09/10/2008 02:24:00
The Prince of Wales has urged travellers and travel operators to "redouble" their efforts to encourage sustainable travel at the annual convention of travel organisation, Atba.
Speaking via video message to the convention in Gran Canaria, Prince Charles warned that, if the number of greener travel options were not expanded, it would do harm to those global landmarks for which people travel the world to visit.
In addition to encouraging further action, he also praised the efforts already taken by the travel industry to promote eco-friendly tourism but stressed that there is "much more that can be done".
He said: "As the number of travellers increases dramatically, and as the environmental impacts for which they are directly and indirectly responsible become more damaging, the efforts which have to be taken by the travel and tourism business to minimise those impacts needs to be on a heroic scale."
Prince Charles is becoming increasingly well-known for his strong stance on protecting the environment, as well as Britain's natural heritage and historical landmarks.
Today, for example, it was announced that the Prince's Regeneration Trust had awarded funding to renovate and reopen Cleveland Baths in Bath, the only remaining Georgian open-air swimming pool in the UK.
Other projects undertaken by the Prince's Regeneration Trust include the conservation of Leighton Farm in Powys, South Wales, Tone Mill in Wellington, Somerset, and the North Highland Initiative, which was launched to promote tourism in Caithness, Sutherland and Ross-shire.
In his speech to Atba, the Prince also outlined his plans for the Prince's Rainforest Project - the "largest ever" partnership between the public, private and NGO sectors. The project aims to halve the rate of rainforest destruction.