Aquacity: Greenest Travel Destination on Earth

The most innovative new spot for green travel can be found resting in the Alps in the small town of Poprad.

Aquacity is a large water resort that sits at the foot of the High Tantras National Park.  The large facility boasts indoor and outdoor mineral pools, water slides, saunas, an artificial snow room, an Olympic size swimming pool, and surprisingly a zero carbon emissions rate.

The park’s many water based attractions are heated solely by “geothermal heated water from a vast subterranean, natural aquifer”.  The heated water is also used at the on-site hotels and to heat the parking lot during the icy winter months.

But the environmentally conscious water park does not stop there, 80% of the resort’s electricity is generated via photo-voltaic panels on the roof of one of the indoor pools.  Additionally the resort also provides a free shuttle to local hotels to cut down on the number of visitors using hiring their own transport.

“At AquaCity we’re saving around 27 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere each day by using geothermal water and solar energy to heat and power the resort. This saves millions of euros each year, contributing to our profitability and giving us a competitive, business edge while at the same time saving the planet. Until the tourism industry embraces being green as part of its business plan, instead of simply applying `green wash’ to its marketing, we cannot even begin to achieve sustainable tourism”, said Jan Telensky, the owner of Aquacity.

It is this attitude that won Aquacity the award for World’s Leading Green Resort at the Green Travel Awards in 2008.  Aquacity will most likely retain this title in the up coming year with their newest project, a sustainable tropical beach to be kept warm throughout the winter with the geothermal energy, and housing buildings constructed with materials found locally.

Special thanks to www.jamblemag.com for the above quote, for more information on this article visit their website.