Whitsunday tourism businesses now all have access to a program which will allow them to start tracking and reducing their carbon emissions thanks to a government funding stream and a rise in the amount of eco-conscious travellers visiting our region.
The Whitsunday Healthy Heart Project, which is an initiative of the Whitsunday Regional Council, has recruited 37 ambitious businesses partners from the tourism sector so far and aims to connect with many more following the announcement of further funding.
The four-year project began in 2021 and has been attracting partners from the marine tourism sector, island resorts and marinas ever since.
Lee Hawkins, Climate Change Resilience Officer said the project could not have come at a better time for the local tourism industry.
“The rise of environmentally conscious travellers is rewarding tourism businesses that are making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint,” she said.
“More visitors are looking for eco-tourism options that have a low, or even non-existent environmental impact.”
Any interested businesses are invited to connect with Ms Hawkins and the team to find out how they can get involved.
“All tourism related businesses are invited to join the project and access the free online carbon calculator to measure their operational carbon footprint,” she said.
“The online portal is easy to use and assists businesses to measure impacts, reduce environmental impacts and foster quadruple bottom line reporting.”
The emissions snapshot identifies the emissions from a business and recommends options to reduce them.
So far, a total of 33,195 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions have been measured by Whitsunday tourism businesses to date, with most emissions originating from fuel use in motor vessels and purchased electricity.
This project is made possible by the Queensland Government’s Eco-Certified Tourism Destination Program which is a key initiative under the Towards Tourism 2032 strategy to assist Queensland Local Governments and Regional Tourism Organisations to attain destination-level certification.
For more information or to register interest in joining the Whitsunday Healthy Heart Project, email info@whitsundayrc.qld.gov.au
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