the increasing degradation of the marine environment indicate that these and other instruments, binding or non-binding, are not being sufficiently implemented and enforced. Less than two years ago, at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, governments committed to time-bound goals to end unsustainable fishing practices, restore depleted fish stocks, establish a regular global assessment of the marine environment and create a representative network of marine protected areas. This last goal, to be achieved by 2012, is particularly important. Less than one-half a per cent of marine habitats are protected - compared with 11.5 per cent of global land area. Yet studies show that protecting critical marine habitats, such as warm - and cold-water coral reefs, seagrass beds and man-groves, can dramatically increase fish size and quantity, with obvious benefits to large-scale commercial as well as local fisheries. Eco tourism for sustainable development “Let us examine the state of our environment, let us consider carefully the actions which each of us must take, and then address ourselves to our common task of preserving all life on earth in a mood of sober resolution and quiet confidence.” - United Nations Environment Programme. In the backdrop of increasing global awareness and effort to safeguard the environment, the HAI JOURNAL highlights the environment friendly measures adopted by HAI member hotels, which is however not exhaustive but illustrative due to space constraints. Has your hotel taken any initiatives to protect the environment? Have any of these been implemented? These are important questions in an era where ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ and ‘Sustainable Development of Tourism’ are buzzwords, reverberating throughout the hospitality industry. Since tourism relies on the preservation and controlled development of any given destination, hotels, along with all other local tourism stakeholders, are intrinsically ‘responsible’ for maintaining and protecting the environment. Countries around the world have varying types of national legislation requiring all industries to ‘clean up their act’. In India, many forward-thinking hotel companies and leading hotel chains in particular, have been proactive on the issue of sustainable development and have chosen to act responsibly through self-regulation - the Welcomgroup, Taj Group, The Oberoi Group, Bharat Hotels, Apeejay Surrendra Park Hotels, the Leela Group to name a few. Hotels not only generate waste but also use up a lot of energy mostly in the form of electricity. Hence, the ‘green approach’ would be a two-pronged strategy of waste management and energy efficiency / conservation. Here it would be appropriate to give the example of WelcomEnviron - it is a multi-faceted programme started by ITC-Welcomgroup in order to propagate environmental causes in the cities where ITC-Welomgroup’s hotels are located. The guiding principle is ‘Reduce, Reuse and Recycle’. Another great initiative is The Orchid in Mumbai and The Uppal’s Orchid in Delhi. Both are Ecotel Hotels - the only ones in India. The Leela Group’s environmental initiatives at Sahar and Santa Cruz airports in Mumbai are worth noting. Around 250 acres of land along the approach roads to these airports, have been converted into an oasis of greenery. Three hotels of the Oberoi Group - The Oberoi Bangalore, Cecil - Shimla and the Trident Udaipur have been recognised by Green Globe for their environmental achievements in recent years. Given below are some of the approaches used by the hotel industry in India to forward the cause of sustainable tourism:
The Hotel Association of India celebrates the HAI green week every year. It is the industry’s way of showing that it cares. The green week starts with celebrating the World Environment Day. World Environment Day was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972, to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Another resolution, adopted by the General Assembly the same day, led to the creation of UNEP. The World Environment Day, commemorated each year on 5 June is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. By celebrating the World Environment Day the hotels give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development and promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues. The environment day is just the tip of the iceberg. Hotels in India are regularly putting in efforts throughout the year to protect and safeguard the environment. The message is clear - sustainable tourism through environment protection and profit with responsibility. HAI’s Vision for a Green World “To create and sustain awareness and adherence for waste management, pollution control and energy, providing a healthy environment for our people and community to meet national and international standards.” World Environment Day Celebrations, 5 June 2004 HAI’s concept of the annual Green Week celebration is a multi-vision approach, addressing environment and ecology and providing achievable guidelines to the industry. The basic objective is to improve the quality of life of the staff members, hotel guests and the society at large, by adopting measures for generating awareness and educating people for a healthy environment, pollution control, waste management, developing green belts, water harvesting, power saving and many other eco-friendly measures. Member hotels of HAI have undertaken innovative programs during the environment week, with an unwavering commitment. Due to space constraints, the following report covers only a few of the member hotels who had sent us the report at the first instance and thus is only illustrative and not an exhaustive one. On the occasion of the World Environment Day, The Oberoi, New Delhi launched its ‘Eco-Drive’- a solemn pledge towards saving the planet. On 5th of June, a