The experience of travelling on the Huon Trail is all about the sublime beauty of the area. To reinforce this, a group of operators are 'doing their bit' to make sure that their businesses have a minimal and reducing impact on the environment.
About forty tourism businesses are involved in the program called Green Tourism which is about helping operators to reduce their energy use, water and wastage while still maintaining excellent service for visitors.
The project started in 2009 with a project called Green TEA (Tourism Environmental Audit). Operators measure and record their usage of energy, water and production of waste. The data is entered onto a personalised web page so each business can be benchmarked to [hopefully] achieve international environmental best practice. During the year many operators improved their performance to become certified as Earth Check Assessed Operators.
Green TEA has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism, run by the Huon Valley Kingborough Tourism Association [HVKTA], and supported by the Huon Valley and Kingborough Councils.
Green Tourism aims to substantially increase its membership and has applied for a Climate Connect grant to help fund expansion to include additional interested operators from other Regional Tourism Associations in Tasmania. This will enable us to make an even larger contribution to energy, water and waste reductions from the Tourism Sector across Tasmania in future to help live up to our clean, green image.
The Far South businesses below are all participating in the Green Tea program:
- Far South Wilderness, Strathblane
- Driftwood Cottages, Dover
- Ida Bay Railway, Ida Bay
- The Jetty House, Southport
- Southern Forest Accommodation, Southport
- Riseley Cottage, Strathblane
- St. Imre Vineyard, Dover
For more information visit the Green Tourism website.