Fruitful efforts turn to gold at Mövenpick Resort Aswan

LOS ANGELES, California – Mövenpick Resort Aswan is located on Elephantine Island in the middle of the river Nile. The resort, situated in an enchanting natural setting, retains iconic Egyptian design features with subtle Nubian touches and offers modern conveniences. Spectacular river views can be seen from all rooms while ancient historic sites and Aswan railway station are within walking distance.

Gold member Mövenpick Resort Aswan was recently recertified by Green Globe for the fifth year.

Ahmed el Shandawili, General Manager at the resort said, “The most impressive part of our green journey is seeing the growth in our sustainability practices and especially their effect on reducing our environmental impact.

“At our inaugural certification in early 2011, Mövenpick Resort Aswan was proud to announce that with an 86% compliance score we had started our first steps toward sustainability. Since then, we have thought deeply about duplicating our efforts and looked for new initiatives to comply with sustainable standards whilst engaging with our community. In addition, we also strove to maintain our position as a pioneer as a sustainable employer in our city. All these efforts have enabled Mövenpick Resort Aswan to attain Green Globe’s Gold status with an 89% compliance score, so we are very proud of our achievement,” added Mr. el Shandawili.

As a Green Globe certified hotel, Mövenpick Resort Aswan is internationally recognized as a property that consistently introduces initiatives with the aim to reduce and optimize its consumption of resources. The resort integrates its Environmental Management Systems (EMS) for energy, water and waste. All energy and water utilities usage is monitored and recorded on a daily basis to identify opportunities on how resource consumption can be reduced. The property has installed energy and water efficient equipment including 10KG washing machines. These smaller models will be used instead of larger commercial machines during low occupancy periods saving power, water and the use of cleaning agents. Also, fully charged electric cars are utilized by guests as a mode of transportation around the island to lower emissions and preserve the surrounding environment.

Each year the resort team harvests around 1200 kg of mangoes from the resort gardens. However, rather than wasting surplus fruit staff have devised innovative, solutions. Some of the mangoes are donated to children shelters in Aswan city while chefs freshly squeeze others into organic juice served during breakfast. The remaining fruit is prepared and made into tasty mango chutney pickles that are presented as condiments in restaurants.

In line with its social responsibilities, Mövenpick Resort Aswan supports several community initiatives. The property makes donations to orphan shelters and staff plan celebrations on Orphan Day held annually. Each year on this special day, staff spend memorable hours with the children enjoying fun activities at the resort. Mövenpick Resort Aswan also supports government educational programs. Practical training in resort operations is offered to students through a partnership with a hotel school in Aswan. Furthermore, the resort actively participates in projects with the renowned charity organization Resala which has 67 branches across Egypt. Resala cares for orphans, helps the blind and the deaf, and children with special needs by supporting them through blood donations, the alleviation of poverty and literacy training.

Mövenpick Resort Aswan contributes to the local economy and prosperity of the region by ensuring that 100% of employees are from Aswan and other parts of Egypt. Mövenpick training programs are regularly offered to provide employees with support to achieve the highest levels of professionalism. Comments and reviews received from satisfied guests on social media and review sites reflect the excellent standard of service visitors can expect at the five-star resort.

Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts, an international upscale hotel management company with over 16,000 staff members, is represented in 24 countries with 83 hotels, resorts and Nile cruisers currently in operation. Around 20 properties are planned or under construction, including those in Chiang Mai (Thailand), Bali (Indonesia) and Marrakech (Morocco).

Focusing on expanding within its core markets of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts specializes in business and conference hotels, as well as holiday resorts, all reflecting a sense of place and respect for their local communities. Of Swiss heritage and with headquarters in central Switzerland (Baar), Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts is passionate about delivering premium service and culinary enjoyment – all with a personal touch. Committed to supporting sustainable environments, Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts has become the most Green Globe-certified hotel company in the world.

The hotel company is owned by Mövenpick Holding (66.7%) and the Kingdom Group (33.3%). For more information, please click here.

Green Globe is the worldwide sustainability system based on internationally accepted criteria for sustainable operation and management of travel and tourism businesses. Operating under a worldwide license, Green Globe is based in California, USA and is represented in over 83 countries. Green Globe is an Affiliate Member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). For information, please click here.

Green Globe is a member of the International Coalition of Tourism Partners (ICTP) .