ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS
SPOTLIGHT
Resorts which gathers the entire El
Nido community including schools,
local boat operators, fishermen, local
government, its own staff and airline
partner also go through the resort’s
unique environmental education
programme. Be G.R.E.E.N. or
“Guard, Respect, Educate El Nido” is
a training programme that has been
in place since 2007 to train the entire
resort’s staff from the president of the
company all the way to its gardener.
The programme covers topics such
as bio-diversity conservation, water
conservation, energy conservation,
ecological solid waste management
and environmental laws.
Situated in the western part
of the Philippines, the Palawan
archipelago is known as “The
Last Ecological Frontier of the
Philippines”. It is home to over 1,700
islands and is the most sparsely
populated region in the country. The
region offers guests pristine beaches;
crystal clear waters with innumerable
species of tropical fish, coral and
turtles; over 100 species of birds; and
66
spectacular limestone cliffs. As part
of their strategy to ensure sustainable
tourism, El Nido strives to remind and
encourage guests to conserve the
region’s natural resources. The resort
discourages guests from touching
the animals whether on land or
underwater and prohibits them from
collecting shells, corals, starfish and
other animals.
Furthermore, the eco-resort also
believes in being “good neighbours”
to the surrounding community.
Among the key initiatives undertaken
by the resort includes providing
employment
and
livelihood
opportunities such as skills training
to the local community, patronising
local products for room amenities
and food source as well as other
community service.
“As a leading advocate
of sustainable tourism in the
Philippines, we have set a
benchmark for other tourismrelated services to follow on how
to operate responsibly, but also
influence the community around
ASEAN COMMUNITY OF ENTREPRENEURS | ISSUE 2 : 2016
“As a leading advocate
of sustainable tourism in
the Philippines, we have
set a benchmark for other
tourism related services to
follow on how to operate
responsibly, but also
influence the community
around us to live out how
to be green.”
Al Legaspi
President and CEO El Nido
Resort
us to live out how to be green,” El
Nido Resort President and CEO Al
Legaspi points out.
Indeed, adopting the eco-tourism
model has also been good business for
El Nido Resort. This has prompted the
group to launch its latest development
known as Lio – a 325-hectre
master planned eco-tourism estate
development – in El Nido.