Sustainable Tourism in Mauritius

We know that airlines are in the business of transporting people around the world, and it isn’t good for the plant, but they are working tirelessly to improve their carbon footprint by making the aircraft more efficient and less damaging and by off-setting in many other ways, but is that enough? Can we do more ourselves? Choosing an eco-friendly hotel for your trips abroad can go a long way.

What do you look for in a hotel? We all have a tick list. For me, on or near a beach, a relaxing view, great customer reviews, good variety of food options, a bit of entertainment, a comfy bed in a stylish room, some outside space and recently added to the list, how eco-friendly is it?

I’m the first to admit that I get frustrated with having freshly laundered towels daily, clean sheets every two days, plastic bottles of water in the minibar, and then when you’re sat on the beach there are plastic bottles bobbing in the sea and bits of plastic rubbish and fishing nets washed up on the beach, all because no one locally is educating about protecting our environment.

None of us can change the planet singlehandedly and even on mass it isn’t going to happen overnight, but we can all do our little bit, and many hotel chains are now grasping that “sustainability” is the way forward. On my recent trip to Mauritius, I discovered that Attitude Hotels in Mauritius would be hard to beat.

I feet incredibly lucky to spend a week at Lagoon Attitude and WOW! what a wonderful place and what a great “attitude” towards sustainability and protecting our planet and wildlife, I have never been anywhere that cares so much as this “eco-committed seaside hotel”. This 4-star adult only hotel has received awards for its efforts in environmental and social responsibility.

Located on the North coast of Mauritius, just 10 mins by car from Grand Baie, this place has it all, it’s beautifully styled with locally produced furnishings and décor, much of which is created from upcycling driftwood and other curios washed up on the beach, it has a zero single use plastic policy and a Marine Discovery Centre which helps spread the word. They work hard protecting the coral reef and sea life as well as educating the guests on their concept.

The food at Lagoon Attitude was amazing too, all locally sourced and created on site and the gorgeous staff that served us treated their customers like returning friends. From the street food style delicacies to the a la carte fish and seafood restaurant and the ever-changing food fare in the themed buffet in between. Dotted around the resort there are sea life-friendly bottles of suntan lotion for guests use. All locally produced from natural products. The minibars in your room are empty so you can pop to the Bulk Store where you can top up on soft drinks in glass bottles, beers, recyclable jars for selecting tea coffee, sugar to take back for your morning cuppa and while at the Bulk Store have a browse of their locally produced garments in the boutique.

For us, this short break was not about having an all singing, all dancing 5-star experience, it was about a relaxing beach break in beautiful surroundings, recharging the batteries after a very busy winter. Mauritius here was just perfect. We came away with so much more than as few extra pounds in body weight. It made me realise how much I care and how much more I want to care going forward.

I know there are more and more hotels and resorts progressing towards sustainable tourism. I will be more selective when choosing my holidays in future. Our planet is beautiful and we want future generations to enjoy what we are enjoying now. Travel Counsellors as a company are getting more involved with suppliers who take sustainability seriously so for more information, please do get in touch.