UNWTO partners with the International Hotel and Restaurant Association

This week, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) and the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA) have consolidated their partnership in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in matters related to sustainable hospitality. The MOU was signed on the 10th of March  (which coincided with the 1st World Hospitality Day) at Interlaken, Switzerland.

IH&RA (a UNWTO Affiliate Member) has long been a strategic partner to UNWTO. This MOU will allow both organisations to cooperate even closer towards their common goal of driving positive changes in  a number of initiatives related to the hospitality industry; including the Nearly Zero-Energy Hotels (NEZEH) Project, supporting hotels in improving their energy efficiency and reaching nearly zero energy levels.

This partnership agreement may serve as a catalyst for further cooperation agreements between private and public sectors for the best interest of all stakeholders in the hospitality industry.

Source: http://media.unwto.org/press-release/2014-03-12/unwto-and-ihra-sign-memorandum-understanding

Links:

NEZEH European Project, Nearly Zero Energy Hotel

European Commission > Energy > Intelligent Energy Europe > “Nearly Zero-Energy Hotels” (NEZEH)

Centre for Energy Efficiency in Sweden: Nearly zero energy hotels – IEE funded project

Tsoutsos, Theocharis, et al. (2013) “Nearly Zero Energy Buildings Application in Mediterranean hotels.” Energy Procedia 42: 230-238.