The guide outlines 55 recommendations and examples of good practices to help travel businesses increase sustainability.
ASSET-H&C is the Association of Southeast Asian Social Enterprises for Training in Hospitality & Catering. This network was created in 2016 and brings together vocational training centres willing to work hand in hand to better fulfil their common mission: providing quality, hands-on and comprehensive training to youth and adults to enable them to successfully integrate into the tourism job market and society.
Every year, the schools which are members of ASSET-H&C build the competencies and the future of more than 2,200 women and men across Southeast Asia. A majority of students come from academically, socially, and/or economically disadvantaged backgrounds, but they are given a chance to become highly-skilled professionals. To this date, more than 17,300 students have graduated from the 14 schools with very high employment rates in the months following their training.
As a network, ASSET-H&C aims at becoming a key regional player in the Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) sector as well as in sustainable hospitality and tourism. The goal is to have a positive impact on the society, environment and economy of the countries ASSET-H&C members are working in.
Tηε “Ecosputality Initiative”
As part of this global vision, ASSET-H&C members decided to put a particular focus on ecoresponsible hospitality and tourism.
In 2017, the network launched the Ecospitality Initiative, which aims at shaping the next generations of responsible tourism professionals by creating conducive environments – eco-schools – for the capacity building of young generations – eco-students.
The overall objective of the initiative is to raise awareness among current and future professionals on the environmental footprint of the tourism industry, and thus have a positive and long-term impact on sustainable development.
The first phase of the project was to help member schools improve their operations in a durable manner to reduce their environmental impact. ASSET-H&C collaborated with Artelia to assess the environmental footprint of training centres, identify good practices, and provide guidance to take further action.
This guide gathers the good practices drawn from the observations and recommendations of Artelia. It aims at helping all interested tourism stakeholders increase their environmental sustainability.
This Eco-Guide was developed under the overall guidance of Mr. Thomas Behaghel, IECD Director of Operations in Asia, and Mr. Simon Martin, IECD SEA Hospitality Projects Manager, as part of the ASSET-H&C project.
Main contributors are:
- Mr. Clément Morel (Sustainable Development Engineer, Artelia)
- Ms. Anne Jourde (Coordinator, IECD/ASSET-H&C)
Precious contributions and advice have also been provided by:
- Ms. Coralie Baudet (EXO Travel)
- Ms. Nia Klatte (EXO Travel)
- Mr. Passakorn Sukkasem (EXO Travel)
- Mr. Jean-Charles Torra (Technical Director, Artelia)
- Mr. Nicolas Jallade (Artelia)
- Ms. Jehanne de Saint Vincent (IECD)
Special thanks go to the hotels, restaurants and other organisations that have agreed to share the good practices they implement within this document (Hospitality Insights), namely: Amanjaya Pancam Suites Hotel; Caravelle Saigon; Inle Heritage Foundation; Jayahouse Riverpark; La Veranda Resort Phu Quoc; Naga Earth; Novotel Saigon Centre; Pacific Asia Travel Association; Ratilanna Riverside Spa Resort Chiang Mai; Refill Not Landfill; Rembrandt Hotel Bangkok; Soap for Hope; Sofitel Angkor Phokeethra Golf and Spa Resort; TMG Hospitality; Victoria Can Tho Resort; Victoria Cruises. Finally, parts of this document have been drawn from observations and experience of the six ASSET-H&C member schools that participated in the pilot Eco-Schools Project:
- Ecole d’Hôtellerie et de Tourisme Paul Dubrule (Siem Reap, Cambodia)
- Hospitality and Catering Training Centre (Mae Sot, Thailand)
- KOTO (Hanoi, Vietnam)
- PSE-Institute School of Hospitality and Tourism (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)
- Sala Baï (Siem Reap, Cambodia)
- Yangon Bakehouse (Yangon, Myanmar)
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
