Work on the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Scheme in the Areas of Marketing Lot 8

Transcription

1 Work on the Implementation of the EU Ecolabel Scheme in the Areas of Marketing Lot 8 Final report Ref. ENV /2007/479590/MAR/G2 November 2008 G & L Werbe und Verlags GmbH Kundmanngasse 33/8 A-1030 Wien in consortium with ENERGON Energie- und Umweltmanagement GmbH Jasomirgottstraße 6/7 A-1010 Wien and as subcontractors ACTA Associazione Cultura Turismo Ambiente Via Scarlatti 27 I Milano SPEED DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS SA 30 Averof Street GR-11141, Athens, Hellas PRO SUSTAINABILITY Steyrergasse 138 A-8010 Graz ECOCAMPING e.v. Blarerstr. 56 D Konstanz ENVIROS Na Rovnosti CZ Praha 3 THE GREEN BOX Leitrim, Manorhamilton, Ireland

2 Final report Work on the implementation of the EU Ecolabel Scheme in the areas of marketing, product group development and stakeholder representation, LOT 8 Ref. ENV /2007/479590/MAR/G2 Vienna, November 2008 Göllner & Leitner (G&L) Werbe- und Verlags GmbH Kundmanngasse 33/8 A 1030 Wien, Austria in consortium with Energon Energie- und Umweltmanagement GmbH Kundmanngasse 33, A-1030 Wien, Austria and as subcontractors ACTA Associazione Cultura Turismo Ambiente Via Scarlatti 27, I Milan SPEED DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANTS SA 30 Averof Street, GR 11141, Athens, Greece ECOCAMPING e.v. Blarerstr. 56, D Konstanz, Germany ENVIROS Na Rovnosti, Praha 3, Czech Republic PRO SUSTAINABILITY Steyrergasse 138, Graz, AT THE GREEN BOX Leitrim, Manorhamilton, Ireland IDE Environnement, Toulouse, France

3 1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY STATUS REPORT Objectives Results General approach Organizational framework PRELIMINARY ACTIVITIES IN DETAIL Kick-off meeting Development of destination information tools The website Press activities FAIRS AND EVENTS Ferienmesse Wien, AT, January Reisepavillon Stuttgart, GE, January Campground & CMT Stuttgart, GE, January Expo Riva Hotel, 29 January Reisecamping Essen, GE, 6-10 February ITB Berlin, 5 9 March Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, 30 Aug. 7 Sept Further fairs COUNTRIES REPORT Overview Italy Greece Romania Slovenia Germany Austria Spain Czech Republic Slovakia Ireland France EU WIDE ACTIVITIES Chains (hotels, campsites) Tour Operators, hotel associations, tourist federations, others Cross Marketing Activities

4 6.4. Networking TASK LIST SCHEDULE ANNEX

5 1. Executive Summary The final report describes the marketing activities of the contracted team (contractor G&L with Energon, ACTA, Speed, Enviros, CES, Pro Sustainability, Green Box and IDE Environnement) from 1 st January to end November Following to the proposal from December 2007 and the results of the kick-off meeting in Brussels, 16 January 2007, all activities were carried out in accordance with the schedule. The main objectives were: Increase the level of awareness Set key stakeholder contacts Find new applicants in targeted regions As part of the contract, all partners had to participate in a kick-off meeting, 15 th January 2008, EU Commission, DG Environment, Brussels, to present the implementation activities in the targeted countries (first approach, objectives, situation ). The meeting was co-ordinated by Ernst Leitner. After discussing the main topics with the marketing team, the representatives of the EU Commission confirmed the proposed activities. The team coordinated their activities with the Competent Bodies. The selected countries were Austria, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Italy, Romania and Spain. Two countries are new on the programme: Ireland and France. Until end of November, workshops with applicants and conferences with key stakeholders have been carried out in Germany, Spain (2x), Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Italy, Ireland, France, Austria and Slovak Republic. As planned, the marketing team participated in several important fairs such as Ferienmesse Vienna, Campground and CMT Stuttgart, ITB Berlin, Reise Camping Essen, Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, Caravan Salon Wels and Caravan Salon Lyon. At these fairs, we organised meetings with many relevant key stakeholders, at ITB we hosted an information stand in order to present the EU Ecolabel to visitors (mainly trade visitors). A main part of the project has been dedicated to find new applicants. We planned to find at least 25 companies willing to apply for the EU Ecolabel. As experienced during previous actions, we know that it normally takes at least 4 to 5 months to push companies through the application process. Until end of November, we have consulted 61 companies. Twenty-three of them were visited on-site with an eco-check. Fifty-eight companies are interested to go for the EU Ecolabel soon or in the near future. Forty of them already have been applied and are at present working on the documentation. Fifteen companies are finished and have been awarded (some of them are the outcome from the marketing activities 2007). We are also happy that we received a certification in Hungary for a hotel, which was consulted by CES. Although we did not plan activities in Hungary in 2008, CES concluded their activities from 2007 successfully! Positive stories we achieved in some 4

6 countries with first movers: Slovenia and Romania. In general, we are happy to have a positive trend in many countries towards the EU Ecolabel, especially in Italy, France and Ireland. Against all expectations, there is also a good prospect for Spain! Many contacts to tour operators have been set at ITB Berlin, Germany, as well as in Austria. To present the EU Ecolabel to guests in the past year we produced catalogues called combo posters with all certified services. These combine an attractive poster with the complete list of all European EU Ecolabelled accommodations, and an individual one for the campsites. Some of these posters are yet available and have been disseminated at major events. In February 2008, new destination folders were produced. This kind of print product is similar to the Combo Poster. The main difference is that for each country, one folder is available and the content has been expanded towards more information regarding sustainability in the destination. The info and marketing website was totally renewed (content management system) and is continuously updated. All the ongoing activities can be found in the start section News. As part of our implementation strategy, we regularly set contact with chains. We still have fruitful contacts to hotels in Greece, Czech Republic, Italy and to international chains such as Rezidoor Group. Large hotels still faces problems to match some relevant criteria such as renewable energy or disposable products. In Spain, especially high fees for hotels with high overnight figures are preventing many hotels to apply for the EU Flower. These problems should be also considered in the ongoing revision of criteria. 5

7 2. Status report 2.1. Objectives As stated in our proposal we focused our activities on the implementation process of the EU Ecolabel as follows: National activities National marketing objectives in the target areas took place in detail: Pilot acquisition: Implementation of the EU Ecolabel: free consultancy for the EU Ecolabel up to twenty-five potential applicants (tourist accommodation services or campsite services) in 9 countries including two in the New Member States Support for the Competent Body in target areas (consultancy, provision of acquisition tools) Meeting with stakeholders, tour operators etc. Continuous press activities in the target areas EU-wide activities The EU-wide activities covered following measures: Cooperation with main stakeholders (tourist federation, tour operators, hotel associations, hotel-chains, etc.) Promotion to raise the level of awareness and to make the flower visible at fairs, meetings to present the EU Ecolabel at hotels or hotel-chains and camp site services Production of destination folders Carry out press activities Service for eco-labelled hotels (production of a guest flyer) 2.2. Results The national marketing activities in detail Implementation of the EU Ecolabel in following 11 countries (including six in the New Member States). This is more as it was requested in the Terms of Reference (only 9 countries). 6

8 Num -ber State Implementation activities Focus mainly on # 1 Italy New destination Sicily Participation at workshops in Sicily and Alto Adige Follow-up Alto Adige (TA contacts from 2006, 2007) # 2 Greece Acquisiton activities in Crete for tourist accommodations Follow-up Crete (TA contacts from 2007) # 3 Spain Follow-up Valencia (TA, CS contacts from 2007) Acquisition activities (workshop with companies in region of Madrid) # 4 Germany Follow-up campsites Region Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (CS) and new acquisition Follow-up activities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen # 5 Austria New strategies towards Campsites with presentation meetings # 6 Czech Republic Follow-up TA & CS-contacts from Best-practice strategy for services in new destination Moravia (TA, CS) with seminar for hotels Follow-up and best practice strategy (first mover) in Banska Bystrica (TA) # 7 Slovak Republic # 8 Ireland New acquistion activities (TA) Information workshop for key stakeholders and hotels # 9 Slovenia Follow-up acquisition activities 2007 and new acquisition activities # 10 Romania Best practice strategy (first mover) in destination Maramures national park and Ceahlau Park # 11 France New destination activities in French Riviera for Tas and CS. Num -ber Results State Responsible Total Consulted Interest Applicants Awarded 1) # 1 Italy Acta, Energon, G&L # 2 Greece Speed, Energon, G&L # 3 Spain Pro Sustain # 4 Germany Ecocamping # 5 Austria Energon, G&L # 6 Czech Enviros Republic # 7 Slovak Enviros Republic # 8 Ireland Greenbox # 9 Slovenia Energon # 10 Romania Acta # 11 France DIE Env., Energon, G&L #12 Hungary CES Total ) Certifications with support of EU Ecolabel-team (partially outcome from activities 2007). 7

9 Result in brief: All the relevant activities have been confirmed by the EU Commission (at the kick-off meeting) and by the Competent Bodies in the target area. We started the first implementation activities at fairs (award ceremony with campsite owners at Campground in Germany). Acquisition meetings and presentations took place in Italy, Spain, Czech Republic, Germany, Ireland, Slovenia and Romania until summer. In Crete/Greece, Slovak Republic, France/region VAR and Austria as well as in Spain (second time) workshops took place in autumn. By the end of the year, the marketing team provided consultations to 61 companies. Fifty-eight from these are interested to go to the EU Ecolabel (and are able to match the criteria). Forty applied already for the Flower. We expect that most of them will be certified by mid EU-wide implementation Meetings with stakeholders, tour operators etc. The EU-wide activities are covering following fields: Contact main tour operators Result in brief: Based on our strategy we contacted tour operators in order to initiate environmentally friendly travel packages Acquisition of hotel-chains (via head offices), hotels and campsites with at least five meetings. Result in brief: Activities took place at ITB Berlin, Ireland Promotion to raise the level of awareness and to make the flower more visible. At least three presentations at fairs and meetings to present the EU Ecolabel at hotels or hotel-chains and campsite services were scheduled. Result in brief: As planned, we organised several meetings from January until November and were present at several fairs such as ITB Berlin, Ferienmesse Vienna etc. At these fairs, we organised acquisition activities, presentations in order to present the EU Ecolabel to visitors. Production of destination folders Result in brief: For tourist accommodation services, we produced destination folders promoting the EU ecolabelled hotels within their destination. All the files can be downloaded at the website. Following destinations are available: Italy, Ireland, Slovenia, Austria, Czech Republic, France, Spain and Greece Carry out press activities Result in brief: Some individual press activities have been done so far. 8

10 Service for ecolabelled hotels Result in brief: One of our strategy was to perform a minimum service for the ecolabelled hotels. We started 2006 with a Where-to-stay-guide. In 2007, a large Combo Poster with a list of all certified services was designed, printed and distributed. Actually, we focus our service to provide a guest folder, a leaflet for staff training General approach We embarked following approach in detail: 1. Identify potential hotel groups, special interest hotels and campsite services. Identify applicants by direct contacts and use of networks of tourist federations, municipalities, chamber of commerce, NGO s and create synergies by merge marketing and promotional activities: Marketing support for increased ecolabel marketing Material dissemination Co-ordinated presentations Benefit: List of all target groups 2. Enforce targeted acquisition. Develop a system for targeted acquisition including: Tourist accommodation services (in regard to environmental issues, natural preserves & national parks, etc.), camp site services Tourist federations NGOs Competent Bodies, municipalities Benefit: Informed and ecolabel aware target groups 3. Basic assistance during the application process. We offered support to pilot-companies to fulfil the EU Ecolabel criteria during national workshops: Identify the current baseline Elaborate in co-operation with organisations improvement opportunities Benefit: Ecolabelled services 9

