Luxury hotels go green as millennials demand sustainable travel options
The recent opening of three five-star eco-luxury resorts – Soneva Jani, Nekupe Sporting Resort & Retreat, and Alila Anji – is fuelling a growing trend in sustainable luxury travel
You won’t find imported blueberries at Benz, a famed restaurant at Thai luxury resort Soneva Kiri. The chef serves farm-to-table cuisine on Thai island Ko Kood, using locally grown ingredients.
Gwyneth Paltrow told the New York Times that Benz was one of her favourite restaurants. “It is the most exquisite, spicy Thai food I’ve ever had,” she said. “The flavours were incredible.”
As an effective way to reduce carbon footprint, farm-to-table dining has, unsurprisingly, become a key feature of luxury hotels like Soneva that prioritise sustainability.
Sustainable luxury was long considered an oxymoron, until recent shifts in the hospitality industry responding to trends in luxury took green travel from niche to necessary.
What began with small efforts to reduce waste – such as paperless checkouts and refillable soap dispensers – evolved to include efforts that mirror the three pillars of sustainable development, which are “economic, social and environmental”, according to the United Nations (UN). Considering that the UN has declared 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development, it’s a good time for luxury hotels to get on board.
“In the past, people would say ‘If it’s sustainable, it can’t be luxurious’ or ‘If it’s a luxury it can’t be good for you’,” says Sonu Shivdasani, co-founder of Soneva resorts.
“At Soneva we believe quite strongly that we’re able to offer our guests luxuries while minimising our impact on the planet and enhancing their health.”