Wyndham Alltra Cancun All-inclusive ResortsCaring for Yucatan’s Turtles, People & the Environment
Wyndham Alltra Cancun All-inclusive Resorts takes pride of place on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, with its white sand beaches facing the Caribbean Sea. First certified by Green Globe in 2018, Wyndham Alltra Cancun has recently been audited and scored an impressive 94% of the sustainable tourism criteria.
One of Wyndham Alltra Cancun’s exemplary practices is its Turtle Farm, which aims to protect, hatch and release baby turtles during the annual egg laying season, May to September. This initiative is part of the Protection and Conservation of Sea Turtles program which has been developed by the Benito Juárez City Council. Through the program Wyndham Alltra obtains an annual permit issued by Mexico’s Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT) and receives training from the Ecology Department of Benito Juarez City Council.
Down on the beach, before the arrival of the turtles, Turtle Farm pens and signs for nest identification are constructed on-site in accordance with the eco-standard - NOM-162-SEMARNAT-2012. Daily monitoring begins with the arrival of the turtles, and Hotel associates volunteer to care for and protect the turtles during the nesting and egg-laying process. While the turtles lay their eggs, Hotel associates carry our data collection measuring each of the sea creatures’ length and width. Once the egg-laying process is finished, the eggs are removed from the original nest and transferred to the protection of the Turtle Farm.
The sheltered pens are identified with date, species, measurements, number of eggs and name of the associate who attended the process. The entire Turtle Farm is monitored daily, keeping out natural and human predators. When the turtles hatch and appear on the surface of the sand, the hatchlings are collected and released at night, giving them a greater chance of survival. The results from the last Green Sea Turtle season in 2021 where: 59 nests constructed; 6995 eggs transferred to the pens; and 6752 turtle hatchings released.
Back at the Hotel, further environmental actions are taken to protect the turtles’ marine environment from pollution. Used cooking oil is recovered from kitchens to stop these fats being poured into drainage and contaminating precious aquifers. The steward department oversees cleaning the fryers and collecting the remaining vegetable oil, which is stored in an exclusive waste handling area. The used oil is later collected by an external waste management service provider and is used to manufacture cleaning products.
This year, Wyndham Alltra Cancun also started a new program to collect soap discarded by guests. The Hotel’s housekeeping department carries out the task of separating important waste to be reused. Leftover soap, previously destined for the trash, is now donated to the Sacando Espuma foundation. The soap is recycled and in turn distributed to vulnerable communities in the state of Quintana Roo to increase levels of sanitation. This simple but very effective enterprise helps local communities to combat high mortality rates caused by acute respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases
Contacts:
Jessica Huesca de Jesús
Supervisor lider de calidad / Quality Lead Supervisor
Wyndham Alltra Cancún
Blvd. Kukulcan Km 11.5 Zona Hotelera
Cancun, Quintana Roo,
Mexico C.P 77500
jessica.huesca@playaresorts.com
alltrabyplaya.com
Bradley Cox
Director Communications
Green Globe Certification
1223 Wilshire Blvd. Suite 925
Santa Monica, CA 90403 / U.S.A.
Phone: +1-310-337-3000 ext. 105
Skype Direct +1 760 536 6581
Mobile +61 400 848 746
bcox@greenglobe.com
www.greenglobe.com
About Green Globe Certification
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 visit www.greenglobe.com
