ARLINGTON, VA.—On February 24, the Virginia Green program will present the Virginia Green Travel Star Award to 21 Virginia tourism businesses for their outstanding commitments to green tourism practices at the third annual Virginia Green Travel Conference and Travel Star Awards Celebration in Arlington, Va. Twenty-one additional tourism businesses will also be recognized and receive the Virginia Green Travel Leader Award for their exceptional efforts to protect the environment and promote green tourism in Virginia.
The larger Virginia Green Travel Conference & Mid-Atlantic Green Tourism Business Expo is being held on February 23 to 24, 2016 at the Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel & Conference Center. The conference features presentations by sustainability leaders from Hilton, Marriott, Ecolab, Sodexo, and the Green Restaurant Association. There is a wide variety of green tourism topics, including the recent UCI Road World Championships and the concept of bike-friendly tourism.
“The Virginia Green Travel Conference is a great opportunity for hotels and other tourism businesses to learn more about how to run an effective green program,” said John Cario, General Manager of the Hilton Richmond. “It is also wonderful that the awards recognize the accomplishments of the state’s leaders in this effort.”
Partnership Runs Virginia Green
The Virginia Green program is run through a partnership of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Tourism Corp., the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Assn., and the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. The program encourages green practices throughout Virginia’s tourism industry, and nearly 1,700 tourism operations have self-certified their green commitments through the program. The Virginia Green program helps its partners reduce environmental impacts and save money, while hopefully becoming more profitable through the support of green-minded consumers.
“The growth of the Virginia Green program statewide has been remarkable, and this event is a celebration of that progress,” said Tom Griffin, Executive Director of the Virginia Green Travel Alliance. “Virginia Green Travel partners are committed to reducing their impacts on the environment, and they are helping to increase green tourism business in Virginia.”
The Virginia Green Travel Star Awards are presented to recognize the most outstanding green tourism efforts in 2015. This year, Travel Star Awards will be given to 21 tourism operators in 12 sector categories and in an additional category for Most Innovative Green Projects. The 2015 Virginia Green Travel Star Award winners are:
• Green Attraction of the Year: Burnham Guides, Onancock;
• Green Brewery of the Year (tie): Hardywood Park Craft Brewery, Richmond and Wild Wolf Brewing Company, Nellysford;
• Green Event of the Year: 2015 UCI Road World Championships, Richmond;
• Green Hotel of the Year: Renaissance Arlington Capital View Hotel;
• Green B&B of the Year: Oak Grove Plantation Bed & Breakfast, Cluster Springs;
• Green Cabins of the Year: Shadow Mountain Escape, Luray;
• Green Restaurant of the Year: Caffé Amouri, Vienna;
• Green Visitor Center of the Year: Virginia Beach Visitor Information Center;
• Green Winery of the Year: North Gate Vineyard, Purcellville;
• Green Supplier of the Year: Lumen Energy, Richmond;
• Green Convention Center of the Year: Virginia Beach Convention Center;
• Green Conference Center of the Year: Airlie Conference Center, Warrenton;
• Most Innovative Green Projects of the Year: Green Weddings by Khimaira Farm, Luray; Dark Skies Initiative by Staunton River State Park, Scottsburg; Zero Waste Project by Xanterra Kingsmill Resort, Williamsburg; Composting & Urban Garden by the Hilton Downtown Richmond; Electric Vehicle Charging Station by Croc’s 19th Street Bistro, Virginia Beach; Recycling and Sustainability by Richmond International Airport; Pollinator Habitat Program by the Virginia Department of Transportation Welcome Centers; and Green Procurement for the 2015 UCI Road World Championships by Echelon Event Management, Richmond.
Travel Leader Award Winners
The Virginia Green program also presents Virginia Green Travel Leader Awards to recognize additional green tourism operators for their outstanding commitments to reduce the environmental impacts of their operations. The 2015 Virginia Green Travel Leaders are:
• Adventure Kayak Tours, Chesapeake;
• Back INN Time Bed & Breakfast, Kilmarnock;
• Birdsong Pleasure Garden, Luray;
• Capital Ale House, Richmond;
• Cary St. Cafe, Richmond;
• Clay Corner Inn, Blacksburg;
• Green Leaf and Pebble Tea Spa, Virginia Beach;
• Go Green Distributors, Newport News;
• Hungry Mother State Park, Marion;
• Keep Virginia Beautiful—UCI Richmond Beautification Projects;
• Lansdowne Resort;
• Lickinghole Creek Craft Brewery, Goochland;
• Mountain Song Inn, Willis;
• Oystoberfest, Richmond;
• Peabody’s “Hip Little Stay”, Luray;
• Port City Brewing Company, Alexandria;
• Stonewall Jackson Inn Bed & Breakfast, Harrisonburg;
• The Westin Reston Heights;
• Virginia Aquarium Sensible Seafood Program, Virginia Beach;
• Virginia Tech Dining Services, Blacksburg; and
• White Flint Farm, Keeling.
The awards will be presented during the Virginia Green Travel Star Awards Luncheon which will be held from noon until 1:15 p.m. on February 24, 2016. Virginia’s First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe and Rita McClenny, President/CEO of the Virginia Tourism Corp., will be attending the luncheon and presenting the awards.
Go to Virginia Green.