11 4. Develop best practice examples. Summarise information and promotion activities for Best practice transfer to other areas Detailed description of implementation process Motivate other accommodation services to participate in the application process Benefit: Summary report to be used for promotion 2.4. Organizational framework Marketing team For a successful implementation of the EU Ecolabel, we selected experts with in-depth knowledge of the tourism marketing, especially sustainable tourism and experience with the EU Ecolabel for our marketing team. This consists of: Ernst Leitner, marketing and environmental expert (EU Ecolabel, Austrian Ecolabel, EMAS etc.), Coordinator Rainer Stifter, Austrian and international environmental expert (EU Ecolabel, EMAS etc.), EU Ecolabel auditor Dagmar Diwok, Italian environmental expert (EU Ecolabel) Katerina Amfilochiou, Greek environmental expert (EU Ecolabel, EMAS, etc.) Bianca Hellriegel, German environmental expert for camp sites (EU Ecolabel, Ecocamping), EU Ecolabel auditor Ana Moreno Aveno, Spanish expert and EU Ecolabel auditor Monika Bilkova, Enviros, environmental expert in Cech Republic Mary Mulvey, Greenbox Ireland, Destination and environmental manager Sabine Nascinguerra, IDE Environnement, French environmental expert Stefan Tauchhammer, marketing and environmental expert (EU Ecolabel, Austrian Ecolabel) 10

12 3. Preliminary activities in detail 3.1. Kick-off meeting All partners participated in the EU Commission kick-off meeting, 15 th January 2008 in Brussels to discuss the implementation activities in the home country (first approach, objectives, situation ). Ernst Leitner coordinated the meeting. The representatives of the EU Commission confirmed the common results Development of destination information tools Destination folder Now with a relatively high number of EU Ecolabelled accommodations in Europe, it makes sense to produce info brochures for destinations ( Flower destinations ). These folders provide benefits for two main tasks: Give a precise list of ecolabelled hotels in a destination, which we can present at events, trade fairs etc. for potential tourists Provide a comprehensive fact sheet (hotel recommendations, regional descriptions) for meetings with tour operators who shall offer environmentally friendly travel packages for special destinations. Folders have been produced for following 8 destinations: Italy (16 pages) Ireland & Northern Ireland (4 pages) Slovenia (4 pages) Austria (4 pages) Czech Republic (2 pages) France (2 pages) Spain, Portugal (2 pages) Greece (2 pages) All the documents are downloadable at the website. We produced them as hard copies for trade fairs (ITB Berlin) and conferences (Ireland, Slovenia) and for workshops. 11

13 Where to stay poster combos An attractive folder, briefly called where to stay poster combos was produced for campsites. This poster is available at the website and downloadable since summer. The pictures are partly the same as on the roll-up (produced in 2007). The brochures are continuously in use at various fairs and events e.g. ITB Berlin and all other ones List of all productions To provide an overview, we have added the complete list of all productions of List of all productions 2008 Destination Folders Italy 100 Czech Republic 100 Austria 100 Ireland 200 Greece 200 Slovenia 100 France 200 Spain 200 WTS-combo campsites Trilingual (English, Italian, German) Quantity On-line version Envelopes English The website The info and marketing website provides easy access to reliable information regarding the application process. To keep the web site attractive, it was our aim to update it regularly. Unfortunately, we always faced the problem to loose much time for updating the HTMLwebsite. Therefore, we decided to invest in a practical Content Management System. Brand new information is now quickly available without wasting time. The content of the new CMS is similar to the previous website. All the necessary files are still available. 12

14 New website articles Articles Fair reports & events Source Date Activity Report Report Dublin, Ireland Ernst Leitner April 2008 Activity Report Lipica Conference, Slovenia Rainer Stifter April 2008 Activity Report Ostrava Workshop, Czech Republic Activity Report Report Valencia Conference, Spain Monika Bilkova April 2008 Ana Morena April 2008 Activity Report Bozen Workshop, Italy Dagmar Diwok April 2008 Activity Report ITB Berlin, Germany Ernst Leitner April 2008 Activity Report Reisemesse Essen, Germany Bianca Hellriegel April 2008 Activity Report Campground, Stuttgart, Germany Bianca Hellriegel April 2008 Activity Report Ferienmesse Vienna, Austria Ernst Leitner April 2008 Workshop in Slovakia, Banska Bystrica Monika Bilkova Oct Workshop in Greece, Heraklion, Crete Workshop in France, Region VAR Ernst Leitner, Katherina Amfilochiou Ernst Leitner, Sabine Nascinguerra Oct Oct Second workshop in Spain, Valencia Ana Morena Nov Workshop in Graz for camp sites Ernst Leitner Nov Press activities Presence in the media is important to reach wide audience. We carried out our activities in connection with presentations at fairs or relevant meetings. We followed our activities as stated in our proposal: One kick-off press release to announce the ongoing activities and the programme for ITB Berlin in March 2007, Provide articles for journalists concerning the EU Ecolabel (background information), Collect magazine clippings with articles about the EU Ecolabel. Press activities in Germany The following table gives an overview of the press activities in Germany: 13

15 Press Activity Result Date Article about EU Ecolabel/Camp Ground Stuttgarter Anzeiger Report about Camping Klausenhorn und its Südkurier new EU-Ecolabel certification Report about Camping Klausenhorn und its new EU-Ecolabel certification Report about EU-Ecolabel certification at the Camp Ground for 15 Campings Report about EU-Ecolabel certification at the Camp Ground for 15 Campings Report about EU-Ecolabel certification at the Camp Ground for 15 Campings (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) Report about Camping TENDA Bad Feilnbach and its new EU-Ecolabel certification Report about Camping TENDA Bad Feilnbach and its new EU-Ecolabel certification Article about the EU Ecolabel Certfication of 9 campsites in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Camp Ground in Stuttgart Article about the EU Ecolabel Certification of 9 campsites in Germany, Austria and Switzerland at Camp Ground in Stuttgart Konstanzer Anzeiger ECO World Camping Channel europaticker Januar.2008 Bad Feilnbacher Moorspiegel März 2008 Mangfalltal Nachrichten LCBW Nachrichten January 2008 Campingimpulse January 2008 Press activities in Italy Following one of the articles following the seminar in Bozen (3rd April). The article was published from Wirtschaftskurier Bozen ( ) Press activities in Austria A consumer magazine published a several page article about EU Ecolabel campsites. This article presented best practice campsites in Germany, Austria, Italy and Czech Republic. Main information and pictures have been provided by the marketing team. Press activities in Slovenia The first ecolabelled hotel in Slovenia was covered in some special interest media in Slovenia. Very fruitful was the press conference at ITB in cooperation with the Slovenia Tourism. Press activities in Czech Republic As a result of the ongoing EU Ecolabel activities, the marketing team could organise two articles in an online and print magazine in cooperation with the Czech CB. 14

16 Press activities in Slovak Republic On 18 th of September the 2 nd Slovak Seminar on the EU Ecolabel took place. The information about the seminar was announced in the magazine Cestovatel (The Traveller) on August issue and September issue. This magazine is providing reports on holidays and tourist accommodation services. Press activities in Greece At the same time as the Greek workshop in Heraklion (October) took place, some press work was carried out in the local press in an attempt to raise interest of the local community on the matter of ecolabel and make the flower more recognisable. Press activities in Romania We are happy that we could certify the first hotel (Hotel Saturn) in Romania. The celebration was published in many magazines. Approximately 50 articles (printed and online) could be collected by the Romanian Competent Body. All the online-articles can be found by googling under hotel eticheta ecologica Saturn (with nearly 2,000 results)! There are also press activities in other target areas, which are mentioned in the relevant chapters. 15

17 4. Fairs and Events One of the major tasks is the presentation of the EU Ecolabel at important fairs and events in close cooperation with Competent Bodies, tourist associations and important stakeholders. During the presentations, the following topics were presented: Framework of the EU Ecolabel scheme, How to get through the application process, Criteria to be fulfilled, EU-wide and national marketing benefits Find following the list of all the fairs and events, at which the marketing team were present: Fairs and Events 2008 Title of Event Date Activity CMT Stuttgart, GE January Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites Participant number Reisepavillon Stuttgart, GE January Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites Approx. 10,000 Ferienmesse Vienna, AT January Presentation of the EU Ecolabel at the stand from the Austria Ecolabel 116,827 Expo Riva Hotel, IT 29 January Presentation of the EU Ecolabel Not available CAMP GROUND, GE January 2008 Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites Symposium for awarded campsites Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites 1,100 Reise Camping, Essen February ,000 ITB Berlin, GE 5-9 March Presentation of EU Ecolabel Approx. 180,000 Caravan Salon Düsseldorf. GE 30 August-07 September 2008 Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites at stand of Ecocamping 158,000 Caravan Salon Austria, Wels, AT October Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites at stand of Ecocamping 24,400 Caravan Salon Siteo, Lyon France October Presentation of ECOLABEL and awarded campsites at stand of Ecocamping 2,300 16

18 4.1. Ferienmesse Wien, AT, January 2008 Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel for services (tourist accommodations services and campsite services) at the Viennese Tourism Fair Where: Booth of Federal Ministry of Environment Date: Four days from January 2008 Place: Fairground Messeplatz 1, hall B The Ferienmesse Wien is the largest tourism fair in Austria. 116,827 visitors have been recorded. During four days the EU Ecolabel was presented as cooperation partner at the stand of the Austrian Ecolabel. The stand was hosted by representatives from the Federal Ministry and from the EU Ecolabel marketing team (partly). The main goals of the fair were: Active presentation to relevant stakeholders in tourism Raise the level of recognition among decision makers in tourism Find interested tourist companies to apply for the EU Ecolabel Meet relevant tour operators to position this environmental award and achieve support We distributed the following promotional material (in German language): Where to stay guide for tourist accommodation services (2007 edition) Where to stay guide for campsite services (2007 edition) Ecolabel brochures Fact sheets for tourist accommodation services Fact sheets for campsite services We also could hang up one big poster (70 x 100 cm) and place the roll-up behind the desk. The EU Ecolabel as partner at the stand of the Austrian Ecolabel Mrs. Susanne Schlaffer at EU Ecolabel desk 17

19 4.2. Reisepavillon Stuttgart, GE, January 2008 Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel Where: Stand of Global Nature Fund Date: Three days from January 2008 Place: Stuttgart fairground The EU Ecolabel was represented by ACTA during Reisepavillon in Stuttgart (D) from 18-20th of January. At the Reisepavillion in Stuttgart, Ms. Diwok participated at a a seminar organized by the University of Leeds on the 19 th of January about Marketing of Sustainable Tourism, presenting the marketing activities of the EU Ecolabel to an audience of experts, students, consumers and travel agencies. Dagmar Diwok during her presentation Reisepavillon Stuttgart, Stand of Global Nature Fund, where it was possible to exhibit the EU Ecolabel Roll-up 4.3. Campground & CMT Stuttgart, GE, January 2008 Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel and participation at events Where: Stand of Ecocamping Date: Nine days from January 2008 Place: Stuttgart fairground Visitors: 218,000 At the first time Campground, an expert trade fair for campsite managers, was organised in Stuttgart, Germany, during CMT Stuttgart, 6-10 February, one of Germany's largest tourism fair for trade and public visitors. On occasion of Campground, nine campsite owners received the EU Ecolabel. During this award, ceremony certificates were given to six campsite owners from Germany, two from Austria and one from Switzerland. The award ceremony took place after an international symposium about Sustainable Camping tourism. 18

20 Nine successful campsite owners with their Ecolabel certificates with Tanja Gönner, Environmental Minister of Baden-Württemberg and Martin Büchele, EU Commission, DG Environment Foto: Ecocamping The ECOCAMPING Association organised a stand at the CMT in Stuttgart in order to inform as many visitors and potential camping guests as possible about the European Ecolabel. The stand presented posters with the EU-Flower and brochures. The posters worked as a magnet to attract visitors of the fair to the stand. The poster-brochures served as information about the label and the camping sites that are already awarded with the flower. They were handed over to interested guests. Moreover, information was given to guests of the fair at the stand by Susanne Schoop and Kerstin Kimmich. Besides the information campaign at the stand, there have been various opportunities throughout the fair to inform campsite managers about the label itself and about how to apply for it. Moreover, various stakeholders have been present and Susanne Schoop and Kerstin Kimmich were involved in talks and discussions with stakeholders and other interested parties (see below). The CMT is one of the most important camping fairs in the South of Germany, and, as the first tourist fair of the year, attracts many visitors, who are planning their summer holidays. Especially it was the first time in the new fair location near by the airport. Overall, there have been more than fair visitors from all over Germany, but also from Austria, Switzerland, etc. Therefore, the EU-Ecolabel stand proofed to be a very good tool to inform tourists about the EU-Ecolabel and the already awarded businesses. Contact persons at the fair were for example: Stefan Thurn, chief editor ADAC Camping Guide Georg Spätling, president Campsite Association Bavaria Wolfgang Rösch, president of Campsite Association Baden-Wuerttemberg Sonja Glasmeyer, manager of BVCD Wolfgang Neumann, president Campsite Association Mecklenburg- Vorpommern 19

