Floating Towards a Greener Future with Balloon Aloft
In a milestone achievement, Balloon Aloft has become the first tourism operator in Australia to progress through the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard and then achieve Ecotourism Australia’s globally recognised Sustainable Tourism Certification.
Matthew Scaife, pilot and director of Balloon Aloft, said Balloon Aloft’s unwavering commitment to sustainability and quality tourism experiences were at the heart of their certification.
"Our Balloon Aloft team is committed to preserving the environment, reducing our carbon footprint and promoting sustainability through a range of initiatives across our ballooning operations,” said Matthew.
“We partner with Greenfleet to include carbon offsetting in every ticket we sell and are proud ambassadors of the Sea Shepherd organisation, flying the Sea Shepherd balloon to raise awareness for the organisation's vital work in marine conservation.
“Our participation in the Ecotourism Australia Strive 4 Sustainability program in July last year was a great way for us to review all of our sustainability goals and outcomes with our scorecard benchmark score of 97%, giving us the confidence to take the next step towards certification.”
Ecotourism Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Elissa Keenan, said the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard was created as a pre-certification pathway program to help tourism operators start their sustainability journey.
“Sustainable Tourism Certification assesses tourism businesses against our internationally recognised sustainable tourism standards across the four pillars of sustainability: environmental, cultural, and socio-economic impact and sustainable business operations,” she said.
“Balloon Aloft have proven their commitment to sustainable tourism practices and identified themselves as an ideal candidate for our global best-practice Sustainable Tourism Certification, and I congratulate them on this achievement.”
Ms Keenan said they had seen enormous interest from the tourism industry and, in 2023, partnered with Big Red Group to support operators on this sustainability journey.
“To see an industry leader like this seek opportunities to build sustainability capacity through our program is incredible,” she said.
“Their support to showcase operators who are making a difference and ensuring their customers can see those sustainability credentials is a significant commitment and a true demonstration of one of Australia’s largest tourism organisations to ‘walk the talk’ on sustainability.”
You can read the case study on the Balloon Aloft certification experience through the Strive 4 Sustainability scorecard program at www.ecotourism.org.au/balloon-aloft, and of course, the best way to find out more is to book a flight! Visit www.balloonaloft.com.au.
