The country's tourism operators may soon be able to give their green credentials the tick of approval. A 12 month trial of this Green Tourism project has just been completed in Tasmania. 40 Tasmanian tourism operators have taken part in the federally-funded trial.

The project aims to encourage environmentally friendly tourism, by helping operators reduce their energy, water and waste usage.  In one year, the participating tourism operators have saved 104 tonnes of carbon emissions; the equivalent of taking 24 cars off the road.

Project manager Gerry White says Tasmania was chosen for the trial because it already had a clean green image. "This was an opportunity to make use of that image but back it up with some actual hard facts" he said.

Project trainer Mike Wilson says the tick will give operators a reason to assess their operations and prove their green credentials.  "We're trying to give operators a benefit because it does take effort to do these things and they've often got to do a bit more in terms of recycling, rubbish disposal, and separating things into different sections for that disposal" he said.

One of the successful operators, Margate vineyard owner Helen Lindsay has earned her green tick.  She organised relatively small changes like sectioning off rooms, installing insulation and positioning windows to catch the morning sun, Ms Lindsay has been able to cut her energy use by a third. "Our power bill went down from $6,000 to $4,000, which was really good," she said.

With the trial now completed, the project needs State Government funding to expand Tasmania-wide then onto nationwide.  Organisers of the project hope the green tick will become a nationally recognised symbol and attract more green dollars.

Editors Comments: Port Douglas already has many eager participants in the climate change and eco friendly operations. Great Barrier Reef tour operator, Poseidon, for example, already have a 'green plan' in motion with their boats running in an environmentally efficient programme and their tree planting initiative to offset their carbon emissions making headway.  Quicksilver are also running a refurbishment programme for their Reef boats to ensure that both their operating systems and engines are as eco friendly as they can be.  So this area won't need any encouragement to join this scheme and get the recognition they already deserve with a big green tick to showcase to their visitors.