21 The EU Ecolabel as partner at the stand of Ecocamping e.v. The stand was hosted 9 days from colleagues from Ecocamping 4.4. Expo Riva Hotel, 29 January 2008 Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel Where: Stand of Local Agenda 21 Date: 29 January 2008 Place: Expo Riva Hotel In Riva, a workshop had been organized together with the Local Agenda 21 of Riva del Garda for hoteliers and other tourism entrepreneurs who were interested in the EU Ecolabel. Before and after the workshop, Ms. Diwok and a representative of the CB/Environmental agency from Trento were available for advice and consultancy at the stand of the LA 21. Dagmar Diwok during her presentation at the workshop 20

22 Ms. Tamanini from APPA Trento, Ms. Diwok and Ms. Prosser from the LA 21 at the LA 21 stand at the fair 4.5. Reisecamping Essen, GE, 6 10 February 2008 Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel and participation at events Where: Stand of Ecocamping Date: Four days from 2 4 February 2007 Place: Hannover fairground Visitors: 91,000 The ECOCAMPING Association set up a stand at the Reise Camping in Essen in order to inform as many visitors and potential camping guests as possible about the European Ecolabel. The 30 m 2 stand was organised by ECOCAMPING and presented the EU-Ecolabel exhibition panel and posterbrochures about the EU- Flower. Information was provided to guests of the fair at the stand by Carina Dambacher, A view at the booth, hosted by Ecocamping Katja Wilms and Marco Walter. The fair registered about 91,000 visitors during the five days. The main part of the visitors was German but also other guests from other European nations were present, e.g. from the Netherlands and France. The stand has been a good opportunity to inform potential camping and other tourist guests about the EU-Ecolabel and the already awarded camping businesses. 21

23 The camping fair in Essen also attracts many campsite managers mainly from Germany but also from other European countries. It is a central meeting event of the branch in spring. This allowed many conversations with campsite managers about the Ecolabel. Moreover, various stakeholders have been present and Carina Dambacher, Katja Wilms and Marco Walter were involved in various talks and discussions with multipliers and interested parties. Amongst them were the ADAC German Automobile Club, the BVCD Federal German Camping Association, the ECC European Camping Guide / Drei Brunnen Verlag GmbH, and some regional camping associations. In general, contact persons at the fair were for example: Stefan Thurn, chief editor ADAC Camping Guide Emmerich Müller, chief editor ECC Camping Guide Georg Spätling, president Campsite Association Bavaria Wolfgang Neumann, president Campsite Association Mecklenburg- Western Pomerania Leo Ingenlath, president Campsite Association North Rhine-Westphalia Anton Harms, president Federal German Campsite Association and Sonja Glasmeyer, director Federal German Campsite Association 4.6. ITB Berlin, 5 9 March 2008 Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel for services (tourist accommodations services and camp site services) at ITB Berlin Where: Stand of the EU Ecolabel, hall 17, #109 Date: Four days from 5 9 March 2008 Place: Fairground Messe Berlin The EU Ecolabel was presented at ITB Berlin with a stand in hall 17. The stand was hosted by Mr. Ernst Leitner and Julia Riemer (as a freelance). ITB is one of the largest tourist fairs in the world. In 2008, more than 180,000 people came, including 108,000 trade visitors, making it the most relevant fair for the EU Ecolabel. One of the major objectives was to meet major stakeholders in tourism (hotel groups, tour operators, representatives of national tourism organisations and relevant journalists) and to look for potential enterprises to apply for the EU Ecolabel. We could also provide free weekends for visitors, which could be win during a quiz-game. We distributed following promotional material (in German/English language): Poster Combo for tourist accommodation services (German, English) Eco-label brochures (main languages) Fact sheets for tourist accommodation services (main languages) Promotional leaflets from eco-labelled companies At the trade visitors days the EU Ecolabel marketing team (Ernst Leitner, Rainer Stifter, Stefan Tauchhammer) organised many meetings with relevant key stakeholders, mainly in our target area. We established contacts with 22

24 Greece, Italy, Hungary, Austria, Germany, Spain, Slovenia, France, Slovak and Czech Republic. In the foreground of the meetings stood the objective to set up commitments with representatives from tourist federations in the ongoing target countries. Following this strategy, we could organize many relevant persons from the region who are willing to support our activities. Following the highlights of the meetings (totally 40) are summarized: Slovak Republic: Mrs. Lukacova from Slovak Tourism will help to find participants for the planned meeting in Banska Bystrica. Czech Republic: Mrs. Dir. Dagmar Kremzerová from Czech Tourism promises to give full support for the coming event in Ostrava. Greece: Fruitful cooperation contacts to Deltanet Travel, Cretan Holidays in Crete. They expressed the will to support the planned workshop in autumn. We could again set promising contacts to the Prefecture of Heraklion, Crete. Malta: We tried to renew the contact to the International Corinthia Hotel group, which started past year with environmental activities. Unfortunately, Mr. Quintano, our contact, left Corinthia Group. For that reason, we have been trying to get a new contact. Slovenia Successful contacts to Slovenia Tourism, participation during the main press conference at ICC-Congress Centre. Mr. Stifter could explain the EU Ecolabel to main journalists. Hungary Promising contact to Andrassy Hotels, the general manager is interested in the EU Ecolabel Italy One fruitful contact to a hotel-owner in Sicily, who showed big interest in the EU Ecolabel. We invited him to the workshop in Sicily. Fruitful contact to Alto Adige Tourism to support the workshop in Bozen. Austria Tourism Director from Styria was well informed on the planned activities and promises to help (workshop with campsite owners). One hotel in Tyrol wants to apply for the Austrian as well as for the EU Ecolabel. Switzerland Interesting contacts to Swiss Tourism and Hotellerie Suisse with the hope to get much more EU Ecolabelled companies. One interested hotelier visited our stand. Hotelgroups Very promising contact to Hotel group Mamaison, who are still interested to apply for the EU Ecolabel at some hotels in Czech, Slovak Republic, Hungary, 23

25 Poland and Russia. We also had meetings with representatives of Hilton Group, Rezidoor Group, and Best Western to discuss responsible business activities. We will follow-up these contacts. Press Conference with Slovenia Tourism Slovenia Tourism organised a press conference on 5 March, 4 PM, ICC- International Congress Centre, to present ongoing activities. Director General Marjan Hribar, Directorate for Tourism, Ministry of the Economy, pointed out during his presentation, that sustainability is a main topic in tourism. Slovenia s programme to sustainability envisages: Improve environmental performance of hotel Organize workshops for ecological standards More competitiveness and motivation for tourist enterprises with the EU Ecolabel Proudly General Director Hribar presented the first hotel in Slovenia, which matched the EU Ecolabel criteria: Terme Snovik. Mr. Stifter, who audited the hotel, gave a brief introduction into the set of criteria. Approximately 70 persons (mainly international journalists) participated in this important press conference. We also took the opportunity to launch a short release about the ongoing EU Ecolabel project Lot 8 for This paper was attached to the general press kit of Slovenia Tourism. 24

26 Press Conference ICC, Dir. Dolenc, Dir. Piciga, Gen. Dir. Hribar, Slovenia Tourism Rainer Stifter introduces the EU Ecolabel during the press conference from Slovenia Tourism Successful team at Terme Snovik: Dir. Dolenc, Karin Noc, Rainer Stifter Julia Riemer and Ernst Leitner at the stand, hall 17 Many visitors during the public days, hall 17 25

27 4.7. Caravan Salon Düsseldorf, 30 Aug. 7 Sept Type of activity: Presentation of the EU Ecolabel for services (tourist accommodations services and camp site services) Where: Stand of the Ecocamping e.v. Date: Nine days Place: Fairground Messe Düsseldorf The ECOCAMPING Association organised a stand at the Caravan Salon in Düsseldorf in order to inform as many visitors and potential camping guests as possible about the European Ecolabel. The stand presented brochures and roll-ups. Brochures served as primary information about the label and the camping sites that are already awarded with the flower and were handed over to interested guests. Moreover, information was given to guests of the fair at the stand by Marco Walter, Wolfgang Pfrommer, Katja Wilms, Birgit Zeiler and partner camping entrepreneurs. Besides the information campaign at the stand, there have been various opportunities throughout the fair to inform campsite managers about the label itself and about how to apply for it. Moreover, various stakeholders have been present. Marco Walter, Wolfgang Pfrommer, Katja Wilms and Birgit Zeiler were involved in various talks and discussions with stakeholders and other interested parties, e.g. the BVCD German Campsite Association, Dolde Medien German Media for camping entrepreneurs, ECC European Camping and Caravaning Guide, DCC German Camping Club, ADAC German Automobile Club, German Camping Associations, CIVD German Caravan Industry and Trade Organisation DTV German Tourism Association Camping and Caravaning ADAC CIVD Forum: Quo Vadis Camping The Caravan Salon is one of the most important camping fairs in Germany and every year sets standards for the branch in the whole of Europe. 158,000 guests came to this fair. The EU Ecolabel stand proved to be a very good tool to inform tourists about the EU Ecolabel and the already awarded businesses. 26

28 4.8. Further fairs Ecocamping e.v., our partner for campsites, organised some more trade fair activities (beyond the scheduled fair participations) in Austria and France. We took the opportunity to present the EU Ecolabel at the stand of Ecocamping and provided them all useful brochures for this purpose. The EU Ecolabel was present at following fairs: Holiday World Fair, Prague, CZ, February 2008, stand of Competent Body with activities from Enviros BioStyl Fair, Bratislava, SK, May 2008, stand of Competent Body with activities from Enviros Caravan Salon Austria, Wels, , stand with information about ECOCAMPING and ECOLABEL, Trade visitors Caravan Salon Siteo, Lyon, , stand with information about ECOCAMPING and ECOLABEL, Trade visitors

29 5. Countries report 5.1. Overview Number State Implementation activities Focus mainly on # 1 Italy New destination Sicily Participation at workshops in Sicily and Alto Adige Follow-up Alto Adige (TA contacts from 2006, 2007) # 2 Greece Acquisiton activities in Crete for tourist accommodations Follow-up Crete (TA contacts from 2007) # 3 Spain Follow-up and new activities in Valencia (TA, CS contacts from 2007) Acquisition activities in Murcia # 4 Germany Follow-up camp sites Region Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria (CS) and new acquisition Follow-up activities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen # 5 Austria New strategies towards campsites with presentation meetings Acquisition activities in Carinthia # 6 Czech Republic # 7 Slovak Republic Follow-up TA & CS-contacts from Best-practice strategy for services in new destination Moravia (TA, CS) with seminar for hotels Follow up and best practice strategy (first mover) in Banska Bystrica (TA) # 8 Ireland New acquistion activities (TA) Information workshop for key stakeholders and hotels # 9 Slovenia Follow-up acquisition activities 2007 and new acquisition activities # 10 Romania Best practice strategy (first mover) in destination Maramures national park and Ceahlau Park # 11 France New destination activities in French Riviera for TAs and CS. # 12 Hungary Follow-up acquisiton activitiy 2007 The selection of countries was done according to the following: Need to start an implementation process Agreed cooperation by the Competent Bodies (personal approval or consent by ) Predictable success Best-practice character (especially in the New Member States) Available local expert team (native speaking) 28

