Heritage Le Telfair, VLH’s flagship property in Bel Ombre in the beautiful, rugged south coast of Mauritius became the first hotel in the country to offer carbon-neutral stays last year, alongside its sister property Heritage Awali. It means that, once guests land and board the hotel’s transfer shuttle, their entire carbon footprint is offset, paving the way for carbon-neutral long-haul holidays that require very little effort from the travellers themselves. Banning plastic straws and single-use plastic and encouraging guests to recycle is de rigueur these days. So is the concerted effort to change the way guests experience a destination – jetskis and speedboats have been replaced by bikes and other low-impact activities, for example. But much of the action actually happens behind the scenes.Guests get to holiday in paradise knowing that their impact has been minimal – maybe even positive. But there’s just the little problem of flights: Mauritius is more than 1,000 miles from the African mainland and, given most of its tourists are European, the emissions are substantial.
SOURCE: INDEPENDENT