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Monday 25 May 2015

Green Tourism Marketing Campaign

To coincide with the Irish Open being staged at Royal County Down next week, the Green Tourism golf campaign has launched today.


Green Tourism County Down

The Golf campaign will be featured on-line in Golf Monthly and Bunkered.


The main GB campaign will be rolled out from 1 June and you can watch out for it on the following media channels: Guardian Travel and Classic FM
Classic FMGuardian Travel

Lake District launches £1million sustainable travel scheme

A new year-long programme funded with £1 million from the Department for Transport has been launched to maximise the benefits of cleaner, greener travel to Cumbria’s key tourist destinations.

Tourists Seeks Sustainable Destinations

30% of European tourists is aware of the needs and values of sustainable tourism, nearly 20% seeks green destinations or services and 10% plans all holidays in this way, according to a study conducted by The International Ecotourism Society.
Algarve Castro Marim








Thursday 21 May 2015

Promotional Offers

Your promotional offers (on what you want to offer to attract visits to your website and business) will be displayed on the destination websites. You can make your offer fit in with a period of low demand, i.e. September or through the winter. To send in your promotional offers either:

1.    Complete the on-line form on the Green Tourism web site
2.    Download and complete the promotional offer PDF, once completed click the submit button or just email directly to us 

Wednesday 18 March 2015

Case Study - Financial Advantage: Clandeboye Lodge Hotel

Clandeboye Lodge Hotel

A stylish 4* hotel in a beautiful rural location, the Clandeboye Lodge is a stunning property with a renowned brasserie, a name for excellent customer service and the only EFQM accredited hotel in Northern Ireland. Pim Dalm, Managing Director, wanted to build on their reputation and develop their green credentials, and immediately saw both the ecological and financial advantages of becoming a member of GTNI. 

Case Study - Learning: Ballydugan Cottages

Ballydugan Cottages

Jeannie and Jim Morrison, of Ballydugan Cottages, are no strangers to making changes for the benefit of their business. After inheriting a row of derelict properties near Down Patrick, Northern Ireland, Jeannie lovingly restored and adapted each one, transforming them into the holiday cottages they are today. “Rather than demolishing the cottages, I wanted to preserve what was good about them,” explained Jeannie.

Case Study - Inspiration Brack Tours

Inspiration: Brack Tours

Since 2007, Brack Tours have provided unique and authentic driving excursions, utilising their extensive local knowledge and years of industry experience. They have already been inspired to make changes from the inside out, from initiating ‘walk to work’ initiatives and incorporating green procedure into special interest trips, to developing green packages to attract the lucrative US market. Nuala Devlin Saul, Managing Director, considers partnership crucial for the success of green tourism in Northern Ireland. “Visitor attractions, bed and breakfasts, for example, don’t have tour operators to showcase their products, so we need to collaborate to make this work, and we need to do it quickly.”

Irish Responsible Tourism Awards 2015

Congratulations to Life Adventure Centre and Tory Bush Cottages for winning the Silver Awards in their respective categories.  

Monday 16 March 2015

TripAdvisor Green Leaders – Blessing or Curse?

TripAdvisor’s Green Leaders scheme has stirred its fair share of controversy over the last weeks, fuelled by its nomination for a WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow award. In this guest post, hotel sustainability consultant Benjamin Lephilibert reflects on the use and usefulness of online peer reviews as indicators for environmental best practice.

Hitting the St Patrick’s Camino

A new walking trail – the St Patrick’s Camino – has been launched by MArk Cumming and Keith McDonnell in time for St Patrick’s Day.

Strangford Lough on BBC Country File

BBC's Countryfile team explored on Sunday night several aspects of the Strangford Lough Destination.


Tuesday 24 February 2015

Green Tourism is a Winner

One constant in tourism is the search by holidaymakers for green and sustainable destinations, attractions and places to stay.  They’re also looking for environmentally sound practices amongst travel companies, resorts and accommodation providers. In a 2012 Trip advisor survey, 71% said they planned to make more eco-friendly choices in the next 12 months. And with one billion people traveling the world in a single year, many travellers are being driven by green considerations.

