New Concepts Tackle Luxury Travel’s Abuse of Nature in Asia
Photo Credit: Bangkok-based architect Bill Bensley in studio. At the Global Wellness Summit in Singapore in October, Bensley announced that he would create a reference guide focused on sustainable building that hospitality brands can incorporate into their building standards. Bensley Architecture, Interior Design, Landscape
Skift Take
Enough of abusing nature for luxury. Tourism players in Asia-Pacific share how conscious design and excursion-based wellness can change how we think about luxury resorts.
For all the trendy sustainability initiatives hotels have been touting, the industry has made little headway in rethinking its environmental footprint in the race to set up in picturesque yet ecologically fragile locations.
In Asia-Pacific, low-impact luxury advocates from Bangkok-based architect Bill Bensley, who will continue moving the needle with his latest “human zoo” concept, to niche wellness players like Australian pioneer in integrative and holistic medicine Marc Cohen — are bringing change. But they need an army.
To grasp the gravity of environmental degradation resulting from tourism development, one must look at Asia. Mangroves that provide coastal stability against natural disasters, among other important functions, have over the years been making way for tourist resorts in the region. And even after the sobering events from the 2004 tsunami leading to the beefing up of coastal protection including in India, ecologically sensitive environments are yet again op
