The Urban Development Corporation-owned Green Grotto Caves and Attractions in Discovery Bay, St Ann is the first cave in the world to receive the prestigious EarthCheck Master Achievement Award.
EarthCheck, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism in alerting the attraction’s management of the endorsement in November 2017 said it had obtained Master Certification Achievement, representing 15 years of continuous accreditation with EarthCheck.
Zoe Ma, Relationship Manager for Earthcheck said the “Master Level Certification” now places Green Grotto- an attraction operated by the St Ann Development Company, a subsidiary of the Urban Development Corporation – as a leader in the unique worldwide group of sustainable tourism operators that are certified to the internationally recognised EarthCheck Company Standard.
“Sandraleen Tucker, Manager of Green Grotto Caves & Attractions, in responding to the announcement said the attraction’s team was “very proud” of the certification “We were first certified in 2003, at that time we were Green Globe Certified and then they changed to Earthcheck and we got the Earthcheck Gold Certification in 2009 having been certified for 10 consecutive years and then Platinum Certification in 2012, this year is our fifteenth year so we are at the Master Level”, Tucker chronicled.
“Getting to that level was no walkover… each year we try to lessen what we use in terms of utilities and so on. For benchmarking, we have to do a lot of paper work because daily we have to record what we use in terms of utilities at a set time. We have to ensure that all our licenses are in place and that the property is in good shape in terms of safety and security. We practice the four R’s which are rethink, reduce, recycle and reuse,” Tucker outlined. The impact of those practices has gone beyond the boundaries of the caves property, she noted.
Green Grotto Caves and Attractions is situated on 64 acres of land in Discovery Bay, St. Ann between the resort centres of Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. The rates for non–residents to access Green Grotto Caves and Attractions are US$20 for persons ages 13 years and over and US $10 for children between the ages 4-12. Special rates apply for Jamaican residents and patrons are encouraged to call the attraction at 973-3217; 973-2841; 973-2766 and 973-2767 or contact them at www.greengrottocavesja.com for further details. The attraction opens daily between the hours of 9:00 am – 4:00 pm.
For further information, please contact
The Corporate Relations and Marketing Department
Urban Development Corporation
12 Ocean Boulevard
Kingston, Jamaica Tel: (876) 922-8310-4
Email cr@udcja.com
December 1, 2017