Lessons in Regenerative Tourism from Eagle Beach, Aruba
At stunning Eagle Beach, in the Southern Caribbean, an authentic regenerative tourism resort has it all. Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort Aruba is an award-winning Carbon Neutral resort striving to become Carbon Negative. A wellness retreat with a purpose beyond luxurious stays, this Aruba hotel has celebrated, even accentuating the harmony and culture of the small island community for almost four decades. Owner and visionary Ewald Biemans certainly brought to this island paradise more than he has taken away.
A home for protected sea turtles, Bucuti & Tara, continues to maintain several initiatives to foster the local community and the environment. Biemans established the oceanfront resort with sustainability as a core principle, working to create the Caribbean’s first certified Carbon Neutral resort and introducing a range of programs dedicated to social and environmental stewardship. This quote from Biemans at Food Inspiration Magazine reveals how the visionary entrepreneur addressed a huge problem:
“Energy in Aruba is very expensive. So at first we began to install a lot of little measures to save energy. Necessity is the mother of invention, and I had the first solar panels installed for water heating on the island. In the 1980s and 1990s, and even in the 2000s, we had several oil crises. These oil crises dramatically raised the cost of electricity and water. You can either pass this cost on to your customers, or you can look for ways to save as much energy as possible. In the years prior to the oil crisis of the 1990s we were able to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels and increase the amount of renewable energy.”
Biemans has gone beyond practical energy solutions to help preserve 30 acres of undeveloped land, making it a nature preserve and a sanctuary. He’s also busy reforesting this conservancy and infusing regenerative practice ideas for his staff and in the surrounding community. The resort has used technology and ingenuity to make its footprint on the island as small as possible. The resort uses innovative water use and quality initiatives, promotes refillable bottles, repurposes towels and linens, has cut food waste dramatically, and has instituted many more programs that make Bucuti & Tara Beach Resort as close to a truly regenerative hotel as we’ve found so far.
Guests of the ultra-luxury small resort are offered the chance to take part in a beach cleanup and are inspired to embrace regenerative practices. The resort also conducts sustainability programs for schools and companies, showcasing the initiatives and accomplishments that have won them assorted awards and accolades for their pioneering work. Aside from presentations offered regionally on best practices, Bucuti & Tara strives to inspire guests during their stay with a green channel on the in-room TV featuring the resort’s green practices. Biemans’ resort serves local farm-to-table food, hires, and trains locals, and has even created a Donkey Sanctuary.
Bucuti and Tara Beach Resort is the global leader in sustainable tourism and currently holds LEED Gold, Green Globe Platinum, ISO 14001, and Travelife Gold eco-certificates. The resort was also been named the world’s most sustainable hotel/resort in 2016 by Green Globe. Ewald Biemans created a model from which the world of hospitality can take a lesson.