TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Lion Travel, a major travel company in Taiwan, has taken a risky move by no longer providing bottled water to customers, in a bid to promote sustainable travel.
The practice started in April to mark Earth Day as part of a green travel initiative, but it has unnerved management who fear the idea may not be approved by those signing up for its group tours. Much to the relief of the decision-makers, up to 98% of participants in a trial have shown support for the measure, according to Andy Huang (黃信川), general manager of Lion Travel at a forum on Monday (July 18).
The move is expected to reduce plastic waste as Lion Travel hands out so much bottled water per year that the PET bottles can form 157 Taipei 101s, said Huang. The landmark skyscraper is 509 meters high.
According to a survey conducted by Xinmedia and the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research, around 50% of respondents said they were up for a low-carbon journey. Taipei and New Taipei were the two municipalities seen as leading in the eco cause, the poll found.
Some accommodation businesses have joined the environmental-friendly trend, including the L'Hotel de Chine Group, with hotels no longer providing single-use toiletries and bottled water. The group said the policy has saved 190,000 bottled water and 170,000 units of toiletries for a single hotel in the first year of its implementation, wrote Liberty Times.