Taipei, Feb. 22 (CNA) A hotel in Nantou recently became the first accommodation facility in Taiwan to be certified for the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, which serves as the world's baseline standards for sustainability in travel and tourism, the county's Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration said Friday.
Based in Jiji Township, Footprint Inn provides environmentally friendly body cleansing products and toiletries in all of its guest rooms, and also uses energy-saving lamps and solar and heat pump systems to heat bath water, according to the hotel's website.
The hotel was officially certified on January 17.
It applied for certification after the Control Union, a certification body of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), organized a workshop to introduce its sustainable program to hotel operators in the central Taiwanese county in October last year.
The workshop was about raising awareness of sustainability practices, including the promotion of green tourism through participation in the sustainable tourism criteria, according to the administration.
Hung Wei-hsin , head of the scenic area administration, said Nantou was working toward the goal of sustainable development, and it hoped to participate in relevant international certification programs to promote sustainable development in the county.
The aim would be to promote Sun Moon Lake's tourism, Hung said.
According to the GSTC, the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria program is the guiding principle that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world's natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation.
