In the first half of the session, Michal spoke about the organisation, its goals and plans.  The group was then divided into smaller groups to work out a list of objectives and how they feel these could be achieved.

TAI looks at both the supply and demand aspects of the ecotourism, which should act for:

1)  Protection of the environment.

2)  Increase the profit/welfare of the local population.

3)  Enhance the visitor's experience.

4)  Provide an economic profit.

TAI's vision is ‘ecological change in tourism to cause ecological changes in the daily life of the public in Israel'.

Membership and publicity in TAI is based on ten categories.  TAI works with a set of criteria set by 27 international groups created worldwide that created a standard for application.  However, as the areas of tourism can be so varied, it was hard to reduce the questionnaire to a size that would be readily used by tourists.  5 pages was already an achievement, 3 pages an almost impossible task.  The ten categories are:

1)  Save and recycle water. 

Examples included Kibbutz Nir Oz growing desert plants that require little water and are suited to the region; Rish Lekish in Tzipori that was a poultry coop redone ecologically into a house including a ‘green roof', meaning plantings to both provide more plant life and insulation.  Hotels saving on laundry is another, a card stating that ‘We do... please help us conserve by...'.  Michal reiterates the importance of the hotel showing what it's doing before asking others to.  Use of grey water for irrigation of landscaping was mentioned, and what they called ‘wetlands'.

2)  Conserve energy.

Lot Hotel on the Dead Sea was mentioned, running greatly on solar energy.  Insulation should be used in buildings.  Naturally occurring materials in the locale should be employed for construction rather than shipping in things from elsewhere.  The Hilton Hotel's ‘We Care' campaign was mentioned.  The hotel promotes energy efficiency, water conservation, recycling, and chemical reduction.  The employees in the hotels best succeeding in conservation in each geographic area are all awarded bicycles.  The campaign has additional benefits such as promoting employee solidarity.

3)  Reduce, separate, and recycle rubbish.

Examples given included old tyres serving as planters, making compost and even doing projects like on Kerem Maharel where residents were each provided a special bin for compost type rubbish that were collected regularly by the person making the compost.  Hotels can offer bins for the various types of recycling and yes, employees complain, but it needs to be a matter of routine that this is how things are done.

4)  Ecological gardening.

Tzipori had several sites mentioned.  One place grew spices and medicinal herbs completely organically, also gave workshops.  Mitzpeh Hayamim hotel near Safed produced vegetables, flowers, and from the sound of it even a dairy.

5)  Green construction

Ones that don't harm the environment.  Ones that are locally produced so that transport is not adding to pollution and wasted resources.  Nichuah Teva in Mitzpeh Ramon, made own soaps, has become nationwide.  Bedouin embroidery in Lakia, support local talent to make income for families and be a tourist attraction, everybody wins.

7)  Investment in community

Fawzi Azar hostel in Nazareth mentioned, old building made into hostel, using and promoting all local businesses.  Dvora Hatabor honey, working with school children.  Ownership and management of things like hotels should be local so that the local economy benefits rather than all going to the hotel owned by someone elsewhere.

8)  Encourage walking and environmentally friendly transportation.

Create bike paths, have bike rentals.  Hooha hotel in Kfar Tabor - bicycle tourism.

9)  Support natural resources and conservation, local culture, and landscapes

10)  Responsible marketing

Misleading marketing reflects on the whole area, not just the entity doing it.

French hotel chain, Accor, to conserve the Red Sea, located in Sinai.  Involves kids, hotels, school outings, brochures in the rooms.  They say that ‘Accor is dedicated to preserving the environment with...' and only then ask employees and guests to follow suit.

The workshop part of the session involved creating a local ‘platform'.  This depends on a common language, and is in a context of one entity depending on another so that all succeed.

First Michal asked us to decide who the stakeholders are.  This included residents, the City Hall, schools, tourism businesses, secondary businesses depending on these, environmental groups and agencies, the military, governmental bodies, Katza, and the port. 

Then we were all handed sheets of paper and were asked, in small groups, to list things in the areas of environment, economy, and community that we feel should be done, and how it might be accomplished.  At the end these were read out and discussed, and then collected by Yael Edri, the workshop organiser, to be considered as part of the input for the overall environmental programme in the city. 

There were instances when discussion amongst the participants, numbering fewer than the first session, got fairly lively.  Some issues brought up were moot points because they addressed how the situation got to where it is rather than how to work with what we have, and sometimes disagreements regarding hotels versus local businesses and other matters. 

Sefi Hanegbi, Michal Wiemer, Yael Edri 

Some of the issues mentioned by the work groups involved incentives for businesses, employees, and tourists to be more ‘green'; noise pollution both in town and on the beaches, including blaring music from yachts as well as beach facilities; light pollution as it affects seeing the stars, no dark at night for residents in many areas, and the damage when marine life is exposed to an unnatural photoperiod such as the hotel approved on the Coral Beach; more use of vegetation natural to the area and of grey water (which sprouted an argument about how much to plant at all in Eilat); and more.  Sefi Hanegbi, of the Tourist Administration, already comes from a background of sustainable tourism that has been an active project for three years, so is a very willing partner in a position of influence to help promote the issue in Eilat.