Seventy five percent of the Belfast city region’s 4,800 hotel rooms are now officially accredited by Green Tourism, the global body which promotes sustainable and environmental standards across the sector.
This comes after a partnership was launched by Visit Belfast, Belfast City Council and Green Tourism in 2021.
Climate Change Emergency
Belfast City Council declared a climate change emergency in October 2019 and unveiled the city’s first Climate Plan in 2020 with Visit Belfast leading out on the ‘sustainable tourism’ transformation programme.
The Green Tourism Standard, one of the largest and most established sustainable certification programmes in the world, recognises an organisation that works responsibly, ethically and sustainably, contributes to their community, is reducing their impact on the environment and aims to be accessible and inclusive to all visitors and staff.
Sustainability Certified
It is now estimated that 75%, or around 3,570 of all Belfast hotel bedrooms, are sustainability certified.
More than 20 leading hotels, groups and brands, including Hastings Hotels, The Merchant Hotel, Bullitt Hotel, Andras House Hotel Group, Titanic Hotel Belfast, AC Hotel Belfast, Clayton Hotel, The Maldron Belfast City Centre, The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Hilton Belfast, the Leonardo Hotel, Malmaison Hotel, The Harrison, Radisson Blu and Ramada by Wyndham have all secured a Green Tourism award in a drive to support Belfast’s sustainable tourism mission.
Milestone Achievement
To mark the milestone achievement, Visit Belfast, the city’s dedicated destination marketing and management organisation, in partnership with Green Tourism and the Global Destination Management Movement (GDSM), has launched a sustainability whitepaper, acting as a blueprint to support the entire tourism industry’s efforts to tackle the climate change challenge, drive sustainability and embrace net zero.
'Very Encouraging'
“We know there’s significant work ahead for us as a city to become truly sustainable but being rated in the Top 10 Global Destinations Sustainability Index is very encouraging - and that’s thanks to the efforts of Visit Belfast and our city’s tourism meetings industry," said Councillor Róis-Máire Donnelly, Chair of Belfast City Council’s Climate and City Resilience Committee.
