FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
5 May 2008

Accor Hotel Supports Local Wildlife Sanctuary

The Yacht Club Hotel in Picton has pledged its support of a wildlife sanctuary project run by Kaipupu Point Mainland Island Society Incorporated.

The hotel, part of the international Accor group of hotels and resorts, offered its support to the Sounds Wildlife Sanctuary as part of Accor’s Earth Guest program, an ongoing initiative introduced by the group in 2006 to join together its social and environmental responsibility initiatives.

The incorporated society is pleased to have the hotel on board.

“It is fantastic that the hotel has chosen to support a local project and we are sure it will provide great relevance for guests to Picton as the gateway to the beautiful Marlborough Sounds”, says Juliet Gibbons, Chair of the incorporated society. “We hope to make the sanctuary somewhere these visitors can choose to visit once the ‘island’ is completed.”

The 'island' is a peninsula that separates Picton Harbour, where the inter-island ferries berth, from nearby Shakespeare Bay. It is connected by a highly developed isthmus and, as such, has been deemed a perfect place to provide safe haven for native New Zealand birds and other wildlife. Part of the land is Scenic Reserve administered by the Department of Conservation and the remainder belongs to Port Marlborough – around 40 hectares in total. The first major phase of the project, a 620 metre predator-proof fence, is nearing completion with the aid of funding received from the Canterbury Community Trust.

“Now that the fence is almost finished, the next phase of this project begins with the eradication of pests, the restoration of the native forest and the re-introduction of native species” says Mrs Gibbons. “There is a lot more work to be done and it is great that The Yacht Club Hotel is keen to support this in any way it can.”

Employees at The Yacht Club Hotel will be physically involved in pest eradication, planting native trees and other tasks as necessary. The hotel will also be assisting Kaipupu Point Mainland Island Society Incorporated in its fundraising efforts.

As part of Accor’s Earth Guest program, employees around the world take part in various social and environmental projects on international Earth Day on 22 April – which Accor calls Earth Guest Day. The idea behind Earth Guest Day is that we are all ‘guests of the Earth’ and should take time out to give back to the planet.

The Yacht Club Hotel General Manager Stefan Kracke chose Kaipupu Point over other projects after consultation with local Department Of Conservation members.

"I wanted our employees at all levels to get involved in this project as it is not only protecting and preserving this sanctuary, but is also helping to create an area where future generations of locals and visitors can experience the real beauty of the Marlborough Sounds. This is especially crucial considering the recent announcement that the highly respected TripAdvisor website recently voted Marlborough Sounds as the world’s top destination.”

*** Please find attached an image of Stefan Kracke, General Manager of The Yacht Club Hotel, and Juliet Gibbons, Chair of Kaipupu Point Mainland Island Society Incorporated at Kaipupu Point.

It would be greatly appreciated if you do run an article to please send through to Amber Blair at the email or postal address below – thank you very much.

Accor, the European leader and a major global group in hotels, the global leader in services to corporate clients and public institutions, operates in nearly 100 countries with 170,000 employees. It offers to its clients over 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:
- Hotels, with the Sofitel, Pullman, Novotel, Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, all seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands, representing more than 4,000 hotels and nearly 500,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre.
- Services, with 30 million people in 40 countries benefiting from Accor Services products in human resources, marketing services and expense management.

ENDS

© Scoop Media