Bonaire has just been awarded another major accolade, the Silver Quality Coast Award.

Recently, The Netherlands Minister of Economic Affairs, Mr. Henk Kamp, awarded Bonaire with the Silver Quality Coast Award, presented to the island’s Director of Tourism, Mr. Maurice Adriaens, during a recent Bonaire Economic Conference.

About the Silver Quality Coast Award.

The Silver Quality Coast Award is an award developed by the Coastal and Marine Union (EUCC). This is a part of the “Green Deal” for sustainable tourism that was initiated in November, 2014 and runs through December, 2016. The aim of this initiative is to promote the sustainability of destinations, such as Bonaire.

This must be achieved by developing a joint vision on the manner in which the sustainability of the destination, along with the development of processes and resources, are considered. These criteria provide a measurement as to the sustainability of the destination.

How Did Bonaire Qualify for the Silver Quality Coast Award?

In recent weeks, Bonaire hosted  personnel who visited to make their initial assessment as to whether Bonaire is a green destination. Various Bonaire stakeholders were interviewed as well. After successfully completing the assessment, Bonaire was awarded the Silver Award.

Gold is the New Goal.

Having attained Silver status, Bonaire’s tourism entity, Tourism Corporation Bonaire, now has plans to jointly work together with the island’s private sector tourism providers to make improvements, which need to take place within one year in order to acquire a higher ranking for the next Bonaire Green Destination Assessment.

What is the Green Deal?

Green Deal is a collaboration between The Netherlands and the United Kingdom to support each other on individual efforts, especially in priority areas such as sustainable energy, nature management, sustainable tourism, and waste policy.

(Source:  TCB)