The tourism sector plays an important role in many local economies in the Alpine region but has a significant climate footprint. The development of sustainable tourism is therefore one of many fields of climate action in the Alps, and addressed in several of the Alpine Convention’s climate targets for 2050.
Energy efficiency and other climate protection measures in the Alpine accommodation sector are key for reducing the undesired impact the hospitality industry has in the Alps. The ClimaHost competition for climate protection in the hospitality sector recognises the measures taken by accommodation establishments in the Alpine region and rewards the most innovative and holistic approaches.
Awarded for the first time at the XV Alpine Conference in 2019, ClimaHost is open anew for hotels, youth hostels, inns, guesthouses, and mountain huts located within the perimeter of the Alpine Convention. All accommodation businesses that are committed to climate protection and energy saving can take part in the competition, with applications open until 31 December 2021 via the ClimaHost website.
The competition’s holistic perspective of sustainability in tourism offers includes the dimensions of energy and environment, mobility, purchasing and procurement, management and communication as well as socio-cultural factors. A pan-Alpine jury of experts and stakeholders will select the winners in the categories “New Construction” and “Existing Buildings”. In addition, a special “Local Hero” prize will be awarded for micro-enterprises with up to ten employees. A professional image video will be filmed in all award-winning businesses. The ClimaHost award ceremony is foreseen to take place at the XVII Alpine Conference.
“The beautiful nature in the Alps is the main asset for tourism, but factors such as the weather, complex accessibility and, not least, the sensitivity of ecosystems also pose certain challenges for the hospitality business. Perhaps this is why many Alpine hosts have always sought to work in harmony with nature and have therefore taken a pioneering role in climate protection. With the second edition of the Alpine-wide ClimaHost competition, we would like to reward outstanding examples across the Alpine arc and make good practices visible beyond the borders” - Alenka Smerkolj, Secretary General of the Alpine Convention.
The ClimaHost competition is organised by adelphi in cooperation with the Permanent Secretariat of the Alpine Convention. The competition is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety within the framework of the European Climate Initiative (EUKI).