Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/10/are-you-ready-for-earth…

Earth Hour 2010 (March 27 @ 8:30pm local time) is rapidly approaching. A highlight in the travel industry as one of the main calls to action against climate change, Earth Hour has increasingly gained more and more attention since its inception in Sydney only three years ago.

It has become a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world to stand up, take responsibility, and get involved in the fight for a cleaner, greener, sustainable future.

This year, hundreds of millions of people are expected to “go dark” – spanning over 4000 cities in 88 countries -pledging their support for the planet to make Earth Hour 2010 possibly the world’s largest global climate change initiative.

Earth Hour 2010 takes place on Saturday 27 March at 8.30pm (local time) and is a global call to action to every individual, every business and every community throughout the world. It is a call to stand up, to take responsibility, to get…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/10/san-juans-verdanza-hote…

Since its unveiling in December 2009, The recently rebranded Verdanza Hotel San Juan – the only independent full-service hotel in San Juan – has established itself as a leader in environmental responsibility, while carefully balancing a comprehensive approach to personalized service and attention to detail.

“We are working to set a new precedent in San Juan for sustainable business operations,” says Ricky Newman, general manager. “As a newly rebranded property, it was extremely important to us to make these practices part of our mission.”

While eco-conscious practices such as recycling at hotels are expected, Verdanza has taken extra steps with initiatives such as providing disposable restaurant and picnic lunch to-go containers that are 100 percent biodegradable, made from corn resin. Nearly all hotel personnel are clothed by a line of uniforms made out of 100 percent recycled polyester produced entirely from post consumer waste and guests are encouraged to return…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/08/travelocity-joins-the-m…

Since 2006, Travelocity’s Travel for Good program has been helping to make the world a better place – having donated 43 grants to deserving people so they can volunteer across the globe. The company is also breaking ground with its Green Hotel Directory to encourage a more sustainable future for the travel industry.

Most recently, Travelocity has taken yet another step toward “Good” travel via an alliance with the MASSIVEGOOD campaign – a worldwide campaign aimed at saving lives through micro-contributions. This new partnership seeks to inspire travelers to give $2 every time they travel. The donations will go toward buying dearly needed medication for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis in developing nations.

Travelocity president Tracey Weber joined Former President Bill Clinton and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon at the United Nations to announce its support of MASSIVEGOOD.

Everyone can make a difference – one click at a time

By empowering individuals to make a huge…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/05/denver-meetings-to-get-…

A new 403-room Embassy Suites, managed by Windsor Management Services, will be opening in December 2010, directly across from the Denver Convention Center.

Constructed by WPM Construction, the new hotel will have 403 rooms and 17 function rooms, totaling 21,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space, and features unique design elements such as a 13-story glass curtain “Sky Lobby/Atrium” starting on the hotel’s fourth floor.

The hotel’s amenities include plans for an additional leased restaurant, retail space, a state-of-the-art fitness facility, spa, indoor pool, business center and full valet service/onsite parking. The hotel is planned to be a LEED-certified building.

“We are very excited to have the Embassy Suites flag flying in downtown Denver again,” said Rachel Benedick, vice president of sales & services for Visit Denver, the city’s convention & visitors bureau. “This hotel is in a prime location and our convention groups will be very excited…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/04/canadian-hotels-have-th…

With the Vancouver Olympic festivities now at an end, Canada seems to be on everyone’s mind – making this a perfect time for the Hotel Association of Canada (HAC) to release the findings of a 6-year survey of the Canadian travel industry.

The Travel Intentions Survey, unveiled during HAC’s Annual Conference and Trade Show last month, details travel trends and intentions for the upcoming year – listing several important insights of great value with respect to a hotel’s sustainable initiatives from a pool of 1,004 leisure travelers and 520 business travelers.

Overall, the survey’s results indicate that the importance of environmental initiatives among both business and leisure travelers in Canada continues to rise, even in times of economic uncertainty.

