Hugo Clément highlights the excesses of mass tourism
The five-star hotel shown in the video is located on the island of Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. Metin Ozgur – Stock.adobe.com
In a video clip that was widely circulated on social media, the presenter of the program appeared On the forehead It shows the drab behind-the-scenes of a hotel in Indonesia, but claims to be environmentally responsible. An open-air dumpster behind an idyllic setting.
Luxury lodges and a beautiful pool in the shade of coconut trees, all just a stone’s throw from the beach. The ideal location promises guests of this five-star hotel on the Indonesian island of Gili Trawangan an unforgettable stay. But behind this postcard decor, piles of waste pile up in the open a stone’s throw from the rooms, even attracting animals in search of food. This is what is revealed in a video shared by journalist Hugo Kleiman on Sunday, which was viewed nearly 2.5 million times in less than 24 hours.
“This is the hidden side of mass tourism that we do not see On insta Or TikTok», comments Hugo Clément in the two-minute video produced on the sidelines of filming the next show of On the forehead France 5. Food packaging, household waste, construction rubble…”And this is all the hotel places directly in nature“, describes when the illegal dump is discovered at the back door bend. If the journalist does not mention the name of the establishment, there is a clue to its identification: a slipper bearing the name Jambuluwuk, a five-star hotel offering a one-night stay at 70 euros per night.
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Rated “Sustainable Travel” on Booking
The images became more convincing because “The hotel highlights its environmentally responsible side on its website and praises its waste management“, continues Hugo Kleiman. However, many netizens point out in the comments that this problem is global in Indonesia due to the glaring lack of infrastructure dedicated to waste collection.
When booking, Jambuluwuk Oceano Gili Trawangan offers Level 3 in the “Sustainable Travel” category, the highest level of excellence. “We should be wary of these badges that are based solely on advertisements. Large platforms like Booking do not conduct any verification and do not include environmental responsibility criteria in their rating network.“, warns Guillaume Joffre, co-founder of GreenGo. In this French and environmentally responsible alternative to Airbnb, accommodations are evaluated on a grid of 113 environmental criteria before being selected.
Previous guests are best able to describe the reality of their stay and condemn bad practices.
Guillaume Joffre, co-founder of GreenGo
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Booking also understands that it awards the Sustainable Travel badge based on the good faith of hosts. “This organization has asked us to work and invest significantly towards greater sustainability, by implementing practices that can have a positive impact on an environmental and social level.», we can read on the platform.
So how do you separate the wheat from the chaff? First, refer to labels such as the European Ecolabel, Green Key, or Ecogîte, which are often awarded by third-party organizations. “However, these marks have limitations because they cover a small geographical area and are awarded to very few institutions.», warns Guillaume Joffre. Another solution is to read online reviews on different platforms: “Community is the most powerful lever and Hugo Clément’s video shows the impact it can have. Customers who have stayed in a hotel are better able to describe the reality of their stay and condemn bad practices.
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