HAWAI‘I’S ECO-FRIENDLY BIG ISLAND PROMOTES SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL VIA NEW MICROSITE
10/22/2008
Hawai’i’s Big Island (Oct. 20, 2008) – Reflecting the worldwide “green” trend, today’s savvy travelers are increasingly demanding that destinations and travel suppliers incorporate sustainable practices into their operations.
This is especially relevant on Hawai‘i’s Big Island and other Hawaiian Islands because they are a complex and highly fragile ecosystem, with the highest number of threatened plant and animal species of any place on the planet. While the Hawaiian Islands are remote, they are by no means isolated, hosting more than seven million visitors each year eager to experience their natural wonders.
With this in mind, the Big Island Visitors Bureau has launched a new Sustainable Tourism microsite on its popular website www.bigisland.org. Called “Sustainable Travel on the Island of Hawai‘i,” the comprehensive online resource highlights Hawai‘i Island as a top eco-friendly destination and informs visitors planning a trip here how to visit in the most environmentally conscious manner.
The site explains the current environmentally friendly tourism practices on Hawai‘i Island in 14 different areas, ranging from conservation and protection, to community participation, renewable energy and culture/heritage sites. Visitors can learn about 10 ways they can “go green” on the Island during their visit – including saving energy, shopping and eating local and how to recycle. They can get numerous suggestions for sustainable experiences here, in areas like food, agriculture, marine recreation, natural environment, Hawaiian culture, festivals and events and so on. On the Mālama Kai (Care for the Ocean) link, a short and entertaining video clip “narrated” by a humuhumunukunukuāpua‘a fish, encourages viewers to swim and sea, but not touch, Hawai‘i’s marine life which includes corals.
Visitors planning a trip to the Island of Hawai‘i will learn about the many hotels, resorts and other accommodations, restaurants, activities, attractions and tours that are already making a variety of green practices part of their operations. Indeed, several are award-winning for their earth-friendly conservation and educational programs.
Hawai‘i Island is also the home of Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park, and visitors to the new ecotourism site can also learn about the Park’s status as Hawai‘i’s only World Heritage Site. World Heritage Sites are recognized by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as places around the globe with outstanding natural and cultural value.
The BIVB points out that while its sustainable tourism website is new – in fact, among the first for tourism destinations worldwide – the model for sustainability on the Island of Hawai‘i and other Hawaiian Islands was already in place and practiced here for more than a millennium, well into modern times, by the first inhabitants, the native Hawaiians.
They were masters at using the islands’ land and sea resources to support populations as large as that of today. The agriculture and aquaculture methods of Hawaiians are widely regarded as the most efficient in the Pacific. The Hawaiians understood and were keenly attuned to their environment and how to keep in balance with it.
Today, Hawai‘i’s Big Island is often acknowledged as being in the forefront of sustainability, hosting conferences, television documentary and feature film crews, research scientists and others interested in learning about the various environmental aspects of the Island.
To visit the BIVB’s new eco site, log on to www.bigisland.org/ecotourism
Note: BIVB recognizes the use of diacritical markings (i.e., glottal stop (‘), macron (ā) in place names of Hawai‘i, such as Kīlauea. However, BIVB respects the individual use of these markings for names of organizations and businesses.
Big Island Visitors Bureau Media Contact:
Jessica Ferracane, Irondog Communications, (808) 895-5740 jessica@irondogpr.com
