Radisson Hotel Group Global Senior President Sustainability, Safety and Corporate Communications Inge Huijbrechts: "As a company, we are clearly committed to one of our key markets, Turkey."
Inge Huijbrechts, Radisson Hotel Group's Global Senior President for Sustainability, Security and Corporate Communications, stated that their portfolio in Turkey has reached 45 with hotels under construction and said, "By the end of this year, our presence in the country will increase to more than 50 hotels. As a company, we are clearly committed to one of our key markets, Turkey. It is an important market and destination for us."
Making a statement to the AA correspondent regarding the sustainability and investments of the group in Turkey, Huijbrechts said that as the Radisson Hotel Group, they have been working on sustainable hotels since 1989, and that with the epidemic, people care more about the welfare of themselves, the communities around them and the planet.
Huijbrechts stated that the awareness of sustainability has increased and this is proven by the numbers, adding, “There are industry surveys conducted by Expedia and booking.com every year. More and more people say they want to book responsible tourism options. Even now, that number is over 70 percent."
Expressing that there is no single standard for sustainability in the hospitality industry, as in many other sectors, Huijbrechts said, “When there is an increasing focus on sustainability, everyone is trying to define what it means. At Radisson we are part of a different industry platform to help harmonize this.
We are part of the World Travel and Tourism Council, an important platform for the tourism and travel industry, and the Treaty on Sustainable Hospitality, with our competitors trying to find common definitions. We are also a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, GSTC, and Turkey has signed an agreement to promote sustainability certifications for hotels."
Inge Huijbrechts pointed out that it is very important to reduce our carbon footprint and said, 'We have always been successful in reducing our energy, water and waste footprint. From 2010 to 2019, the Radisson Hotel Group reduced its average footprint of energy and water consumption by 30 percent. As a company, we are committed to seeing zero by 2050."
"We aim to be carbon neutral by 2050"
Stating that they aim to be carbon neutral by 2050, Huijbrechts said:
"Seeing net zero is a big goal for any company. The way we define the path to this path is in a mechanism we call science-based goals. There is now an agency that tells companies how to calculate the path to net zero. So we have a net zero emissions commitment based on approved, published, science-based targets, and that means we need to cut our emissions in half by about 2030.
Judging by science-based goals, you need to have a goal for scopes 1, 2, and 3. Scope 1 and 2 management covers everything in our hotels made by us. Scope 3 includes our franchise hotels and emissions in the supply chain. We also have franchise hotels in our portfolio globally and in our portfolio in Turkey. We also work closely with franchising partners to reduce our carbon footprint."
Noting that they have been operating in Turkey for many years, Huijbrechts stated that Radisson Blu Bosphorus Hotel is their third hotel to open in Turkey, later they increased their portfolio in the country to 45 together with the hotels under construction and they will have more than 50 hotels by the end of the year.
"Turkey is an important destination for us"
Emphasizing that Turkey is an important market for them, Huijbrechts continued his words as follows: “As a company, we are clearly committed to one of our key markets, Turkey. It is an important market for us, an important destination. We also expanded our regional office last year to better serve our hotels. What we're seeing is that there's a lot of potential and a lot of improvement. At Radisson, we are generally known for business hotels. We are presently in front of you with 5 brands in Turkey. Radisson Collection, Radisson Blu, Radisson, Park Inn by Radisson and Radisson Individuals.
At the end of this year, we are acquiring another brand, Radisson RED, in Izmir. Now we are developing in holiday, seaside and mountain destinations as well as secondary cities of Yalova and Eskişehir. Also, we will open a hotel in Antalya Kas soon. We have a beautiful Radisson Collection hotel in Bodrum. So from a perspective, we're increasing the number of brands, expanding our portfolio and locations, and expanding where we partner with investors."