Power Saving and the Tourism Industry
It seems apparent that some tourism and travel companies have no concern for sustainable and eco-tourism. This article stems from a visit to Pretoria and Johannesburg to obtain a Nigerian TWP visa. The two days there were quite manic being in two cities I’m not quite familiar with and under a lot of pressure to meet deadlines.
Tungsten vs Power Saving
By the end of the first day I went to find accommodation for the night. I found a provider I thought was better than they actually are or otherwise I simply found one of their bad hotels. This is not the big issue though. After settling in and as the day grew late, I needed some light. I switched on the light switch and was temporarly blinded by vast amounts of light. After regaining my sight I discovered that each room had one or two sets of triple lights, all with the old styled tungsten bulds or “electrical gas guzzlers”. For a moment I felt like a soccer player in the 2010 SWC or like the night the Cape Town Soccer Stadium did their lights test.
Diya Travel Consultants started a Green Portfolio which is a collection of eco-friendly and sustainable tourism providers. As I am a part of the Green Portfolio and trying to save power by conforming to eco-friendly and sustainable tourism standards, this ill practice I find most disturbing. I feel that grading councils should get involved in eco and sustainable travel and tourism penalising establishments for not at least doing the basics such as using power efficient light bulbs.
For those establishment not in the know as yet, you can increase your profit margin by installing power saving lights. These lights also last much longer again resulting in a power saving. Eitherway this is looked at, it all adds up to money and the enviroment being saved. Keep in mind that Eskom wants to hike the rates quite seriously and your guests are going to have to foot the bill. At the same time your staff need higher salaries too.
For those wishing to make change to your travel and tourism experience, take a look at these websites, http://www.operationcarbon.org/, http://www.thegreenguide.com/ and http://branded-green.com/.
If anyone wishes to know anything more about Diya Travel’s Green Portfolio or would like to contribute in anyway, please contact us by clicking on contact us.
Image complements of http://www.thegreenguide.com/
It is also touted as South Africa’s premier eco-friendly festival. They partner with Food and Trees for Africa (FTFA) to calculate the event’s output of atmosphere-warming carbon dioxide and then plant the number of trees required to offset their carbon footprint. Vegetable oil from the participating food venues is used to produce bio-diesel for the generators. A tented cinema, powered by using a combination of wind and solar power, screens films and documentaries on green issues. 
