Tigaiga achieves Travelife Gold certification 2016

The Tigaiga has just achieved a prestigious Travelife for Hotels & Accommodations Gold Certification 2016 -2018. Travelife – the international sustainability certification scheme – assesses a property’s performance in managing their social, environmental and economic impacts. The labelling scheme helps hotels cut costs and increase sales, by improved sustainability.

To gain Travelife Gold certification the hotel must meet their 150 sustainability criteria. This includes environmental issues, such as minimising their waste and use of energy, water and chemicals;  as well as taking positive action on social issues, such as employee welfare, working with the local community and human rights. They must also show how they are helping to support local businesses and protect local traditions.

Energy: Our hotel has reduced its energy use by using renewable energy, installing low-energy lighting, ensuring that in-room air conditioning is set to a minimum temperature / has an automatic switch off, use of natural day-light and shading,  etc. Energy efficiency targets have set and achieved.

Waste: The Tigaiga has reduced the amount of waste it produces by the development of a waste minimisation programme, including reducing the amount of resources used, reusing materials or recycling/composting, using refillable containers, buying in bulk, etc.

Water:  The hotel uses various methods to save water, installed in guest rooms and public areas, such as dual flush toilets, low-flow shower heads and taps.  In addition, the night-time watering of gardens also avoids unnecessary water evaporation.

As well as these day-to-day environmental measures, the hotel goes further to protect the environment by  volunteer tree-planting. The hotel measures its performance regularly to monitor the impact of its sustainability efforts, report on results and plan improvements.

Supporting people: Travelife certification shows that the hotel is committed to treating people fairly and with respect. As well as providing good working conditions for staff and investing in its employees by providing regular training, we also aim to be an active member of the local community. The hotel supports local people by supporting local charities and consulting the local community on projects and issues affecting them.

Local economy and businesses: The hotel also tries to support the local community from an economic perspective by buying food/other services from local suppliers and encouraging its guests to visit local restaurants, markets and attractions so that they have an opportunity to spend money and support the local economy.

Communication with guests: At the Tigaiga we trie to involve guests in their sustainability activities, such as encouraging guests to recycle whilst they are staying in the hotel, running a towel and linen re-use service to help save water or informing them about protected areas in the destination. A key reason for tourism businesses to care about sustainability is to help protect the unique natural and cultural characteristics of their resort, so it continues to attract tourists in the future. The Tigaiga therefore provides information on local customs, places of cultural interest or places to buy locally-made goods or souvenirs.

For more information on the Tigaiga’s sustainability achievements, see our profile page on the Travelife Collection website.