Transat A.T. Inc. is supporting four sustainable tourism projects, including one launched by World Wildlife Fund Canada (WWF-Canada) to improve protection of ecosystems in Cuba by promoting the adoption of a sustainable tourism policy. “We are proud to be associated with WWF-Canada’s conservation initiative in Cuba, which is one of our main sun destinations,” said Jean-Marc Eustache, president and CEO of Transat A.T. Inc. “The Greening Cuban Tourism program is perfectly in keeping with the objectives of our program to support sustainable tourism projects that aim to protect and enhance natural and cultural heritage, to help communities benefit economically from tourism, or to soften the impact that tourism has on the environment in both our departure and destination countries.”
Transat is also supporting an important green-accreditation project by the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Reserve, which is located in the Thousand Islands region of Ontario. The reserve’s objective is to encourage businesses and organizations working in various tourism-related industries – marinas, golf courses, accommodation, etc. – to obtain green accreditation. Like ISO standards, green accreditation is granted by an independent organization, valid for a specific period, to organizations that voluntarily adopt an approach aimed at reducing their environmental footprint. This project is part of an extensive three-year sustainable tourism program that promotes the development of a national sustainable tourism model for biosphere reserves.
Transat has also selected two other projects to support along the St. Lawrence River in Quebec. The company is supporting the Seigneurie des Aulnaies, an interpretation centre on the seigniorial system located in Saint-Roch-des-Aulnaies and a first-class tourism site in the Côte-du-Sud region. The funds will be used to implement the centre’s five-year plan to strengthen its mission to protect and enhance the architectural and cultural heritage of the seigniory, which includes a classified manor and mill. And, Transat is supporting a project undertaken by the Les Amis du marais de Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly corporation, which is involved in enhancing the recreational-tourism benefits of the marsh and 10-kilometre hiking trail along the river in Saint-Antoine-de-Tilly, a village considered to be one of the most picturesque in Quebec. The four projects were selected from more than 100 applications submitted as part of a program that Transat launched in spring 2007 to support sustainable tourism projects. In this first year of the program, each project will receive between $7,500 and $50,000, with the latter being the maximum amount granted to any one project under this program.