New Program from Akra Hotels: “Ethical Tourism”

Akra Hotels , which has undertaken numerous sustainable projects such as solar power plant investments, a greywater recycling project, and a zero-waste policy, has consolidated its sustainability efforts under the Ethical Tourism program. Through a dedicated website for this program, Akra Hotels will communicate its environmental awareness, social responsibilities, and ethical values ​​to its guests, business partners, and industry stakeholders in a more transparent and effective way. This website, which gives Akra Hotels a new vision for sustainability, will also serve as a milestone in tracking the progress made in its sustainability efforts and identifying areas for improvement.

It will also focus on increasing the number of responsible and conscious tourists.

The website, which contains a wealth of information on everything from the reduction of carbon emissions achieved through improvement policies implemented across all Akra Hotels' hotels to human resources, sustainable purchasing, and gastronomy policies, will also present best practices, ongoing projects, and future goals with a holistic approach. This website, which includes Akra Hotels' environmental commitments such as focusing on renewable energy sources, reducing plastic use, and protecting the seas and coasts, as well as social commitments such as equality and inclusiveness and women's employment, as well as economic commitments, will be a virtual reflection of Akra Hotels' sustainable and environmentally friendly approach to tourism. Akra Hotels clearly expresses its responsibilities to the environment, people, culture, and industry through its Ethical Tourism program, and will also focus on increasing the number of responsible and informed tourists through informative messages published on its website.

It aims to meet 100% of the electricity needs of all its facilities from solar energy.

In addition to its Sustainable Tourism Certificates, Akra Hotels also holds the international “Travelife Sustainability Certificate,” and is committed to sustainable resource use, mitigating climate change, and protecting biodiversity and ecosystems. To this end, with the solar power plants commissioned in Döşemealtı and Aksu in 2022, Afyon Sandıklı in 2023, and Alanya and Elmalı Bayındır in 2024, the hotel generated 2024 kWh of electricity in 18.990.945. With this energy, it covered approximately 2024 percent of its electricity consumption in 65 from solar power. With its operating solar power plants totaling 21 mWp, Akra Hotels aims to generate 33 million kWh of electricity from solar power plants through its investments and the conservation measures it will implement, and to meet 2025% of the electricity needs of all its facilities from solar power by the end of 100.

Energy savings of up to 30% thanks to motion and presence sensors

Akra Hotels, which has recently implemented sustainability-focused improvements at many of its facilities, is achieving significant energy savings with smart room systems. With the Gray Water Recycling project, which launched in 2024, the company conducts laboratory analyses of purified water and uses it for garden irrigation. This project aims to save approximately 25% to 30% of its water resources. With xeriscaping, the hotel reduces garden fertilizer use by 98.4%, and motion and presence sensors in rooms save up to 30% on energy. Frequency inverters in the heating system, booster pumps, and main air conditioning units aim to reduce electricity consumption by 15% to 25%. As part of its zero-waste approach, it transforms waste vegetables into spices and uses them in sauces. By opting for environmentally friendly dispensers instead of single-use items in rooms and common areas, Akra Hotels also aims to reduce the use of plastic bottles and paper in its facilities. Akra Hotels, which carries out work to protect the endangered Caretta carettas and the region's endemic sea daffodils, also contributes to the sustainability of regional employment by sourcing nearly 95% of its kitchen products from local producers.

The first company to receive (FEM) certification in the tourism sector 

Not limiting its sustainability efforts to the environment alone, Akra Hotels has also taken many steps to increase the participation of women in business and society. With 35.7% female employees, Akra Hotels has signed the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs), a joint initiative of the United Nations Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment Unit (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compact, as part of its commitment to promoting gender equality and women's empowerment in the sector and society. Furthermore, Akra Hotels, which holds the Great Place To Work® ^Turkey 's Best Employer™ title, received the "Equal Opportunity Model" (FEM) certificate from KAGİDER (Turkish Women Entrepreneurs Association) for its human resources practices that support women's employment and provide equal opportunities for women in all areas of business life. Akra Hotels became the 55th company in Turkey and the first in the tourism sector to receive the Equal Opportunity Model (FEM) Certificate.

Source: HORECA Trend and Akra Hotels