30 5.2. Italy Situation The general positive trend regarding the Ecolabel in the tourism sector in Italy is continuing steadily also in There are by now 107 hotels and 10 camp sites certified, and many others about to complete the application process and awaiting verification. The continuing activities of promotion and information regarding the EU- Ecolabel in connection with local development strategies (Agenda 21, development of ecotourism packages) are continuing to bring interesting results, proving that the Ecolabel for Tourist Accommodation and Campsite Service is a very useful instrument to support such strategies. Particularly where these actions are coordinated with the local Environmental Agencies, the support for the interested structures is guaranteed and therefore a high probabilty for them to succeed with the application Objectives Co-operation with APAT with following activities: The main target is to follow-up the activities from 2007 and set up new activities mainly in Sicily and Alto-Adige Co-ordinator: Mrs. Dagmar Diwok, ACTA Status In 2008, many companies have been supported in order to get the EU Ecolabel. The actual efforts are concentrating on two regions where until now the EU Ecolabel is represented not at all: Sicily, in the extreme south, Southern Tyrol/Alto Adige in the extreme north of Italy and with only one structure. In both regions, also with the support of the local Environmental Agency, workshops have been organized and individual assistance to the structures will follow. a. Sicily Continuing the efforts of the first months of 2008, Sicily has been the main target of the activities in Italy, also with the support of the local Environmental Agency. Workshops have been organized and individual assistance to the structures has been given and is continuing. In Sicily, the assistance inserts itself also into the framework of an effort of the region to develop an ecotouristic product, of which the certification with the EU Ecolabel of structures is an important part. The following hotels in Sicily are benefiting from the assistance and have already started the application process (filled out documentation and most of them already sent the application to the Italian competent body to be evaluated): 29

31 Supported tourist accommodations, Sicily 2008 The following hotels in Sicily are benefiting from the assistance and have already started the application process: Name and description 1. Alberi del Paradiso Cefalù (PA), Hotel, 4 stars 2. Principe di Villafranca Palermo, Hotel, 4 Stars 3. Torre Artale Trabia (PA), Hotel + RTA, 4 stars 4. Gallery House Palermo, Hotel, 3 stars 5. Orleans Palermo, Hotel, 3 stars 6. Gardenia Palermo, Hotel 2 stars 7. Monaco di Mezzo Petraia Sottana (PA), Agriturismo, 4 stars 8. Villa Dafne Alia (PA), Agriturismo 4 stars 9. Bergi Castelbuono (PA), Agriturismo 3 stars 10. Casale di Riena (Castronovo di Sicilia Palermo), 3 stars 11. Villa Padura Castellana Sicula (PA), Agriturismo, 2 stars 12. Antica Stazione di Ficuzza Monreale (PA), Turismo Rurale, 4 stars 13. Rocca di Gonato Castelbuono (PA), Turismo Rurale, 4 stars 14. Casa Turchetti Taormina (ME), B&B, 3 stars 15. Rocca dei capperi Contessa Entellina (PA), B&B, 3 stars 16. Villa Calagioli Castelbuono (PA), B&B, 3 stars 17. Casa Marconi Palermo, Youth Hostel 18. Agriturismo Relais Sant Anastasia Castelbuono (PA) 19. Villa Clotilde B&B, 3 stelle 20. Stella Marina Ustica (PA) RTA 3 stelle 21. Clelia Ustica (PA) Albergo 3 stelle, 22. Casa vacanza Residenza degli Ulivi e Albergo Mediterraneo Pantelleria 23. Hotel Mursia e Cossyra 24. Signum Albergo a 4 stelle 25. Hotel cave Bianche About 10 more enterprises who participated at the workshops are in this period being visited by ARPA Sicilia in order to start working on the documentation. 30

32 Following, a few pictures from the activities in Sicily, 11 th of March in Petralia. Hoteliers following the presentations Mrs. Dagmar Diwok is using the Train-to- Ecolabel software for the workshop. Two images from the individual assistance at two structures (pre-audit and compilation of a questionary regarding the EU Ecolabel criteria, together with Mr. Pansica from the Sicilian CB/Environmental agency. Seminars in Ustica and Pantelleria There have been two more workshops for Sicilian hoteliers organized together with the ARPA (regional competent body) on two islands: Ustica and Pantelleria a. Ustica: On the 22nd of April, hoteliers from Ustica have participated first at a workshop at the Hotel Stella Marina (which is applying for the Ecolabel too), and then been individually visited by Ms. Diwok and Mr. Panzica from ARPA. b. Pantelleria: On the 23rd and 24th of April, on the island of Pantelleria, Ms. Diwok and Ms. Merlo from ARPA visited the hotels interested in the European Ecolabel and worked together with them on the necessary documentation. 31

33 Ms Diwok and Ms. Merlo from ARPA Sicilia during a visit in one of the hotels which are applying for the EU Ecolabel Working on the application forms Study Visit Building on the seminars results, a study visit in Germany and Austria has been organized from the 4th to the 6th of May 2008 for the Sicilian entrepreneurs who are working on the application for the European Ecolabel, in order to gather first hand experience regarding the environmental certification of organisations, enterprises and local products in a touristic region, the Lake Constance area. Visit at the Ecolabelled camp site Klausenhorn near Konstanz, organized by Marco Walter from ECOCAMPING. Examining at the greened roofs of the sanitary buildings of the camp site Heat pump, during a guided tour through the Hotel Adler, Schoppernau, certified with the Austrian Ecolabel and on the way towards the EU Ecolabel Conference On the 5th and 6th of June, a conference on Ecotourism took place in Gibilmanna (Sicily), which in part was dedicated to presenting the results of the workshops which had taken place over the last months, and also to inform potential new applicants. Several presentations and one into-depth workshop revolved around the application process, the advantages and already existing positive examples for the European Ecolabel. 32

34 Participants at the conference A session of the conference was dedicated to the experts being at disposal for questions and information. Ms Diwok talking to a hotelier interested in the Ecolabel. b. Piemonte In the framework of the cooperation with the Piemont Competent Body, ARPA Piemonte, and the Centro Studi Ambientali from Turin, Ms Diwok participated at two workshops for hoteliers and camp site owners. Those workshops involved over 200 participants and several of them are now being assisted by the ARPA Piemonte and the CSA with their application processes. Participants at the conference Dagmar Diwok during her statement c. EU Flower Month Seminar in Turin A seminar was hold during in Turin, which was part of the EU Flower Month. A main speaker was Ms. Stefania Minestrini from the Italian Competent Body. 33

35 Participants at the conference The 0 km coffee break d. Alto Adige South Tyrol Together with the local CB/Environmental agency of Bozen/Bolzano, a workshop was organized for the 3rd of April, with the scope of giving in-depth information about the EU Ecolabel and its requirements and encourage local entrepreneurs to achieve the EU Ecolabel. Invited were stakeholder representatives (hoteliers association, camp site owners association), the press, the local tourism marketing agency, hoteliers and camp site owners and representatives of the public administration. The seminar was received very positively, and two work groups have been constituted (hoteliers and camp site owners/managers) which will be following up together with the regional CB on the necessary documentation and criteria requirements. Further seminars are being planned for the autumn Following, a few pictures from the workshop in Bozen, 3 rd April. Some of the participants following a presentation Mrs Diwok explaining the requirements of the EU Ecolabel (the seminar was bilingual, German and Italian, since the autonomous region of South Tyrol is officially bilingual and participants were from both Italian and German language) 34

36 One of the hoteliers who participated the seminar in Bozen has yet received the EU Ecolabel. Other hotels we gave consultancy in 2007 we contacted again, two of them are on the way to the EU Ecolabel. We expect that they will get it early Assisted tourist accommodation services Name Address / Website Description Hotel Taser Bergstraße 33, Schenna, South Tyrol Hotel Bergschlössl Lüsen, Lüsener Str. 24, South Tyrol info@familienalm.com info@bergschloessl.com Awarded Application ready Hotel Waldsee Völs am Schlern, South Tyrol info@hotel-waldsee.com; Preparing the documentation Hotel Waldgasthof Tann Tannstr. 22, Klobenstein/Ritten South Tyrol info@tann.it Still interested, are trying to match the criteria Next steps and follow-up recommendation From the 11 th to the 14 th of December, a workshop was planned for hoteliers from the Pollino area in the Italian Basilicata region. Following the same scheme applied also to the workshops in Sicily, the hoteliers have been assisted by the regional competent body after the seminar. Further, cooperation has been initiated with the Union of Italian chambers of Commerce, UNIONCAMERE, in order to organize special seminars regarding the European Ecolabel for hotels and campsites certified with their quality label Q. These workshops will start in January Greece Situation The Greek Competent Body is ASAOS, which is operated by the Ministry of Environment, Planning and Public Works. The Counsel is composed of 11 persons from several different organisations: the Ministry of Environment, Land planning and Public Works; the Ministry of Development (Trade Sector and Energy & Technology Sector), the Ministry of Agricultural Development and Food, the General Chemical State Laboratory, the Consuming Organisation, Environmental Organisations, the Federation of Greek Industries and the Greek General Confederation of Workers. Mr George Stamatiou and Mrs Paraskevi Xenou are the contact persons of the Greek Competent Body. Nevertheless, a few months ago, the tenure of ASAOS members ended and because of the elections for the new counsel have not yet taken place, officially all operations of ASAOS are currently frozen. 35

37 According to Statistics given by the Greek Competent Body (January 2008) the situation in Greece concerning the Ecolabel for services is as follows: (2003) SUNWING RESORT KALLITHEA RHODES (2006) SUNGARDEN RHODES HOTEL RHODES (2007) SUNWING RESORT MAKRIGIALOS CRETE (2007) EAGLE PALACE HOTEL CHALKIDIKI Furthermore, at least two more hotels have applied (Pella Beach Hotel in Chalkidiki and Daphne s Club Hotel Apartments in Xylocastro) and their applications will soon be under evaluation Objectives Co-operation with the Greek Competent Body including the following activities: Find three businesses to apply for the EU Ecolabel Target area is the island of Crete Organise one workshop with potential applicants Coordinator for Greece: Mrs. Katerina Amfilochiou, Project Manager, Environmental Dep., Speed Mrs. Yanna Nikou, Head of Environmental Department, Speed Result As it was mentioned in the strategy approach proposed for 2008, and after the discussions that took place with Mr. Stamatiou from ASAOS, it was agreed that this year acquisition activities should take place in Crete, as a follow up of the work done there in Nonetheless, this year, it was decided to hold a workshop in the capital of Crete, Heraklion, where many 5 and 4 star hotels are located. Additionally, Heraklion is more centrally located on the island, making it thus more approachable to potential participants. This strategy was confirmed in the kick off meeting in Brussels held in mid January and it was then on communicated to Mr. Stamatiou who agreed to it. In mid January 2008, Mrs. Katerina Amfilochiou participated in the kick off meeting. During the meeting, the acquisition strategy for 2008 was presented and finalised. Upon the return to Greece, Mr. Stamatiou, was informed of the decisions taken during the kick off meeting and he agreed to the strategy for As part of the follow up activities for hotels that had expressed interest for ecolabel in the past year, phone calls were made to 4 hoteliers from Crete and one from Xylocastro who had also attended the workshop in Chania. The outcome of these contacts was that only Daphne s club hotel apartments, from Xylocastro, Peloponnese, had gone through with the application. Nevertheless, ASAOS has been experiencing some administrative problems and therefore applications were not evaluated for about one year. Speed, provided support to Mrs Mavromati (owner of Daphne s club hotel apartments) by being in continuous contact with Mr. Stamatiou and Mrs Tryfona (manager 36

