Media Release: TripAdvisor GreenLeaders programme goes live in Australia for Earth Day
On Earth Day, TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel Website, has formally announced that it has extended its successful TripAdvisor GreenLeaders™ programme into Australia and New Zealand.
The TripAdvisor GreenLeaders programme has been developed in consultation with the United Nations Environment Programme and Ecotourism Australia, with an aim to help travellers around the world plan and book greener trips by highlighting hotels and B&Bs engaging in environmentally-friendly practices. Tripadvisor's GreenLeaders programme took out the Innovation Award in the 2015 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards last week at the Global Tourism Summit in Madrid.
27 ECO certified accommodation providers have achieved GreenLeader status, joining a futher 143 accommodation providers to become the first GreenLeaders in Australia and New Zealand. Ecotourism Australia’s partnership with the programme is an exclusive arrangement, where ECO Certified accommodation providers are automatically eligible for GreenLeader status. TripAdvisor’s criteria for the GreenLeaders programme has been acknowledged by Ecotourism Australia as an appropriate match for our ECO certification – our current members already exceeding nearly all of the requirements to become a GreenLeader.
Travellers can look out for the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders badge on a property’s listing page and click to see its green practices in place from linen and towel re-use, recycling and composting to solar panels, electric car charging stations and green roofing. Properties are tiered between Bronze, Silver, Gold or Platinum awards. The more green practices a property has, the higher the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders level it can achieve. After their stay, travellers are able to include their comments on the property’s environmental practices as part of their review.
According to a TripBarometer® survey by TripAdvisor, 71 percent of global travellers place importance on properties implementing eco-friendly practices, and 77 per cent of global hoteliers indicate they currently have green practices in place.
“More and more travellers around the world are placing importance on properties that implement eco-friendly practices,” said Ryan Dillon, Manager of Responsible Travel at TripAdvisor GreenLeaders. “With TripAdvisor GreenLeaders, we are pleased to help TripAdvisor’s 315 million travellers a month who use TripAdvisor by highlighting accommodations engaging in environmentally friendly practices.”
“Ecotourism is all inclusive. It's for everyone now and plays an essential role in the future of hospitality. Our experience with TripAdvisor has been paramount and provides a trusted platform for communicating with travellers the benefits of staying in eco accommodation. We are continuously reducing our footprint and providing additional information to our guests about the significance of the local ecology. We have chosen to do this simply because we enjoy doing so, we believe it is the right thing to do so we gain a sense of satisfaction with each step we take and we are delighted that we now have the opportunity to highlight our Eco Tourism passion to potential customers via TripAdvisor,” said Liz Meagher, Owner of Angler’s Rest, also Ecotourism certified.
More information about the TripAdvisor GreenLeaders programme can be found at green.tripadvisor.com.au or green.tripadvisor.co.nz.
Read TripAdvisor's full media release here.
For further information on the partnership, please contact Ecotourism Australia:
Rod Hillman, Chief Executive: ceo@ecotourism.org.au | 07 3252 1530
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