World Responsible Tourism Day - Sun International

World Responsible Tourism Day
07 November 2012
This is the one defining day in the year that travel companies, destinations, organisations,
employees and suppliers come together across the world in a remarkable expression
of a new way of thinking. A unique phenomenon with the potential to help change
the way that the industry delivers in the future. (www.wtmwrtd.com)
The Sun City Resort operates under Responsible Tourism Principles. What does this mean to us? It
means that we are committed to responsible practises in all areas of our operations. The Resort is dedicated
to bringing a million thrills to its guests in a way that is not harmful to the environment.
Sun City has proven itself a leader in sustainable tourism and is dedicated to continual improvement
of systems, procedures and visible results. Our vision is for all our communities to
live and work to the highest level of commitment to protect and enhance the environment.
Building relationships in Waste Management
The neighbouring community’s waste management system is poor and Sun
City is working closely with the Moses Kotane Local Municipality (MKLM):
Waste management department. Sun City serves as an advisory body and
assists in their waste management planning. Sun City recently joined forces
with MKLM to implement recycling systems and buy back centres in the community.
People are unfamiliar with the size of the recycling system on Sun City and
can learn greatly from it. We often get companies throughout South Africa and
across the world enquiring about how we manage our waste. We take these companies to various areas around
the Resort such as the Sun City Landfill Site, The Sun City Waste Water Treatment Works, The Biodiesel Plant
as well as the PWR Recycling Yard.

Finalists at Imvelo Awards 2012
Achievements of Note
This year the annual Imvelo FEHDAHSA Responsible Tourism Awards ceremony
was held on the 9th of November at the Monte Casino Sun City was once again
finalists in the following categories: Best resource management program- Energy.
To qualify for this category we had to demonstrate how through our efforts
we have been able to reduce our energy consumption on the Resort.
In the last few years that monitoring and metering our energy consumption on
site has been taking place we have established that our energy consumption is
directly proportional to the hotel occupancies, and therefore our goal for last year
was to attain a 10% reduction in our energy usage. We managed to accomplish a 13% saving , thus exceeding our target
by 3% for the year.
Corporate Social Investment
Despite the unquestionable track record spanning over 30 years with a spend of over R35million,
incalculable in-kind donations ranging from donating linens to Hospitals and Clinics to ensuring
that learners have a decent and safe place to learn and get at least one healthy meal a
day, The Sun City resort continues to invest in effective Social development that spans the
breath and length of the North West Province. Our CSI team has recently embarked on projects
such as building of homes, marketing of local Jewellery Designers and Artists and crime
prevention. One of the biggest highlights worth mentioning is how staff involvement in the
building of homes has made cost effective through the generosity of its workforce who give
their time to dig foundations, make bricks and generally help stretch resources to reach even more families and have that
much more of an impact..
Improvements in Water Management at Sun City
Sun City was amongst three of the first private sector treatment plants that took part in
the Green Drop audit process this year. During the progress audit we achieved the lowest
CRR in North West out of more than 35 Waste Water Treatment works assessed,
and also the second lowest in the country for the private sector.
Due to the arid climate, the lush green lawn areas, gardens, forests and golf courses
need to be carefully maintained all year round, as they are a huge draw card for our visitors.
This poses a huge demand on potable water for irrigation, and even though a 50%
decrease of rain, from 625mm during the 2010/11 year to only 342mm during 2011/12,
a saving of 13% was realised on irrigation of potable water amounting to a financial saving of R481000.00,
As we celebrate World Responsible Tourism Day today let us remember that it is up to everyone
to ensure that all our natural resources are preserved for future generations to also benefit
from them. In this was the Sun City Resort will always remain a Responsible Tourism Destination
in the true sense of the word. Let us create a better place for people to live in and a better
place for our guests to visit.