Guests Contribute to Award Winning Banyan Tree Funds

Recently named overall winner among large hotel chains in the “Doing It All” category at the Conde Nast Traveller World Savers Awards, Singapore headquartered hotel and resort company Banyan Tree encourages its customers to contribute to a fund it started in 2001 to support environmental and community projects. Banyan Tree and Angsana resorts match donations dollar for dollar.

Straits Times (11 December 2010):

Every dollar counts, so home-grown Singapore headquartered hotel and resort company Banyan Tree gets its customers to help out too.

For instance, its guests staying at its Banyan Tree and Angsana brand resorts can opt to contribute US$2 (S$2.60) and US$1 per night respectively to a fund it started in 2001 to support environmental and community projects.

It matches guest donations dollar-for-dollar.

The group, which operates hotels and resorts in 13 countries, was recently named overall winner among large hotel chains in the Doing It All category at the Conde Nast Traveller World Savers Awards.

They recognise achievements in five areas: education, environmental and/or cultural preservation, health, poverty relief and wildlife conservation.

Conde Nast Traveller is a travel magazine in the United States.

Projects that Banyan Tree is carrying out include planting 2,000 trees at each resort location yearly from 2007 to 2016; a scheme which provides mentorship, scholarships and internships to young people aged 12 to 18; and one to reduce energy and water consumption and waste production.

Its group director of corporate social responsibility operations, Mr David Campion, said conservation helps to keep its sites sustainable for tourism – which also helps its bottom line.

For example, in Bintan, about a one-hour ferry ride from Singapore, Banyan Tree has a conservation laboratory which has worked with environmental experts, including some from the National University of Singapore, to study the ecosystem in the area.

‘The idea is that they come in to explain to us what we have, how we can help, and the team supports it,’ said Mr Cameron.

The lab also offers free talks to resort guests – about 70 per cent of whom are Singaporeans.

They learn that there are 80 bird species, of which 15 are protected types, at the 200ha Laguna Bintan where Banyan Tree Bintan and other developments are located.

In 2007, a project was started to locate turtle eggs and keep them safe from predators and poachers.

Last month, 44 hawksbill turtle hatchlings were released into the sea.

The company has also worked with educational institutions, such as Pasir Ris Secondary School and Singapore Polytechnic, to arrange for them to visit schools and villages in Bintan.

Source: www.admpreview.straitstimes.com