Accor has teamed up with Ecotourism Australia to certify all Accor hotels, apartments and resorts across Australia and the Pacific as Sustainable Tourism certified businesses.
Introduced in 2022, Ecotourism Australia’s Sustainable Tourism Certification programme is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The certification is designed for all tourism operators and businesses in the tourism supply chain to meet and gain recognition for best practice sustainability initiatives.
Assessing businesses across the four pillars of sustainability – sustainable management, environmental impacts, cultural impacts, and socio-economic impacts – the Sustainable Tourism Certification is an extension to the existing ECO Certification programme that has been in Australia for more than two decades.
Ecotourism Australia CEO, Elissa Keenan, said: “Accor’s significant presence across regions, including Ecotourism Australia certified ECO Destinations Port Douglas Daintree, Bundaberg and the Coffs Coast, and seventeen other regions currently undertaking certification, and throughout regional areas and capital cities, demonstrates their commitment to sustainability in Australia and the Pacific’s unique environments.”
Sarah Derry, CEO of Accor Pacific, shared: “Sustainability is redefining our business model and we are proud to lead the industry forward by investing in our sustainability actions and activities in the region.
In 2022, Accor Pacific removed single-use plastic items from guest areas in over 80 per cent of hotels. Further action will be taken to remove single-use plastics from back of house operations, micro plastics in laundries and sourcing for long-term solutions to replace plastic water bottles this year.
“We know there is a lot more to do and our teams will continue to focus on driving sustainability actions. There are no limits to our ambition,” Derry said.
Ekert joined Sabre in January 2022 as president and oversees all aspects of the company’s business and technology operations.
Titled Good Vibes Festival at Sea, this event will complement two- and three-night sailings onboard Genting Dream from March 12 to April 30, 2023.
Travellers from several countries, including Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia and New Zealand, will no longer need to take a PCR test prior to entry to China from today.
Eligible travellers flying directly to China will only need to take an ART 48 hours before boarding.
A positive test result would still hinder entry to China, and travellers are required to declare their negative test results on the China Customs website or through its app.
With the updated procedure, airlines will no longer check a passenger’s negative PCR or ART results.
PCR test results are still required for travellers from other countries like the US, South Korea and Japan.