38 of ASAOS) in order for the application to proceed to the stage of evaluation. Recently, the application was evaluated and all the necessary criteria were fulfilled, so it is only a matter of time before Daphne s Club Hotel Apartments is awarded with the EU Ecolabel. In addition, Corissia Princess Hotel, which had been eco-checked in 2007, requested more information on the procedure. An analytical was sent to them with all the requested items and in a follow up contact, the owner stated that they would probably go through with the application in one year s time since now they have some other expenses on the way. Workshop in Heraklion October 9, 2008 A workshop took place at Hotel ATRION situated in the heart of Heraklion city at October 9, 2008, under the aegis and support of the Hotel Association of Heraklion Prefecture. Most of the four and five stars Hotels and several campsites of all four prefectures in Crete were invited to attend, as well as local Hotel Associations and tourist agents of Crete. The basic aim of the workshop was to provide an introduction to the concept of the Flower, as well as to the aims and benefits of the award scheme, to give preliminary information on the basic criteria a hotel or campsite should meet in order to get awarded with the EU Ecolabel and to make an introduction on the actual paperwork needed in order to make the application. Mr. Nikos Diakoulakis, the President and Managing Director of SPEED, opened the workshop with a welcoming speech. Subsequently, Mr. Nikiforos Lamprinos, the president of Heraklion Hotel Association also welcomed the participants and elaborated on the need for the tourist industry to become greener. Following Mr. Lamprinos, Miss Katerina Amfilochiou, environmental scientist of SPEED, introduced the EU Ecolabel concept as an instrument to stimulate the market introduction of more environmental friendly hotel services, and described the advantages of using such an instrument. Then, the floor was given to Dr. Christina Theochari, the well respected evaluator of ASAOS (Greek CB), presented the Structure of the Greek Competent Body, explained of the procedures for obtaining the EU Ecolabel in Greece, the paper work needed, the fees that must be paid and gave contact details for ASAOS. After a short coffee break Mr. Rainer Stifter from Energon, member of the marketing team and a well-experienced evaluator for the EU Ecolabel, presented in detail the most important criteria that must be met for a tourist accommodation to be eligible for the award and elaborated on the Online Leonardo tool Train-to-Ecolabel. Finally, Mr. Ernst Leitner from G & L, coordinator of the marketing team, explained the advantages from obtaining EU Ecolabel, and gave tips and guidance on professional marketing with the flower. Twenty-three people participated in the workshop (apart from the speakers). Most of the participants were hoteliers or hotel managers but there were also participants representing hotels, consultants, Heraklion Hotel Association, the Technical Chamber of East Crete and students from the Technical University of Crete. No representatives from campsites participated. During the presentations, the participants could interrupt and ask questions in an attempt to make the whole procedure more interactive and thus more interesting. What is more, a general discussion followed the presentations, and participants got a chance to pose extra questions and contribute with their remarks and thought on the EU Ecolabel. The main issues raised in this discussion were: 37

39 Benefits of the EU Ecolabel for the tourist sector in Crete, Technical issues on the criteria and their implementation, Fees and application procedure, Promotion activities by the Greek CB and tourist agents, Concerns on how well known the EU Ecolabel is amongst clients in Greece and the rest of Europe Participants at the EU Ecolabel-workshop on October 9, Hotel Atrion, Heraklion, Crete Rainer Stifter during his presentation at the EU Ecolabel-workshop on October 9, Hotel Atrion, Heraklion, Crete As part of the activities of the marketing team for the EU Ecolabel in hotel accommodations and campsites, three eco-checks took place in Heraklion prefecture: Assisted tourist accommodation services Name Address / Website Description Astoria Capsis Hotel (City hotel) Apollonia Resort and Spa Hotel Lavris Hotel 11 Eleftherias Square, , Heraklion, Crete POBOX 32 - GAZI GR - Heraklion Kato Gouves Pediados, T.K , Heraklion info@astoriacapsis.gr astoria/index_en.html info@apollonia.gr lavrishotel@yahoo.gr Halfday ecoceck on-site Halfday ecoceck on-site Halfday ecoceck on-site The general conclusion from the eco-checks was that most of the criteria were already met by all three hotels and thus they could be easily awarded if they decided to go through with the application. 38

40 Katerina Amfilochiou and Rainer Stifter during the inspection of 5-star hotel Astoria Capsis Katerina Amfilochiou and Rainer Stifter during the inspection of 5-star hotel Apollonia After the workshop Mrs. Amfilochiou from SPEED SA sent application packs and gave extra information about the EU Ecolabel to participants of the seminar, which have expressed interest, by and also supported them on any supplementary questions they had by phone. Especially 5-star hotel Apollonia would like to go for the EU Ecolabel very soon. After the workshop Mrs. Amfilochiou from SPEED SA sent application packs and gave extra information by about the EU Ecolabel to participants of the seminar who expressed interest, and also supported them on any supplementary questions they had by phone. Especially 5-star hotel Apollonia would like to go for the EU Ecolabel very soon, the only problem being the high cost (moneywise and time wise) of translating all the application documents in the Greek language, as they are currently only available in English. Mr Manousos, the manager of the hotel, after long discussions, has decided to wait for the material to be formally translated by ASAOS or for a subsidy to be available by the Greek government to help with the cost of applying. Finally, extra information was provided to Sirios Hotel, where the workshop had been held in 2007, and it is still not certain whether they would proceed with the application Follow-up recommendation Follow-up all the contacts and provide support during the application process for 2008 (task Greek Competent Body) Romania Situation The positive co-operation with NGOs in Romania (in particular Friends of Nature Romania and the Romanian Association for Ecotourism ) continues, which results in good promotion for the European Ecolabel on many different levels, from seminars to the interaction with the public sector. In June this year, the first hotel in Romania has been awarded with the EU Ecolabel. Several more are working on the application! 39

41 The certification of the Hotel Saturn has been the consequence of the participation of the owners at one of the seminars organized in 2007 in several Romanian cities. The hotel has been assisted together with the Romanian competent body during the application process Objectives Co-operation with the Competent Body with following activities: Find a first mover for the EU Ecolabel (one tourist accommodation service, one camp site owner) Starting a pilot-process in co-operation with the Competent Body, tourist federations and relevant stakeholders focusing on hotels or regions with high relevance to nature and environment Coordinator: Mrs. Dagmar Diwok, Acta, Milan Result A seminar has been organized in Bucharest together with the Romanian Competent Body on the 13th and 14th of March with the support of the TAIEX instrument of the DG Enlargement focused on transferring experiences and know-how about the application process and marketing strategies for the Ecolabel for the tourism sector to both entrepreneurs and representatives of the public administration. In two days of intense work, success stories from Italy, Ireland and the Czech Republic, together with advice about financing and training were received with interest by the participants. Participants at the TAIEX event in Bucharest 40

42 Some of the speakers at the seminar, from the left: Ms. Diwok from the Ecolabel marketing expert group, Ms. Cosma, director of the Romanian Environmental Protection Agency, Mr. Cadariu from the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Ms. Toma from the Romanian Competent Body and Ms. Minestrini from the Italian Competent Body, APAT. Yet another important occasion to know more about the Flower took place in Tulcea, on the Danube Delta, on the 19th and 20th of March, where, in the framework of their initiative Landscape of the Year, the Friends of Nature International had promoted the organization of a seminar for local entrepreneurs and public administration regarding the environmental certification of tourism enterprises. Together with Mr. Blumer from the Romanian Association for Ecotourism, AER, Mrs. Diwok coordinated the workshop for more than 30 participants, with concrete information about the certification process for the EU Eco-label, including practical demonstration with a pre-audit in the Hotel Delta where the event took place. Both the audience and the hotel s management were very interested to know about the advantages arising from adopting the Flower criteria and becoming part of the ever growing network of sustainable enterprises and destinations in Europe. The successful follow up of the event will be guaranteed by the very positive cooperation with AER, and the Romanian representatives of Friends of Nature international. Mrs. Diwok during the workshop in Delta Hotel in Tulcea 41

43 The participants at the workshop with a document certifying their participation at the training course. Workshop in Tulcea On the 8th of October, in the framework of the European Flower Month, a workshop with the title Adaptation of Danube Delta Tourism to European environmental standards took place. Organized together with the town council and several NGOs active in sustainable tourism development, the seminar gave the participant entrepreneurs and experts the possibility to know more about the European Ecolabel and its requirements, presenting also the first hotel in Romania certified with the Flower, the Hotel Saturn on the Black Sea, as a positive example complete with encouraging data on improved market positioning and resources saving even after only few months of being part of the Flower Elite. The speaker panel at the town council in Tulcea Direct assistance In Tulcea, Mrs. Diwok and Mrs. Toma also spent time together with the owner of the Hotel Delta, who has embarked on the application process already during the seminar held in March in his hotel, assisting him with the documentation and continuing on the road towards the certification. 42

44 Seminar for Pension Owners Two day seminar for pension owners, on the 9 th and 10 th of October, in the Danube Delta, in the town of Crișan. Mrs. Dana Toma, Mrs. Dagmar Diwok and Mr. Andrei Blumer from the Romanian Association for Ecotourism illustrated the requirements and advantages of the European Ecolabel for the participants and with the help of practical exercises supported their approach towards the certification which will continue with the help of the local authorities, the Romanian Association of Ecotourism and the Friends of Nature International, coorganisators of the seminar. During the seminar, Mrs. Dana Toma illustrating the criteria of the EU Ecolabel Participants during the seminar In future and follow-up recommendation Probably in cooperation with the Italian Ministry of Environment: seminars and workshops for future verifiers and consultants for the European Ecolabel, organisation of a stage for them in Italy for on the job training in already certified structures. Probable start of the activities: January Slovenia Situation Sustainable consumption and production patterns are dealt with in the Ministries of Environment and Physical Planning; Economic Affairs - Agency for Rational Use of Energy; and Tourism and Small Enterprise. Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, Ministry of Transport, and Communications are also involved in resolving these issues. Especially the Ministry of the Economy-Directorate for Tourism has been taking some steps towards sustainable tourism and is still cooperating with the EU Ecolabel. For 2008, several major steps are ongoing: Promotion of the first mover, Terme Snovik Nationwide Conference about Sustainable Tourism, which took place on 15 April 2008 Training workshop for consultants 43

45 Objectives Co-operation with the Competent Body including the following activities: Organise one training-workshop or meetings with consultants Support in the implementation to Slovenian Competent Body Co-ordinator: Mr. Rainer Stifter, Energon Status a. Press conference at ITB Berlin A major press event took place at ITB Berlin on 5 th of March, 2008 to present ongoing tourism activities of Slovenian Tourism. During this big press conference, Terme Snovik was presented as the first Slovenian hotel with the EU Ecolabel to important journalists. b. Presentation of the activities for a sustainable European Tourism Within the conference Presentation of the activities for a sustainable European Tourism, Mr. Rainer Stifter held a presentation about the EU flower on 15 April The conference was organised by the ministry of the economy, directorate of tourism. The main goal of the conference was to promote all activities regarding sustainable tourism in Slovenia in Target groups were tourist companies, municipalities, tourist associations, public authorities, schools and media. Slovenia actually invests time and money in activities to promote sustainable tourism. Therefore the EU flower was promoted to accommodation owners and hotel chains and to municipalities which want to promote themselves as environmental friendly destination. Mr. Stifter could also help to invite speakers from two other flower-accommodations as best practice examples, Terme Snovik and Boutiquehotel Stadthalle. The following organisations attended the conference: tourist companies - managers: 21 tourist companies - other employees: 25 municipalities - Mayors: 9 municipalities - other employees: 13 tourist associations (tourist institutions, regional development agencies...): 36 public sphere (ministries, public agencies): 10+Ministry of econ. (10) schools: 6 newspapers (present during the day): 3 44

46 Rainer Stifter speaking about the EU flower Mr. Marjan Hribar, M. Sc. General director, Ministry of the Economy, Directorate of tourism Follow-up recommendation Extension of acquisition in cooperation with Directorate of Tourism 5.6. Germany Situation The promotional and acquisition activities in Germany are mainly focusing on camp sites, as the situation for tourist accommodation services is very difficult due to the political situation (competition of the national award scheme Viabono, which is supported strongly by the German Government). The main activities are carried out by Ecocamping with the aim to find further camp sites applying for the EU Ecolabel. Beside these campsite activities, Dagmar Diwok is still participating at the LA 21 process in Garmisch Partenkirchen Objectives Co-operation with the German Competent Body (Mr. Löwe, UBA Berlin) with following activities: Find three camp sites to apply for the EU Ecolabel Organise one workshop with award ceremony at Campground, Friedrichshafen in January 2008 Presentation of the EU Ecolabel at Reisemesse Essen (March 2008) Presentation of the EU Ecolabel at Caravan Salon Düsseldorf (August September 2008) Presentation of the EU Ecolabel at relevant ECOCAMPING workshops Coordinator: Mr. Marco Walter, ECOCAMPING Implementation: Mrs. Bianca Hellriegel, ECOCAMPING 45

