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Bioenergy is allowing the tourism sector to be more competitive on both quality and price as companies are able to reduce costs and offer a more sustainable tourism package to their clients.

After the last edition of the Spanish international Tourism Fair, Fitur, Avebiom (The Spanish Association for the Energetic Valuation of  Biomass) made an evaluation of the environmental benefits that the use of biomass can bring to hotels, rural accommodations, camp sites and other tourism and leisure installations. 

According to the National Observatory for Biomass Boilers (ONCB) there are at least  474 facilities that use bio-combustible solids with a total power output of 48.000 kW.

Avebiom believes that “globally the tourist tends to place more value on destinations that are sustainable”, with that in mind the sector “is reinforcing its conservation and efficient energy strategy and its relationship with the environment, in a bid to reduce its carbon footprint”. The number of hotels and other tourism accommodations that are moving over to biomass is growing on a daily basis and places such as Andalusia or the Canary Islands are enjoying both economic and environmental benefits from boilers that use thermal energy to produce hot water for sanitary use and to heat swimming pools.

One of the reasons for this increase is the Program of Subsidies for the Energy Rehabilitation of Buildings in the Residential Sector (for both housing and hotels), that is looked after by the Institute for the Diversification of Energy Conservation (IDAE). This program´s resources (long term loans at low rates of interest) can be obtained to substitute equipment or for any other initiative to improve the energy consumption of an establishment.

SOURCE: www.energias-renovables.com