TOURISM INDUSTRY CARBON OFFSET SERVICE - MARCH 2007 UPDATE
Every month or so TICOS will send out an update of all important matters by email to those who have either signed up to use our service or have a known interest in what we are doing. This update will also be posted onto this website.
- TICOS opened for business during January 2007 and to date 14 tour operators have agreed to use our services. Our target remains at 50 operators by the middle of the year.
- We have over 40 projects in the pipeline and the first 12 can be viewed on our website projects pages. All projects are available for offset funding and operators can choose where they would like their funds to go.
- We are just concluding negotiations with Barclays Bank to set up a 'Clients Premium Account'. This is not ordinarily available outside of certain sectors but Barclays lawyers have agreed to our special request. The advantage of this type of account is that we can hold individual funds raised by different operators in individual stakeholder accounts. This offers greater security and transparency as we can give all operators breakdowns of how their specific funds have been spent.
- We already have agreement with UNESCO and IUCN's World Commission for Protected Areas to prioritise World Heritage sites for offset projects and now we are very near to concluding a new formal Memorandum of Agreement with UNESCO to raise funds for projects in a number of strategically important World Heritage sites which have high numbers of tourism visitors. These projects will be very high profile and will be classed as 'Blue Riband' projects . One other feature of this agreement is that we will be offering the first strategic approach to offset projects through a cohesive framework and management system. To our knowledge all other offset programmes are individual and specific and have no connectivity.
- We have had very positive (informal) discussions with the Travel Foundation and will seek to work closely with it in the development of both policy and projects.
- We continue to work closely with industry associations and with industry leaders to ensure that the TICOS service fully meets with industry wishes.
- We will continue to search for and develop projects which have significant CO2 reduction benefits but at the same time have wider Responsible Tourism objectives in terms of social, environmental, economic and pro poor objectives.
Should you want any further information or to discuss TICOS please contact me directly.
Dick Sisman
TICOS Founder
Email: dick@dicksisman.com