47 Status Campsite acquisition Auditing for the EU Ecolabel by ECOCAMPING has been successful up to now as can be seen from the following table. This gives an overview of the businesses and the status of the auditing process: Interested Businesses Campingplatz Triangel Freizeit- und Ferienpark Tespe Camping Mohrenhof Strandcamping Wallnau Proposed date Basic audition , but shows problems with the water section, will renovate sanitation facilities in 2009, then he will fulfil the criteria Still working on application forms Date of Certification Planned for 2009 Auditor Bianca Hellriegel 2009 Wolfgang Pfrommer Awarded Nov Bianca Hellriegel Consulted, cannot fulfil requirements No Bianca Hellriegel Project Marketing IV Marketing IV Marketing IV Marketing IV Further campsites have expressed their interest and received information material: - Inselcamping am See, Waltenhofen/D - Camping Moosbauer, South Tyrol/I - Waldcamping Naturns, South Tyrol/I - Camping Bella Tola, Susten/CH Activities in Garmisch-Partenkirchen Ms. Diwok participated at two LA 21 meetings in order to organize a presentation of the EU Ecolabel during an event on the weekend from the 25th to the 27th April on environmental issues. In the week after the event, several meetings took place with stakeholders, tourist marketing responsibles and the public administration, in order to plan the Ecolabel activities for the Ski World Championship There have been no new developments regarding applicants for the European Ecolabel in Garmisch by end of November Ms. Diwok spoke about the European Ecolabel during a public event of environmental information organized by the municipality of Garmisch on the 26 th of April ( and participated at four meetings of the LA

48 Follow-up recommendation Follow up contacts to key stakeholders in tourism as well as to the German CB Austria Situation In Austria, there is a national Ecolabel with strong criteria and good marketing performance. For both labels Austrian, EU the Austrian Federal Ministry for environment is the Competent Body. The EU Ecolabel is anchored in all national marketing activities of the Austrian Ecolabel. In our activities 2008 we are to a great extent - focusing on camp site activities, which we started end of 2006 with the Group Campingwelt Salzkammergut. Two campsites of this group have been awarded January Based on this success and with the help of the manager of this campsite group we achieved an interest from all the owners for the EU Ecolabel. Two further camp sites received the certification at Campground January A further one from the Group Campingwelt was consulted, but does not fulfil the criteria. In 2008, a next step for campsites was set by a direct mail to all campsite owners in Austria in close cooperation with the CB, the Federal Ministry of Environment. In Styria, we achieved the support by the regional Chamber of Commerce. A direct outcome from this co-operation was a presentation at a campsite meeting in November In general, the situation as regards to campsites looks very fine and we can expect further certification in near future. Beside these campsite activities, we could also carry out an acquisition activity for hotels. In the region of Upper Carinthia a bio-hotel was consulted, the application process is finished Objectives Co-operation with the Competent Body (Federal Ministry of Environment) with following activities: Find five companies to apply for the EU Ecolabel Follow up activities at campsite group Salzkammergut Presentation of the EU Ecolabel for tourist accommodation services and campsite services at the Ferienmesse 2008 in cooperation with the Federal Ministry of Environment Acquisition activities towards campsite owners in close co-operation with the Competent Body Co-ordinator: Mr. Ernst Leitner in close cooperation with Mr. Rainer Stifter Result All activities in Austria started in time and are successfully concluded: Coordination with the Austrian Competent Body (meeting with Mr. Tschulik, Federal Ministry for Environment), Participation at Vienna Ferienmesse (January 2008) Acquisition activities 47

49 a. Camp site activities In accordance with the Austrian Competent Body, we decided to start the activities with a direct mail action to all 350 campsite owners in Austria. This action was done before seasonal start in May The mail informed about the EU Ecolabel scheme, the criteria, the application procedure, fees etc. It is the explicit request for the Federal Ministry of Environment to inform also about the national ecolabel. Twenty-three of the companies are interested and requested detailed information and consultancy. This is a good result as normally the response from mailings is lower. Consultancy is actually done by the marketing team and furthermore by VKI-Consumer Association Austria on behalf of the Competent Body. We expect that 2009 some of them will apply for the EU Ecolabel. The Chamber of Commerce in Styria also expressed their interest to support the ongoing activities during a meeting. It took place in November. From this meeting we await further activities for 2009, which will be carried out on behalf of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Environment. The direct mail to the campsite owners contained the EU Ecolabel-brochure, the fact sheet and details about the application procedure. We decided to attach a brochure with all the certified campsites in Austria. The idea behind it was to show ongoing marketing activities. The brochures have been edited by the EU Ecolabel marketing team in June. It is available in three languages: German, English and Italian. The print of approx. 1,000 items was supported by the CB. The major part of the brochures were distributed at the booth of the Caravan Salon in Wels, October This stand was hosted by Ecocamping e.v. On 17 November, Mr. Leitner was invited to a presentation at a campsite group in Styria, where he could give consultancy about the general facts of the campsite criteria. Fifteen members of the group participated in this presentation. The next step will be that the management of the group will provide more information to all the members of the group and they will decide if they will promote the EU Ecolabel scheme among their members. We expect that a general commitment from the group towards the EU Ecolabel is possible. Further, we could again check one campsite from the group Campingwelt Salzkammergut. Unfortunately, this campsite will not match the criteria. Assisted camp site service Name Address / Website Description Camping Klausner-Höll Lahn Hallstatt camping@hallstatt.net Halfday eco-ceck on-site 48

50 b. Acquisition activities in Carinthia In 2007, some hotels in Carinthia achieved the EU Ecolabel. Following our good contacts, we could motivate further tourist accommodation services for the EU Ecolabel. During one day, two hotels could be consulted on-site. Ecochecks revealed minor problems to match the criteria. Both will follow the application. We expect both to certify beginning Assisted tourist accommodation services Name Address / Website Description Biohotel- Daberer **** Vital & Spa Kellerwand Landhaus St. Daniel St. Daniel, Carinthia Mauthen Kötschach- Mauthen Halfday eco-ceck on-site Halfday eco-ceck on-site A further camp site in Carinthia will be consulted by end of 2008, Rutar Lido in Eberndorf Follow-up recommendation Follow up all the contacts and provide support during the application process for coming years (task Competent Body) 5.8. Spain Situation in Spain Spain faces the particular situation that there is a strong commitment from hotel associations towards EMAS. Up to the present moment there are five tourist accommodation services certified. We had a first step, introduction, through a presentation event at September 2006 together with the Competent Body. They heard for the very first time about the Ecolabel on tourism sector. We presented a general overview of the criteria, the application process, marketing activities and the fee scheme. As a result, we could find some interested enterprises. On the second step, promotion, we visited eight hotels and campsites to check their compliance to the Ecolabel and stimulated the application too. We were in close contact to the hotels and campsites. The visited hotels and campsites kept the Ecolabel in mind still, but we did not achieve final decisions to apply, due to the high costs of the fee and the priority to apply other standards for quality and environment like EMAS. That happened in April In April 2008, we had the beginning of the third step, consolidation, with a promotion at the very big event for international tourism in Valencia at the Fair of Valencia, like a platform to present the Ecolabel. We reached also in 49

51 this platform other regions from Spain and the main representatives of this sector with the goal to find first movers and to establish a network between the administration, hotels/camp sites associations, tour operators and hotels and campsites. More activities to consolidate were planned for this year like a presentation in a rural tourist platform inside the country and a presentation in the next south cost region after Valencia Murcia about Ecolabel Objectives Co-operation with the Competent Body of Valencia (Mr. Joaquín Niclos Ferragut) with following activities: Find one applicant for the EU Ecolabel Organise meetings with potential applicants on site (tourist accommodation services and campsite services!) in cooperation with the local Competent Body. Raise the level of awareness among tourism enterprises owner and staff Find interested tourist companies to apply for the EU Ecolabel in the coming year Find co-operation partners in tourist and hotel associations to co-operate in the future and to find applicants Coordinator: Mrs. Ana Moreno Avena (Spanish native speaker) in close cooperation with Mr. Joaquin Niclós Ferragut Result EU Ecolabel workshop during International Fair of Valencia, 4-5 April, 2008 Within the scope of the Fourth edition of the International Fair of tourism in Valencia (Feria Internacional de Turismo The EU Ecolabel marketing team decided to organise a presentation about Ecolabel for tourism to make it more known and to a better position of the Ecolabel in the tourist sector of the Region. This presentation was organised by the Competent Body Joaquin Niclós Ferragut in close cooperation with Ana Moreno from the marketing team. The event took place on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the 3 days International Fair of Tourism in Valencia. The main goals of the presentations were: Presenting the EU Ecolabel in detail to relevant stakeholders in local and regional tourism Raise the level of awareness among decision makers in tourism Find interest tourist companies to apply for the EU Eco-label Find cooperation partners in tourist and hotel associations to cooperate in the future and to find applicants We distributed following promotional material (in Spanish language): Spanish Where to stay guides for tourist accommodation services Ecolabel brochures 50

52 Fact sheets for tourist accommodation services Commission decision Give-aways At the Ecolabel presentation approximately 40 hotels, campsite owners and stakeholders participated and were informed on the advantages and criteria of the EU Flower. The Competent Body Joaquín Niclós and his team (Irene Ferré) spoke about the technical procedure regarding the application. After the meeting some stakeholders showed interest in the application of the Ecolabel for tourism. We contacted interested participants (hotels and campsites) and sent further information for application interest. At the second day we contacted main relevant expositors of the fair to give information about the activities of the Competent Body and informed them about the Ecolabel. We met the representative organizations of 4 rural houses, 90 hotels, 30 travel agencies and 25 campsites. We offered and checked future activities with the bigger hotel association from Valencia (UHPV, Unión Hotelera Provincia de Valencia) for promoting the participation from its hotels associated by the European Ecolabel. Description of the Region Valencia Spain is the second tourist target in the World (OMT 2007) after France and before USA. The Valencia Community is situated in the Mediterranean littoral. Integrated by the provinces of Alicante, Castellón and Valencia. The Valencia Region is one of the most developed in tourism in Spain. Tourism constitutes one of the most relevant sectors for the Valencia economy. This is reflected in the evolution of the tourist Valencia GDP. In the Valencia Community, it has passed of representing 12, 9 % in 2003 to 13, and 8 % in The Valencia Community is the first one of Spain in receipt of interior tourism and the third one as for the foreign tourism. In 2005 more than 23 millions of overnight stays were registered in its territory, 9,5 % of the whole in Spain. In the last years the rural tourism on the zones of interior is experienced a very notable development. Presentation 4 th April 2008, 16:00 19:30 h Programme Welcome, Mr. Jorge Lamparero Lázaro, Director General de Calidad Ambiental, Consellería de Territorio y Vivienda de la Generalitat Valenciana Presentation The criteria and advantages of the EU Ecolabel by Ms. Ana Moreno from the EU Ecolabel team Presentation The EU Ecolabel and application procedure by Mr. Joaquin Niclós Ferragut, Competent Body Valencia and Ms. Irene Ferré. Speaker for the EU Ecolabel: Ana Moreno, Pro Sustainability on behalf of the EU Commission Title: The EU Ecolabel criteria and advantages 51

53 Organisation and invitation: The event was organised by the Competent Body Joaquin Niclós Ferragut (Conselleria de Medio Ambiente, Environmental Department of the Valencian Region), the Conselleria de Turismo (Tourism Department of the Valencian Region) and Ana Moreno (Pro Sustainability). Fair of Valencia Location of the EU Ecolabel presentation Salón de Eventos Mrs. Moreno explains the criteria of the EU Ecolabel Competent Body Mr. Niclós during his presentation 52

54 Mrs. Moreno explains the advantages, marketing and international situation of the EU Ecolabel Mrs. Moreno and Competent Body Mr. Niclós International Fair of Tourism, 05 April 2008 Result of the workshop Thirty-nine persons participated in this workshop. The participants were stakeholders, consultants, representatives of tourist accommodation services and campsites, tourist associations and hotel associations. The information about the EU Ecolabel was spread for the first time in International Fair of tourism and the participants could get detailed information. Most of the main interest from the questions of the participants concerned the practical implementation of the individual criteria, advantages and costs for going for the flower. After a discussion at the end of the workshop a hotel, a hotel association and a regional organisation for tourism showed interest to get more detailed information and expert advice for the process to apply the European Ecolabel Outcome of contacts Following the main status of interest of the contacted hotels are listed. These companies participated in the presentations or enjoyed consultations about the EU Ecolabel for tourist accommodation services and campsite services in the area of Valencia Community (Alicante, Valencia and Castellón) as well as Murcia in cooperation with Competent Body Joaquin Niclós Ferragut and Juan Ignacio Sanchez Gelabert. 53

