Sustainable Tourism Law

240 SUSTAINABLE TOURISM LAW Travel and Tourism Agents. This Green Committee verifies whether a hotel would have met all the criteria, as enlisted through the auditing process carried out thereon. Besides the Eco Certification which reflects the commitment of the management to uphold sustainability in the tourism sector, a hotel would certainly benefit as well in the long run as a result of the improvements and upgrading that would have been carried out to achieve the required criteria for said certification. This includes, for example, lower electricity bills with the introduction of energy saving devices, reduced water consumption and waste reduction. Eco Certification could also be used as an objective for a marketing strategy, since the logo may be utilised in all the promotional material and advertisements. There are other benefits which may be latent but could still be deemed beneficial, such as with employees who would like to be trained in the sustainable incentives being introduced, which in turn, they may adopt in their own homes. Tourists and guests, through communication, information provided and incentives would also become aware of sustainable initiatives, and one may be willing to contribute and participate in the incentives promoted thereby. The Malta Tourism Authority has stipulated through their research entitled “Tourists’ Perception on Environmental Issues (2009)”statistics indicated that “ 57% of tourists would be willing to pay an average of 8% more for a green label” 8 . The criteria relating to the Eco-Certification focus on the following: (a) sustainability management systems; (b) waste management; (c) purchasing; (d) control of chemicals; (e) energy; (f ) air quality; (g) noise; (h) building and green areas; (i) local culture and national surroundings; and (j) communication with customers. 8 The Malta Tourism Authority has confirmed through an e-mail that this research was only carried out in 2009.