When Pocono Mountains Visitors Bureau (PMVB) Executive Director Carl Wilgus was at a meeting of his contemporaries last year, he was one of only two to raise their hand when asked who was looking at green strategies.
“It made me feel good that we weren’t just following along, that we were already ahead of the path,” he says.
With its 2,400 square miles of mountains, lakes and wildlife are its main attraction, it’s not surprising that the Poconos is one of the few regions in the Commonwealth to take a serious look at how its tourism impacts the environment, and vice-versa. For its annual Tourism Day conference on May 13, the PMVB will welcome Dr. Suzanne D. Cook, the Senior Vice-President of Research of the U.S. Travel Association, to discuss “The Sustainable Travel Initiative.” It’s a plan to consolidate key industry information and help tourism businesses stay ahead of the green curve.
The Poconos are a great example. Every Tourism Day, the PMVB includes in a series of awards a Green Award that last year went to The Settlers Inn. The Hawley-based arts and crafts lodge is a member of the Green Hotels Association and uses locally grown, organic produce in its restaurant and practices water and waste conservation.
Appropriately, Cook will speak at Shawnee Inn along the Delaware River. Shawnee has a “Green Team” that ensures the resort is being environmentally sensitive. Another example in the Poconos is Great Wolf Lodge, a new waterpark in Tannersville, which is announcing its “Green Wolf” water conservation initiative today.
Wilgus acknowledged more tourists are seeking green options when they travel, and resorts must understand how to adapt and communicate their best practices to potential visitors.
“The natural environment is our product. That’s why people are coming to the Pocono Mountains,” says Wilgus. “If we want to preserve and protect that, it only makes sense to take on a more green approach.”
Source: Carl Wilgus, Pocono Mountain Vacations Bureau
Writer: Joe Petrucci
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