Team Herald
PANJIM: The Indian Society of Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers (ISHRAE) held its annual convention here in Goa on Friday to discuss on how to reduce energy consumption in the hospitality sector.
This convention was held in the backdrop of TechFest-Goa, 2015 which took place in a reputed hotel near Panjim. The event was attended by 100 engineers, quality control professionals, technocrats and specialists from the Heating, Ventilation, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration (HVAC&R) industry from across the country.
As one of the largest business sectors across the world which provides employment to about 250 million people across the globe, hospitality industry is turning out to be one of the major sources of revenue generation. In India, it contributes to about 7 per cent of the total GDP.
K Ramachandran, national president of ISHRAE while address a press conference said that, “With over 3000 hotels of which about 100 are 4 star and above rating, the hospitality sector is largely responsible for Goa’s continued and steady growth. Goa has been emerging as a hub for such concepts as sustainable hotels due to the size of the sector. A sustainable tourism facility has a high value to both customers and investors. Customers will demand environmentally-friendly and resource-efficient accommodations, and investors are often willing to pay a substantial premium to be part of a development with “green” features”.
The hospitality sector is one of the most energy and resource-intensive branches of the tourism industry. Substantial quantities of energy are consumed in providing comfort and services to guests. The result of this is reflected on the environment with excessive consumption of resources as well as by effluence of air water and intense soil. The large quantities of waste products generated in hotel facilities pose a further significant environmental threat.
