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A "Green Standard" for Israeli Hotels Meeting Ecological Criteria |
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The decision was made as part of a comprehensive plan to integrate Israel in the world's developing trends of eco-tourism. The Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of the Environment have jointly decided to award hotels that meet the world's accepted standards of green building a "Green Standard". This activity is part of a larger plan to develop and manage sustainable tourism in order to incorporate Israel in the world's trend of eco-tourism. Currently, the Ministry of Tourism is about to complete the preparation of a comprehensive plan to develop and manage sustainable tourism. Part of this plan will be to change tourism in Israel to sustainable tourism, in order to take part in the worldwide trend of sustainable tourism, to improve Israel's image in the eyes of the world and to promote economical growth. Maintaining ecological standards will force hotels to take several measures to reduce the negative impacts of building a hotel. The purpose is to reduce the hotel's maintenance energy consumption, to reduce the damage to the views, to minimize the use of perishable materials, to avoid the use of substances that have a negative impact on health and to properly treat wastes. The decisions about promoting eco-tourism in Israel were taken following research and surveys in hotels that showed that tourists from developed countries significantly prefer hotels with a friendly attitude towards the environment, even if it entails higher costs. The worldwide increase in ecological tourism has also shown the financial profitability for hotels to receive a "green standard".
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