55 We used the following strategy to promote the European Ecolabel at abovementioned companies: Regular phone contact to companies, Competent Body and tourist associations, Regular contact to provide news from Ecolabel to companies, cooperation or networking partners, Promoting the EU Ecolabel at the Chamber of Commerce, Contact to consulters to motivate them to promote and integrate the European Ecolabel in their service packages, Sending Ecolabel brochures to companies, Translation of a folder and articles about Ecolabel into Spanish, Answer current technical questions to the implementation of the EU Ecolabel Hotel/Campsite Name/Address Response Expected Application Camping Almazora, Costa Almeria Camping Ribamar, Alcossebre, Castellón Hotel Hyatt, La Manga, Murcia Hotel Balneario Archena, Murcia Hotel Ambassador Playa I y II (Meeting together Hotel Presidente), Benidorm (Alicante) Cámping ARENA BLANCA, Benidorm (Alicante) Hotel AGH Canet, Canet D En Berenguer (Valencia) Hotel Residencial Vent de Mar, Puerto de Sagunto (Valencia) Hotel Residencia Jaume I, Canet D En Berenguer (Valencia) Gran Hotel Las Fuentes, (Meeting together Gran Hotel Peñíscola), Alcosseber (Castellón) Hilton Hotels, (Valencia) High interest in the EU Ecolabel. regular contact. High interest in the EU Ecolabel. They asked the CB for more information about fees High interest in the EU Ecolabel. Ecocheck November High interest in the EU Ecolabel. Ecocheck November Fee is too expensive! - No capabilities at the moment, but interest for the future Very interested, application postponed, because Q Certification. No further interest - Mother Company decided against Is interested and wants to go on when the Ecolabel is more known. No capabilities at the moment, but interest for the future 2009 upcoming Unforeseeable - Unforeseeable Unforeseeable 54

56 Status in Valencia Meeting with Competent Body, Joaquín Niclós, 14 of November in Valencia. Target: Support for Marketing Strategies to the Ecolabel in Valencia and planning of new activities to promote the EU Ecolabel. Discussion of companies feedbacks about the main obstacles and to look together for solutions. These main obstacles and competition with other environmental certifications systems, the bureaucracy for the application, the yearly fees and the insufficiency for incentives for small companies enjoy high priority. Murcia Between 14 and 15 November, a conference for Sustainability for Golf Courses took place in the region of Murcia. The conference was organised from the Competent Body of the region of Murcia. See more: The participation of the EU Ecolabel-team was very successful. 320 participants followed the EU Ecolabel-presentation by Mr. Ana Moreno. She received a very good feedback and invitations to participate in following conferences in order to present the Flower. Mrs. Moreno explains criteria and process of the EU Ecolabel, together with Competent Body Mr. Juan Ignacio Sánchez Gelabert 320 participants in the II. Conference for Sustainability for Golf Courses in Murcia After the participation of the conference two golf hotels could visited and ecochecked: - Hotel Balneario Arachena, will comply 75 % of the mandatory criteria - Hotel Golf Resort Hyatt Regency La Manga, luxury hotel, which complies 95% of the mandatory criteria. They are interested to be the first Ecolabel hotel with Golf facilities Outlook 2009 Valencia The Competent Body Joaquín Niclós was asking Pro Sustainablity for more support to promoting the Ecolabel for tourism accommodations and campsites in Valencia. The CB wants to give more impulse to the Ecolabel next year with more contact to companies on-site and plans the creation of a promoting regional folder. Furthermore, he wants to organise a series of workshops 55

57 about the Ecolabel with the participation of the respective companies associations (like the Hotel Union of Valencia or the HOSBEC, Hotels Organisation of Benidorm, Federation of Golf of Valencia etc.) in cooperation with Pro Sustainability. The Competent Body expects 21 applications 2009 in the region Castilla-La Mancha. They plan information activities with Pro Sustainability. For the application, they will use the Electronically Application Pack (Outcome from the Train-to-Ecolabel-Project). Murcia After the begin of the promotion in the Region of Murcia, we wanted to carry on the demands and supporting of the Competent Body to get first movers in the Region of Murcia. We are planning to follow-up activities next year and to suggest some activities for the future as well as to go on with the implementation the European Ecolabel in Spain. We want to make use of the big motivation and conviction of the Competent Body and his team for the European Ecolabel. We are sure, that promoting activities in Murcia will give a quick response of the tourist sector for the European Ecolabel in the region from Murcia. Summary for these activities: Check activities with regional Competent Bodies in Spain (Valencia, Murcia, others) November 08-January 09 Set acquisition activities in new regions with presentations, one-to-one meetings Serie of Ecolabel workshop with Competent Body (Joaquín Niclós) for tourist accommodations and campsites with the aim to check the compliance of the EU Ecolabel. Centro de Tecnologías Limpias, Paterna (Valencia) and consultancy on site for interested companies ( First five free get basic assist by a free eco-check) Continue the promoting and supporting of the EU Ecolabel in Murcia together with the Competent Body (Juan Ignacio Sánchez Gelabert) and his team (Matilde Ruiz Parra) and provide consultancy on site for interested companies. Regional authorities, press coverage January- October Follow-up recommendations The harmonisation and minimisation of the fees would give better chances for tourism hotels and campsites to apply the EU Flower. Particularly hotels and campsites that have EMAS in Spain and want to apply for the EU Flower should it get free (or reduced). They do not want to pay more than for EMAS. This concerns small and medium enterprises. Also for big companies, the EU Flower fees are too expensive relative to the marketing advantages. 56

58 Another problem constitutes the major efforts for the application process for SME s. The main problem is the absence of personal resources to control the fulfilling of the criteria on site, due to the effort of time used to control the regular application documents. An idea to improve this situation is the electronically application process from the tool Train-to-Ecolabel, that spends less time to control the application, more efficiency about the database information and actualisations. This process change can give the administration the chance to have time to control the company on site for the verification of the criteria Czech Republic Situation Marketing promotion activities are supported by using various dissemination channels. In cooperation with the Czech Competent Body (CB) we distribute the brochures, organize seminars and participate at fairs. Ms. Adela Petrova from CB is member of a new task force specialised in EU Ecolabel promotion within the Czech Hotel Association. Because of this fact, it is possible to disseminate the useful information about the EU Ecolabel directly to the managers of hotels. In addition, the promotion activities focused on best practice of the first ecolabeled hotel in Czech Republic presented by the director of Hotel Adalbert are very useful and help to support the EU Ecolabel Objectives Co-operation with the Czech Competent Body with following activities: New acquisition activities for tourist accommodation services and campsites in the Moravian-Silesian Region-organize one workshop for tourist accommodation services and camp sites in Ostrava in terms of Tourism Fair and region tour Ostrava in 4 6 April 2008 Participation in Czech Tourism Fair called Holiday World in Prague February 2008 in cooperation with Czech Competent Body. Press and promotion activities 2 articles on support activities of sustainable tourism and EU Ecolabel in accommodation services in coordination with CB (publishing on internet or printed magazine). The target was to find two new applicants Result Until this day, there are already seven Ecolabel certified accommodation services seven hotels and pensions (Hotel Adria Prag, Hotel Jana, Hotel Adalbert, Sporthotel Zaton, Hotel Chateau Mcely, Pension Jelen, Residence Belgicka and Hotel Irida) and one campsite (Autokemp Oaza). The official award of Hotel Irida was on 17 th of March 2008, when the Minister of Environment Mr. Bursik awarded this accommodation service. The Pension Jana at Decin and Hotel Adria at Prague are also new certified accommodation services. The Ecolabel certification was awarded to Pension Jana on 12 th of May 2008 and to the Hotel Adria on 19 th of September The pension is situated in North Bohemia at the National Park Czech-Saxon Switzerland. The Hotel Adria is located in the centre of Prague and it becomes the first four-star 57

59 EU ecolabelled hotel in Prague. Both of them use the logo of the flower in the marketing and are presenting it on their web site. A further hotel, the Doubicka cottage located at Doubice, National Park Czech-Saxon Switzerland is at the process of certification. We can suppose that they will get the certification soon. With regard to Hotel Adria Prag, Pension Jana and Doubicka cottage there was a major support from the Czech Competent Body by Enviros. The EU Ecolabel was promoted by the team of Enviros and by the CB at the Holiday World Fair, which took place in February Within the Holiday World Fair, the director of Hotel Adalbert Mr. Filip Kühnel presented the EU Ecolabel at the conference. He shared experience with the Ecolabel and best practise of the marketing activities. The participation at Holiday World fair was advertised in Prague newspapers 24 issued on 13 February The Czech CB provided a new promotion folder Green hotel. The information about our fourth Czech seminar at Hotel Atom, which took place in Ostrava 10 th of April 2008, was placed at web site of Enviros Company ( and at web site of Cenia (The Czech Competent Body) ( The promotion material about the EU Ecolabel for tourist accommodation services and about the seminar at Ostrava was also placed at promotion tent at the BioStyl Fair in May Our promotion was strengthened by our participation at Holiday and Region Fair in Ostrava in 4. April We distributed the folders and promotion material there. The information about the seminar was also issued at catalogue Dovolena (Holiday) especially for the mentioned Fair and was placed at web sites of the Holiday and Region Fair ( The EU Ecolabel folder Greener travel with the European Ecolabel was translated to Czech language especially for the mentioned seminar at Ostava. Following the fair, the press people become interested in the Ecolabeled hotels and camps so several articles were published for example in the Profit magazine, magazine of Hospodarske newspaper, Mlada Fronta Dnes newspaper, The New York Times Prague newspaper. The article relating to seminar was also prepared by Czech Tourism Company and placed at the web sites on Czech Tourism ( Base on the communication with the CB there are 2 new application forms for tourist accommodation services in the award procedure and our CB is in touch with 2 new interested peoples in the EU Ecolabel. EU Ecolabel presented by the director of Hotel Adalbert Mr. Filip Kühnel, during the Holiday World Participation at Holiday World 58

60 Fourth Czech Seminar on the EU Ecolabel The fourth seminar took place on 10 th of April 2008 in Hotel Atom in Ostrava in Moravian-Silesian Region. Ostrava is the largest city in the North Moravia and the administrative centre of the Moravian-Silesian region. There were 11 participants from whom 9 were representatives of hotels, pensions and campsites. In between all participants were two representatives of Czech Tourism Company. The program was prepared in close co-operation with the CB (the Eco-label Agency). Participation at the seminar at Ostrava roll up near the entrance Monika Bilkova during her presentation at the seminar at Ostrava The program consisted of: Opening - presenting the aim of the seminar, introduction of the EU project for support of EU Eco-label in tourism by Monika Bilkova, Enviros Eco-label award procedure by Mr. Petr Saifríd, CB - Ecolabel Agency, CENIA Presentation of implementation benefits of EU Ecolabel in tourist accommodation in by Monika Bilkova, Enviros Presentation of requirements for awarding the Ecolabel by Mr. Petr Saifríd, CB - Ecolabel Agency, CENIA The benefits of implementation Eco-label in tourist accommodations and campsites within EU by Ernst Leitner, G&L Discussion Result of the seminar: 1) During the seminar, there were discussed many questions which showed the interest of the participants. The main discussion was regarding the criteria, fees, marketing activities for promotion of EU Ecolabel. 2) Representative person of Hotel Aurum from Cerny Dul expressed interest in EU Ecolabel. He asked how many percent of interested people fulfilled the criteria and gets the EU Ecolabel; he wanted to know details of the Ecolabel award procedure, how long does it take, what is responsibility of Competent Body, why the seminar took place at Ostrava. 3) Two participants of Czech Tourism Company asked about specific questions for the article. They were interested in the project for work on implementation of the EU Ecolabel and the experience with the process of awarding the Ecolabel in the Czech Republic. They were very interested in the EU Ecolabel and they would like to cooperate in promotion of EU Ecolabel. 59