Green Tourism and the Mount Stewart

By 2020 the National Trust in Northern Ireland is aiming to reduce our overall energy demand by 20%, and to meet 50% of our energy requirements for heat and electricity from renewable sources, based on our 2009 consumption. This will be achieved by being more energy efficient in all of our buildings and operations.  


Green Tourism and Mathews Coaches

As a transport and Tour company Matthews are delighted to be involved in the Green Tourism programme. We already have a comprehensive programme of actions and awards which promote sustainable transport but look forward to further advice and help as to how we can use this to promote and be a Transport Ambassador for Green Tourism within our sector.

Monday 23 February 2015

Green Tourism Programme

As a company of committed and passionate people we are very excited to be working in County Down which is such a beautiful and natural area.  The response to the workshops has been very positive with interest from a wide variety of types and sizes of businesses.  We have undertaken similar projects over the past few years in The Lake District, Beacon Beacons, Norfolk Broads and the South Downs.  However these were mostly focused on accommodation providers.  The uniqueness of this current Green Tourism Programme is the diversity of businesses that have got involved which really reflect the local food, drink, culture, history and character of the area.  In marketing this programme we believe that the area can truly promote itself as a Green Destination and offer visitors memorable and enhanced experiences which will bring them back again and again.

Andrea Nicholas
Manager Green Tourism Business Scheme
Director Green Business UK Ltd

Green tourism statistics

How important is being green to visitors? The following statistics tell their own story:

- Sustainable Tourism anticipated to grow by 25% globally in the next 5 years – worth £250 billion p.a. (World Tourism Organisation(2014)

- 79% of US travellers place importance on properties implementing eco-friendly practices (TripAdvisor 2013)

- More than 50% of UK travellers would choose accommodation with a Green Award (VisitEngland 2010)

- 86% of the travel trade said they consider sustainability to be important to their company(World Travel Market 2014)

- 36% of UK holidaymakers consider the environment and sustainability when making a decision about booking a holiday (World Travel Market 2014)

Workshop Testimonials

BTS the project managers and Green Tourism ran 6 introductory workshops in late January in Newry, Strangford, Newtownards, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan and Banbridge.


Saturday 21 February 2015

Green Hotels Confuse Consumers

Although there are many statistics claiming the consumer is interested, there is one fundamental issue – information is not standardized and making choices for green hotels is not easy for consumers.

Younger, Less Affluent Travellers Willing to Pay More for Sustainable Tourism

Although there has been a continuous increase in global tourism despite the economic recession (902 million international travelers in 2008 – a 4% increase over 2007), negative effects are also being identified by businesses and governments alike. One of the ways to counter detrimental effects is for tourists and locals to engage in sustainable tourism practices. The demand for sustainable tourism is difficult to assess, however, as most figures are anecdotal and reflect a willingness to participate rather than pay.

“Green” practices in British Columbia’s B&B industry

Numerous studies have examined environmental practices in hotels (Winter & Azimi, 2006; Johnson, 2008; Hanna, 2008; Gunter, 2008; Bohdanowicz, 2005), but very few have focussed specifically on the environmental practices of the B&B industry.  Bed and breakfasts (B&B) are defined as lodging establishments set in a residence that offer overnight accommodations and breakfast (Rushmore & Baum, 2001). B&Bs are, by definition, much smaller than typical lodging operations, which are usually full-service hotels; however, the B.C. Ministry of the Environment in 2007 found that residential and commercial buildings in B.C., which include B&Bs, produced 12% of total greenhouse gas emissions.  

Green Tourism Sponsors

The project is part funded by Invest Northern Ireland and the European Regional Development Fund under the Sustainable Competitiveness Programme for Northern Ireland.

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