With travel restrictions easing up, resorts are getting ready to receive tourists itching to travel after almost two years worth of being cooped up at home. So called “revenge travelers” are already making plans, booking flights, and packing their bags as summer fast approaches.
While most resorts are trying to get their facilities and staff into a pre-pandemic business-as-usual state, others like Club Paradise Palawan, located in Dimakya Island, are looking to take it a step further and focus on sustainable tourism.
One of Club Paradise Palawan’s latest initiatives on sustainability is the EcoConserve Program. What’s especially interesting about this initiative is the GarMa (Garbage Management) Task Force, which has come up with very interesting ways to reduce waste through recycling non-biodegradable waste and using biodegradable waste as fertilizer for the nearby Taranuman organic farm.
For the non-biodegradable materials, the resort found ways to make use of old tires, glass and plastic bottles, plastic waste, and many others. These items were given “new life” and repurposed: old van tires from the resort’s transport fleet stacked and built into steps for the Eagle’s point hiking trail; used wine bottles were transformed to lovely vases for the rooms and restaurant; oversized wire spools became beautiful plant racks; tree trunks that were washed ashore were saved and refurbished as chairs for the Sand Bar; and surplus fabrics were sewn into facemasks and donated to the frontliners in Coron Town.
Another initiative under the EcoConserve Program is the Ecobricks Project. The resort staff learned how to make strong Ecobricks using plastic scraps (empty packets, wrappers, etc.) and soda bottles. Ecobricks were used to construct a Vermi house (for African Night Crawlers) at Taranuman farm. The GarMa Task Force also conducted several ecobrick-making training sessions for the local elementary students at Coron along with beach cleanups so they can gather more materials to upcycle into ecobricks.
The sustainable efforts of Club Paradise Palawan did not go unnoticed. In fact, they were recently awarded a 2nd place trophy at the 2022 Green Destinations Story Awards. Under the Environment and Climate category, they were among the six destinations chosen as finalists by the jury at Green Destinations. They were recognized along with Gocta – Kuelap Amazonas in Peru, Tartu in Estonia, Tibau do Sul in Brazil, Margaret River in Australia, and Terres de L’ebre in Spain. They were also the only Philippine property in the 100 Green Destination Top 100 list.
“We want to send a strong message out there that sustainability and being eco-friendly should be part of everyone’s lives,” said Joegil Magtanggol Escobar, Hotel Manager of Club Paradise Palawan in a video message. “We are just visitors in Dimakya Island where the private island resort of Club Paradise Palawan is located. The wildlife that our guests see roaming freely at the resort are the original inhabitants of the islands and it is just right that we respect their home and do something so that the island will be sustained for the future generations,” he concluded.
Club Paradise Palawan is a resort under Discovery Hospitality, a home-grown Filipino hospitality group that manages the Philippines most luxurious hotels and resorts in Metro Manila, Boracay, and Palawan.