61 Follow-up recommendation Promotion activities for EU Ecolabelled tourist accommodation services Slovakia Situation The pilot process of supporting the activities relating to the awareness of EU Ecolabel and process of sharing experiences with the process of awarding the Ecolabel in the Czech Republic has started last year. The project in Slovak Republic has been focused on the promotion by various dissemination channels. The first seminar on the EU Ecolabel took place on 20 th of September 2007 in Banska Bystrica in terms of 10 th hotel Fair; the EU Ecolabel brochures were translated to Slovak language. Information and the photos have been placed on relevant web sites. The other form of promotion was used by the advertising at the catalogue especially for the exhibition. The information about the seminar was also the main issue of the magazine Cestovatel (The Traveller) on September Objectives Co-operation with the Czech Competent Body with following activities: Organize one workshop for tourist accommodation services and camp sites in Banska Bystrica in terms of 11 th Hotel Fair in Banska Bystrica in September Prepare one article to support the promotion of EU Ecolabel in Slovakia (publishing on the internet) Prepare necessary report s input The target is to find one applicant Results There was found a first applicant in Slovakia. It is MaMaison Residence Sulekova, Bratislava who expressed the interest of the EU Ecolabel in connection with the pilot-process of promotion activities last year immediately after the seminar. The MaMaison Residence Sulekova fulfilled all required criteria and so it is the first Ecolabel certification at Slovak Republic. The official award of the MaMaison Residence Sulekova took place on 15 th of May The award ceremony was lead by the Minister of Environment. Enviros supported the Slovak Competent Body during the application process from MaMaison. For the marketing promotion of the seminar which took place on the occasion of the 11th hotel fair on 18th of September 2008 in Banska Bystrica were used various dissemination channels. 60

62 The information was placed on relevant web site of Enviros Company ( on the web site of the Slovak Competent Body ( and the web site of the organizer of fairs and exhibitions which organized 11th hotel fair at Banska Bystrica ( The other form of promotion was used by the advertising at the catalogue especially for the exhibition. The information about the seminar was also a main issue of the magazine Cestovatel (The Traveller) on August issue and September issue. This magazine is focused on holidays and tourist accommodation services. For the promotion of the EU Ecolabel also various materials have been used especially during the seminar. Second Slovak Seminar on the EU Ecolabel The seminar had been organized within the 11th hotel fair at Banska Bystrica by Enviros Company based on the cooperation with the director of the Exhibition and Advertising agency from last year. The main goals of the seminar was to present the EU Ecolabel and sustainable development of tourism, give practical experience from license holders, show benefits and conditions required for applicant, present marketing activities. The mentioned items were presented by Ms. Monika Bilkova form Enviros, Ms. Darina Badurova form Slovak Competent Body and Ms. Adela Petrova form Czech Competent Body. Invited were owners of accommodation services form Slovak Republic. Finally 10 representatives from hotels, pensions and apartments owners participated at the seminar. Some of them showed serious interest in EU Ecolabel at discussion after the presentation. The program consisted of: Opening presentation of the aim of the seminar, introduction of the EU project to support the EU Ecolabel in tourism by Monika Bilkova, Enviros Presentation of experiences for awarding the EU Ecolabel by Adela Petrova, Cenia (Czech Competent Body) Presentation of implementation benefits of EU Ecolabel in tourist accommodation services by Monika Bilkova, Enviros Requirements for awarding the EU Ecolabel by Ms. Dariana Badurova, Slovak Competent Body Result of the seminar: Continuing the process of promotion of the EU Ecolabel at Slovakia Presentation of the EU Ecolabel to relevant participants Sharing of experience with the process of awarding the Ecolabel in the Czech Republic and Slovakia Practical experience from license holders mainly with the first certified hotel at Slovakia MaMaison Residence Sulekova, Bratislava 61

63 Many participants showed serious interest in application of the EU Ecolabel and asked for more information. They mainly asked about benefits and required criteria and if the EU Ecolabel is useful in case the American customers. Based on the communication with Slovak Competent Body they communicate with two possible applicants at this time. This is a direct output from the second Slovak Ecolabel workshop. Seminar at Banska Bystrica, presentation of Ms. Darina Badurova from Slovak Competent Body Participants at the seminar Follow-up recommendation Keep contact to interested hotels and support the application process Ireland Situation Ireland s environmental policy is one of the most progressive in Europe. In 2005, Fáilte Irland (Tourism Board of Ireland) set up an Environment Unit, whose purpose is to advocate a high quality physical environment for tourism and to promote good environmental practice throughout the tourism sector. A direct outcome of this strategy is the Environmental Action Plan This Action Plan also takes account of national policy of sustainable development. The Government, under the patronance of the Minister of Sustainability, Environment and Cultural Heritage, started a public campaign, which is unique in Europe. This campaign is called Change ( and is focussing the big challenge to significantly reduce Ireland s greenhouse gas emissions over the coming decades. Partners of this campaign are the Government departmens, Business, Industry and Commerce, NGO s and many stakeholders. Tourism sector is strongly involved and will make efforts to this challenge. Within this campaign, the EU Ecolabel is also supported Objectives Co-operation with the Competent Body with following activities: Find three applicants for the EU Ecolabel Starting active communication with main key stakeholders Try to harmonize with the national ecolabel Green Failte Award 62

64 Coordinator: Mrs. Mary Mulvey in close cooperation with Mr. Leitner Result The initial contacts were set with main stakeholders in November As a direct outcome of these, we were invited to participate in a National Environmental Conference and could start a serie of eco-checks to potential applicants for the EU Ecolabel. National Environmental Conference, 23 rd April 2008 Based on initial contacts of past communication activities the Ecolabel marketing team has been invited to participate in a big conference in Clarion Hotel Liffey Valley, Dublin. The Minister of State, Department of Environment, Heritage & Local Government, opened the Conference. Rainer Stifter presented the EU Ecolabel scheme and its relevant criteria. One of the speakers was Maurice Bergin, representative of Green Failte Ireland, who presented the strategy of the national ecolabel for the coming years. The most interesting fact related to the statement, is that a harmonization with the EU Flower is planned. The highest level of Green Failte Ireland (it comprises four levels from Bronze up to Platinum), the Platinum level, will automatically correspond to the EU Flower criteria. National wide EU Ecolabel workshop in Crown Plaza Hotel, Dublin, 22 nd April 2008 The cooperation with Green Box (Mrs. Mary Mulvey) and the Competent Body (Mrs. Mary Maddigan) is actually very successful. The EU Flower marketing team could present the scheme, the criteria and ongoing marketing activities to most relevant key stakeholders in Ireland s tourism, e.g. representatives of hotel associations. The workshop was supported by Failte Ireland, the National Tourism Development Authority. Beyond relevant tourism stakeholders, many interested hotels could follow the presentations. Besides the EU Ecolabel agenda, two representatives of the national-wide Change campaign were invited and introduced the ongoing activities in sustainable tourism. At the EU Ecolabel workshop in Crown Plaza, speakers from the EU Ecolabel team and Green Box with representatives from Clarian Hotel, Bush Hotel and Mill Park. 63

65 On-site consulting with three applicants In three days following tourist accommodations were preinspected by an onsite visit across Ireland. Assisted tourist accommodation services Name Address / Website Description Clarion Hotel Sligo Clarion Road, Sligo Halfday eco-ceck on-site The Bush Hotel Carrick-on-Shannon Halfday eco-ceck on-site Sand House Donegal Halfday eco-ceck on-site On-site consulting with three applicants Sand House have application complete, this has been submitted to NSAI and they are waiting on an audit date, two staff training sessions with hotel staff have been carried out. Bush Hotel is also progressing very well, staff training is complete, they are currently getting documentation together, and the application will be submitted after a pre audit inspection by our local consultant. Clairon hotel is also progressing well, staff training is complete, and some issues regarding disposable products are now ok. Our local consultant is still trying to get a supplier of Renewable electricity; they are on the same time frame as the Bush hotel. We think that all three hotels will be audited early Cooperation Cooperation with both the Competent Body as well as with the Failte Tourism is good. Both organisations are supporting the ongoing activities Follow-up recommendation Follow-up marketing activities with the GreenBox and with Green Failte (Irish Tourism) in the coming years France Situation Based on a commitment with the French Competent Body AFNOR we decided to start acquisition activities in France. Actually, in France there are 27 tourist accommodations and two campsite services with the EU Ecolabel (October 2008). There is also existing a national ecolabel called La Clef Verte (Green Key, which strongly competes with the EU Ecolabel as it is still popular in France. The 2007 award list of La Clef Verte comprised 234 accommodations. October 2008 the Green Key shows 227 awarded tourist businesses (186 campsites, 20 hotels, and 13 others). A 64

66 cooperation with this label could be helpful for the Flower (in other countries there are existing many fruitful cooperations between the EU Ecolabel and national labels). Some activities towards cooperation have been carried out in 2006 and 2008 by representatives of the EU Commission. Unfortunately, a commitment could not be achieved up to now Objectives Co-operation with the French Competent Body with following activities: Starting a pilot-project in co-operation with the French Competent Body focusing on French Riviera, Department VAR Organise one workshop and find three applicants Co-ordinator: Mr. Philippe Rouen, AFNOR Certification, and Sabine Nascinguerra, IDE Environnement, in close co-operation with Mr. Ernst Leitner, G&L Result Philippe Roux, Afnor Certification, asked several French Departements to cooperate with the EU Ecolabel. From the Destination French Riviera he received a positive signal by Chambre de Commerce et d Industrie (the local Chamber of Commerce). The EU Ecolabel workshop and on-site visits for interested companies were originally scheduled for June, but took finally place in October. The organization of the conference as well as the on-site visits was supported by Sabine Nascinguerra, environmental expert from IDE Environnement. EU Ecolabel workshop in department Var, 14 October 2008 Mrs. Sabine Nascinguerra from IDE Environnement on behalf of the French Competent Body AFNOR Certification, organized this workshop with entrepreneurs on 14 October in department Var, Cote d Azur. The presentations covered the application procedure in France and the criteria, fees as well as ongoing activities in Europe. The discussion revealed high interest in the implementation of the criteria of the EU Ecolabel. Very positive is the partnership with CCI, the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which is envisaging a strong attitude to improve the environmental performance of their hotels and supported the workshops as well as on-site eco-checks at four hotels and one camp site. On-site consulting with five applicants In three days four tourist accommodations and one campsite were preinspected by the marketing team with on-site visits across the region of VAR. We expect that most of the very engaged entrepreneurs will proceed to match mandatory criteria and get the necessary points for the optional criteria in the coming months. Only one hotel will have problems to match the criteria, but is able to get the Flower in the long term. 65

67 Assisted tourist accommodation services and campsite service Name Address / Website Description Bastide du Calalou Chateau de Berne ***Hotel Synaya Golf Hôtel de Valescure Green Holiday Moissac-Bellevue, F Tel.: +33 (0) Route de Salernes Lorgues France Chemin du Paradu SANARY SUR MER, avenue Paul l Hermite St. Raphaël France Camping Holiday Green - Route de Bagnols-enforêt Fréjus (Var) Tél : (00 33) Fax : (00 33) info@bastide-du-calalou.com info@chateauberne.com hotelsynaya@wanadoo.fr tanguy.degaudemont@najeti.co m info@holiday-green.com Halfday eco-ceck on-site Halfday eco-ceck on-site Halfday eco-ceck on-site Halfday eco-ceck on-site Halfday eco-ceck on-site Patricia Proïa, French Competent Body, Sabine Nascinguerra, IDE Environnement, Rainer Stifter, Energon with the owner family from Bastide du Calalou during consultancy and eco-check on-site Camping Holiday Green in Fréjus with 680 pitches in 15 hectares pinewood, 1,000 sqm Californian-style swimming pool, heated swimming pool will fully comply the EU Ecolabel criteria Follow-up recommendation Follow-up marketing and acquisition activities with the French Competent Body in the coming years and set activities in cooperation with hotel associations and hotel chains. 66