Multiple award winning hotelier Ewald Biemans, whose properties enjoy average occupancies of over 90 per cent, shared his innovative and profitable environmental approaches with delegates attending the region’s premier sustainable tourism conference in Trinidad & Tobago that started on Monday 15^th April.

Mr. Biemans, the owner and managing director of Bucuti and Tara Resorts in Aruba, is an innovator in environmental practices and his success in achieving profitability through sustainable means has earned both him and his properties global recognition.

In his presentation on Tuesday (16) at the 14th Sustainable Tourism Conference (STC-14), the successful hotelier outlined a complete environmental roadmap for hotels and destination organizations to follow in order to be profitable while being sustainable. He offered suggestions for government entities to implement in terms of environmental conservation at tourism level in terms of planning and construction of green buildings.

“There is clear evidence that Mr. Biemans’ environmental practices are practical and successful. We see this evidence in the many awards he and his properties have won and in the fact that both his properties enjoy extremely high occupancies throughout the year,” said Gail Henry, the sustainable tourism specialist at the Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO). The CTO is organizing the conference in collaboration with the government of Trinidad & Tobago, through the ministry of tourism.

“We are extremely pleased that Mr. Biemans has agreed to share the secrets of his success with our delegates and I’m certain they will gain a lot from his presentation,” Ms. Henry added.

Among Mr. Biemans’ many awards are the International Hotel & Restaurant Association  Environmental Award (worldwide) for “Innovation in Environmental Best Practice” at the annual congress in Istanbul, Turkey; the Caribbean Hotel Association – now the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association – award for Environmental Stewardship and the Green Globe Commendation award for environmental stewardship.

As a local pioneer in eco-friendly practices, Mr. Biemans led Bucuti into becoming the first hotel in the Americas to achieve the highly coveted ISO 14001 environmental certification in 2003 and has repeated the honour during the gruelling audit every year since. Recently a third Certification was added to the portfolio – Travelife!   Biemans is currently working on LEED Certification for his two properties.  Green Globe certification has been achieved for the last 14 years.

STC-14 brings together, tourism professionals, academics, researchers, policy-makers, consultants, government officials, hoteliers, students and everyone involved in tourism for three days of solid and relevant discussions and study tours on improving the region’s tourism product and achieving profitability through partnerships.

Themed, “Keeping the Right Balance: Enhancing Destination Sustainability Through Products, Partnerships and Profitability,” the conference will explore ways the Caribbean can enhance destination sustainability and competitiveness in the current global environment by examining a number of critical issues.

Other presenters on Tuesday were Judi Clarke, Wolde Kristos, and Alison Godwin. The moderator was Dr. Dr. Acolla Lewis-Cameron (Lecturer and Programme Coordinator – M.Sc. Tourism Development & Management, Department of Management Studies, University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad)

STC-14 is being held from 15-18 April 2013 at the Hyatt Regency in Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago.

At the event Netclues of Cayman has been entered for a special sustainable tourism award.

Netclues has been helping many regional bodies, including the Cayman Islands Tourism Association, with their digital offerings, ranging from developing websites to going online, developing marketing, and fixing companies marketing concepts.

The winners will be announced and awards presented during a special luncheon on Thursday (18).

Among the awards to be presented is the inaugural Destination Stewardship Award that will go to a member destination that is making solid strides toward sustainable tourism management at the destination level through a number of integrated initiatives and programmes. In addition, the organisation will present the Sustainable Accommodation Award, Community Benefit Award, Heritage Protection Award and Biodiversity Conservation Award, as well as the marquis Caribbean Excellence in Sustainable Tourism Award.

About the Caribbean Tourism Organization

The Caribbean Tourism Organization (CTO), with headquarters in Barbados and offices in New York and London, is the Caribbean’s tourism development agency comprising membership of over 30 countries and territories including Dutch, English, French and Spanish, as well as a myriad of private sector allied members. The CTO’s vision is to position the Caribbean as the most desirable, year round, warm weather destination by 2017, and its purpose is Leading Sustainable Tourism – One Sea, One Voice, One Caribbean.

Among the benefits to its members the organization provides specialized support and technical assistance in sustainable tourism development, marketing, communications, advocacy, human resource development, research and information technology.

In addition the CTO, in partnership with the Caribbean Hotel & Tourism Association, jointly and equally owns the Caribbean Tourism Development Company, a marketing and business development entity dedicated to promoting the Caribbean brand worldwide.