“The environment is at the top of the list of issues that are important to Canadians today,” said Tony Pollard, president of the Hotel Association of Canada. “Our survey goes on to show that travelers are…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/04/bridging-the-environmen…

While global policy-makers continue to address environmental issues – ranging from climate change to biodiversity loss, from land degradation to water pollution – a multi-partner initiative is calling upon all major players in the international environmental arena to bridge the global environmental knowledge gap.

Environmental degradation as well as climate change continue at an unprecedented rate to adversely affect the planet and inhibit sustainable development. The need to continue monitoring environmental change at all levels and to provide information for decision-making must be a top priority for the international community.

Building on the success of the Abu Dhabi Global Environmental Data Initiative (AGEDI) which was launched by the United Arab Emirates, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in 2002, Abu Dhabi is now calling for an ‘Eye on Earth’ Global Summit to…

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Author: Kristen Geis
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/04/building-a-green-econom…

A new website, Low Carbon World, has launched as a joint project between LowCarbonEconomy.com and the United Nation’s Climate Neutral Network (CN NET) aims to facilitate the move to global low carbon economies, a necessary imperative if we are to combat dangerous and escalating climate change.

The “Low Carbon World” website was designed to serve as a web-based communications platform tol assist knowledge transfer and simplify access to information and tools that can be difficult to trace.

www.LowCarbonEconomy.com will list every country’s carbon policies, commitments, historical performance, future projections and opportunities, as well as country-specific marketplaces, networks, associations and standards which are relevant to government departments and investment agencies.

“Everyone agrees that the transition to a low carbon economy is an environmental and economic imperative, and will require increased collaboration globally – particularly between public and…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/03/how-has-earthquake-affe…

On Saturday, February 27 2010, the western coast of South America was hit with a record-setting 8.8 scale earthquake – devastating the central region of Chile and killing over 700 people and sending waves of panic across the Pacific – fears of tsunamis reminiscent of the 2005 Southeast Asia disaster.

The Chilean cities closest to the epicenter, including Concepcion, Talcahuano and Temuco as well as a number of small towns along the country’s central coast were most affected by the quake.

Reports are continuing to virally spread across the web on the affected areas – including top Chilean tourism destinations. The good thing: Chile’s preparedness, including its strict anti-seismic building codes and rapid emergency response from the government as well as the help from a number of organizations can be credited for managing the situation and help minimize the damage. The country’s tourism infrastructure has, overall, fared well, reporting little damage.

“Our thoughts…

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Author: Joe Ascanio
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/03/fairmont-planning-to-go…

On Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 8:30 p.m., all 60 of Fairmont’s landmark hotels and resorts around the world will participate in the global message to raise energy conservation and climate change awareness by turning off their lights for one hour.

This will be Fairmont’s third year in a row participating in the global event.

“Earth Hour is a unique opportunity for Fairmont colleagues and guests to participate in the world’s largest global climate change initiative,” said Brian Richardson, vice president of brand marketing & communications. “It furthers our ongoing support of environmental awareness and demonstrates energy conservation can go beyond just turning out the lights for an hour—it’s about promoting a low carbon future.”

Earth Hour is a global WWF climate change initiative. Individuals, businesses, governments and communities are invited to turn out their lights for one hour to show their support for action on climate change.

The event began in Sydney in…

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Author: James K. King
Website: http://www.terracurve.com/2010/03/02/powwownow-vs-the-airlin…

Recent campaigns by two particular British has seen them urging business travellers to use flights when they need to contact their clients or suppliers. FlyBe and British Airways have launched a campaign attacking conference calls as an alternative to travelling to business meetings. Flybe’s website states that 40% of potential customers will become customers after a face-to-face meeting, compared with only 16% without.

These stats seem to show that any savings that are made on conference calls will be lost in attracting new business. However, when this was announced Powwownow, a UK conference call company, hit back by putting into question these stats. Powwownow discovered that the study cited is non-peer reviewed research sponsored by two travel industry groups, the US Travel Association and the Destination and Travel Foundation. It is not unreasonable to suggest that these authors do not come from the most independent of positions. I’d say neither opponent comes out on top…

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