Responsible Hotel in Costa Rica Inspires with New WTM Award

image courtesy of Hotel Belmar e1649361880821 | eTurboNews | eTN
image courtesy of Hotel Belmar
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Written by Linda S. Hohnholz

A family-owned and operated boutique hotel located in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica’s cloud forest, Hotel Belmar, has won the Silver award at the Latin America Responsible Tourism Awards. Presented by World Travel Market (WTM) last night in Sao Paulo, Brazil, the Responsible Tourism Awards showcase best practices in responsible tourism to inspire others across the industry, and Hotel Belmar was recognized for Sustaining Employees and Communities Through the Pandemic.

WTM Responsible Tourism is the largest program in the world that focuses on responsible tourism efforts within the travel industry, tackling issues, highlighting sustainable practices, and sharing ideas to pave the way for the future of travel. It exists to share practical solutions that make better places for people to live in and better places for people to visit.

As the first eco-focused hotel in the Monteverde region of Costa Rica, Hotel Belmar has been caring for the environment and the community they live in and love since it opened in 1985.

The hotel has been integral to the region’s green development.

It has transformed the remote area into a thriving collective of eco-tourism enterprises and initiatives with an organic garden and farm, a private reserve, wellness programming, nature activities, and more.

At the onset of the pandemic, the hotel reacted swiftly to find ways to sustain employment and guarantee food security in the Monteverde area. Utilizing resources still active in the hotel during the COVID-19 shutdown, Hotel Belmar decided to leverage their staff’s expertise to expand their vegetable gardens, create a local farmers market selling fresh produce, bread, jam, granola, and all of the Belmar favorites, previously only available at the restaurant. This helped sustain jobs, offer affordable goods to the local community, and most importantly keep people hopeful, during a time of tremendous stress.

“We’re grateful to our employees for embracing their new roles and making this program a continued success,” said Pedro Belmar, CEO of Hotel Belmar. “We’re extremely happy to have helped our hotel family provide for their families while also providing for our neighbors during these difficult times.” 

About the author

Avatar of Linda S. Hohnholz

Linda S. Hohnholz

Linda Hohnholz has been an editor for eTurboNews for many years. She is in charge of all premium content and press releases.

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