green initiative was launched within the hotel premises. The main fountain of the lobby was converted into a green display area with a placard stating, “I love my Environment” placed in the centre. At the hotel portico an oasis of green plants was organised and banners and posters, endorsing commitment towards the environment, were also displayed all around the premises of the hotel. On the next day, the employees of The Oberoi carried out a plantation exercise in the hotel portico, with a commitment to protect our environment. On 7th June, a painting competition was organised for the employees and the best three paintings were given attractive prizes and were displayed in the hotel cafeteria - ‘Aaharika’. InterContinental The Grand, New Delhi The hotel, in keeping with its commitment towards environment, celebrated the World Environment Day and HAI ‘s annual ‘Green Week’ with a series of activities from 5-9 June 2004, to bring home the ‘green’ message under the slogan ‘Grow Green’. The week long activities included an environment awareness theme display at the lobby along with graffiti of tree shaped cut outs for the guests to write their ‘green’ messages on the occasion, distribution of saplings in offices, distribution of potted plants to hotel guests, a free car pollution check, sapling planting ceremonies by hotel guests and key executives of the hotel and a painting competition for staff children (aged 5-12 years) on the theme ‘Grow Green’. The winners of the painting competition carried home certificates, gifts and saplings. Besides these, a quiz competition on the lines of ‘Know Your Environment’ was also held to create more awareness amongst the children. The right answers were greeted with applause and gifts. All the guests walking into the hotel during 5-9 June 2004, carried home with them a sapling gifted from the hotel-a small gesture or a gentle reminder towards the need of our concerted effort towards making a green Delhi. The Park, New Delhi, in association with ‘We for Yamuna, Development Alliance and US Embassy’ celebrated the World Environment Day on 5 June 2004. The focal idea behind the celebration was the theme of this year’s World Environment Day as ‘Wanted! Seas and Oceans-Dead or Alive!’. The Park New Delhi chalked up a fairly comprehensive programme to commemorate the day which included cleaning up of Jantar Mantar, tree plantation and painting competition. The painting competition was held for children from Arya Orphanage, an NGO and Sriram School to communicate their ideas and messages on environment. Mr Michael H Anderson-Minster-Counselor for Public Affairs, U S Embassy, judged the competition and gave away the prizes. All the children present also got return gifts. The hotel also hosted an experience sharing session, which was accompanied by an exhibition of the famed photographer Harish Tyagi’s works on the river Yamuna. Harish’s project focussed on the sorry metamorphosis of the once majestic Yamuna river into a foul, disease-carrying sewer, because of unchecked pollution. His work highlights the fact that the water cycle and the life cycle are one, giving compelling reasons for why the river must be saved. ‘We for Yamuna’ initiated a yatra titled ‘Discovering Yamuna: From Beginning To an End’, which was a fifteen day long expedition that tracked the Yamuna from the beginning to the end. We for Yamuna and Development Alliance got together to take twenty-five students from Sriram School in this expedition. The Park, Visakhapatnam commemorated this year’s World Environment Day, held on June 5, 2004 with a range of environmental awareness activities, to raise consciousness about the importance of environment conservation. The activities commenced at 0700 hrs with an eco-awareness rally by The Park Team members till the R K Beach, followed by sapling plantation and inauguration of a kitchen garden by the Green Team members in the hotel premises. They were followed by an eco-awareness seminar at 1030 hrs, highlighting the theme of this year’s World Environment Day - ‘Wanted ! Seas and Oceans!! Dead or Alive?’. The keynote speaker and chief guest of the august seminar was Mr I Anjaneya Prasad, Environmental Engineer from AP Pollution Control Board. Mr Prasad highlighted the importance of preserving water resources from pollution, protecting natural habitat, thereby ensuring a safer environment for future generations. Here it deserves a mention that The Park, Visakhapatnam, has been adopting several measures towards the preservation of environment, controlling pollution and conserving natural sources of energy. To offer the guests a pollution free environment inside the hotel, rooms in one floor have been converted to non-smoking rooms. The entire hot water supply in the hotel is being operated through solar water heating systems which saves energy. The hotel is also maintaining Two Traffic Islands, thus preserving the greenery and beautifying the surroundings. Recycled paper and wood-free pencils are being used in the hotel. InterContinental The Grand Resort, Goa InterContinental The Grand Resort Goa, Canacona, celebrated HAI’s seventh annual green week, which began on 5 June 2004 on the Word Environment Day. Commencing with the inauguration of a compost pit, all employees of the hotel participated in a week long programme that included cleaning of the beach and the surrounding areas in village, plantation of saplings, depiction of green slogans for generating awareness among people towards environment etc. The bio-waste from the landscaped areas as well as kitchen waste will be recycled in the new compost pits. The environmentally concerned team was led by the hotel’s General Manager, Mr Mughis Khan and coordinated by its horticulturist Mr Ratnakant Dalvi. |
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Hotel Association of India (HAI). All rights reserved. |
