Thursday 27 September 2018 is World Tourism Day and the focus for this year is on how digital technology has led to innovation in tourism to benefit tourists and local communities alike.
Baron Holiday Homes has been offering high quality holiday rental properties on Gozo for more than 20 years with the aim of providing memorable holiday experiences. As a local operator on a small island, we have also always been mindful of our role in the local community.
This blog post celebrates World Tourism day by exploring Baron Holiday Homes’ actions to reduce its carbon footprint. When you book a Gozo holiday with us not only will you hopefully have a fabulous time but you’ll also be helping Gozo’s local economy and contributing to a sustainable future for the island.
We use skilled local artisans help to conserve Gozo’s architecture
Local stonemasons help to preserve Gozo’s architecture. Photo credit: Baron Holiday Homes
One of our biggest challenges is to achieve the right balance between creating high quality properties with modern amenities while maintaining a high level of social and environmental awareness. We believe we’re successful because we commission highly skilled local stonemasons and craftsmen to help us preserve our local stone properties.
In doing so we believe we are building a lasting legacy for Gozo – keeping traditional skills alive while helping to conserve the original limestone architecture and natural beauty of Gozo’s villages.
And our guests get to stay in a beautifully restored old house and have the opportunity to experience the authentic culture and village life on the island.
As well as local farmhouses and villas, the Baron Group has been actively involved in the restoration of another Gozitan treasure – the Medieval Cittadella, the old fortified city in Gozo’s capital Victoria.
We employ local staff with local knowledge
We can arrange for a local chef to prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a special celebration meal at your Baron Holiday Home.
All our staff live locally. Our brilliant operational team work hard to make our guests’ holidays as relaxing and enjoyable as possible. And from maintenance and housekeeping staff and drivers, to our customer service reps and management team, everyone cares about Gozo and we want our island to continue to thrive.
Our guests benefit from our local knowledge and we are delighted to help provide local knowledge about upcoming cultural events and book guided tours and a wide variety of activities – from quad-biking to rock-climbing as well as agritourism such as grape picking in autumn. We work with trusted local partners who are happy to tailor tours and activities to suit our guests.
We also provide a range of in-house services designed to help you relax and get the most out of your stay in our holiday homes. We work with Gozo-based experts who will come to your Baron holiday home and cook for you and your family, babysit if you want to have a quiet night out, and even provide relaxing massages by the pool.
Eco-friendly innovations in our properties
The Olives holiday home, Gozo. Photo credit: Baron Holiday Homes
Water conservation is a key priority on Gozo due to low rainfall and limited freshwater supplies. While the Maltese government and organisations like EcoGozo are making strides in increasing the availability of water on Gozo, all of us on the island have a responsibility to conserve water.
We are proud of the fact that more than 50% of our rental properties collect rainwater which is then used to water our gardens.
Tap water on Gozo is not drinkable and both residents and visitors must buy bottled water. However, this can be expensive and also creates a lot of plastic waste. We recently partnered with a local water supplier – H2only – to offer our guests an alternative water service which saves money and helps to reduce plastic waste on Gozo. Guests can now order a 19-litre water jug for only €5.00 up to one week before their arrival.
How we reduce our energy costs
Around 50% of Baron Holiday Homes’ rental properties have photovoltaic solar panels installed on the roof to generate electricity for Gozo.
In addition, a quarter of our properties also feature a pioneering intelligent management system which monitors temperature. This system enables issues to be diagnosed and fixed online before our guests have noticed there is a problem.
Baron Holiday Homes was the first holiday rental company on Gozo to install this eco-friendly management system and we are proud that it helps to keep our operations sustainable.
Ask us for help
Baron Holiday Homes is happy to help you enjoy your holiday on Gozo and we make sure our representative provides you with all the information you need about our in-house services and our wide range of activities on the island so you don’t miss out.
You can contact us by email or by mobile phone (all contact details are provided in each of our properties). Remember – we don’t want to intrude on your holiday but we’re in the background, ready to help with whatever you may need.
Posted in Eco-Friendly, In-house services, Sustainable
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