My Journey with Green Tourism Certification
So, I’ve been down this road with green tourism certification for my little business. Everyone’s talking about being eco-friendly, right? And I thought, yeah, let’s do this, show we care, maybe get a few more folks interested because of it. Sounded pretty straightforward at first.
I started off all enthusiastic. First thing, I jumped online, trying to figure out what this whole certification thing was even about. Seemed like there were a dozen different labels, each with its own set of rules. I spent days, no joke, just trying to pick one that seemed legit and, you know, achievable for a small fry like me.
Then came the paperwork. Oh, the paperwork! I downloaded these massive checklists. I had to dig out energy bills from like, the Stone Age. I started looking at my water usage, my waste – stuff I hadn’t really itemized to that degree before. It was like an audit of my entire operation’s conscience.
- I remember trying to figure out their definition of “locally sourced.” Does 50 miles count? 100? Or does it have to be from Farmer McGregor next door?
- And the waste management section! I actually started separating trash like a scientist, trying to minimize what went to landfill.
Now, here’s a bit of a story. While I was neck-deep in all this, my old Uncle Barry came to visit. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy, ran a hardware store for 40 years. He saw me hunched over these forms, muttering about biodegradable cleaning products. He just looked at me and said, “You know, back in my day, we were ‘green’ because we were broke! We reused everything, fixed everything, and didn’t waste a thing because we couldn’t afford to.” It kinda put things in perspective. Here I was, chasing a certificate, while he’d lived that way out of necessity, no fancy label needed.
Anyway, I pushed on. I made some actual changes – switched to LED bulbs everywhere, put in those water-saver things in the taps and showers, found a new supplier for eco-friendly soaps. Some of it was easy, some of it cost a bit upfront. I even started a little compost heap out back, feeling very virtuous.
The actual application process involved more forms, of course. I submitted everything, then waited. And waited. Then there was an inspector, or an ‘assessor’ they called him. Nice enough chap, but very thorough. He walked around with a clipboard, asking questions, checking things. I felt like I was back in school, waiting for my exam results.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the certificate arrived. I got it. And yeah, it felt good. We put the little logo on our website and brochures. Did it magically triple our bookings? Not really, not overnight anyway. But it did make me feel better about how we run things. And we do get guests occasionally mentioning it, so that’s nice.
But looking back, it was a serious amount of effort. Sometimes I wonder if all these different certifications just make things complicated for small businesses. Like, everyone wants to be green, but navigating the system can be a job in itself. It’s almost like they’ve made ‘being good’ into another layer of bureaucracy. Still, I guess I learned a lot, and Uncle Barry would probably just grunt and say, “Well, at least you’re not wasting as much now, son.” And maybe that’s the real point, certificate or not.
