responsible and sustainable tourism

Responsible and sustainable tourism is everyone's responsibility, we want to encourage our visitors to take care of our wonderful and sacred region. 

1. Ensure our region is a better place for people to live in and better place for people to visit. Now and for future generations.
2. Operators, hoteliers, wineries, restaurateurs, attractions, local people and visitors alike, all taking responsibility and actions to make the Hunter Valley more sustainable. 
   1. Our vignerons support Sustainable Winegrowing Australia: the national program that helps grape-growers and winemakers demonstrate and continuously improve their sustainability in the vineyard and winery by focusing on the environmental, social and economic aspects of their businesses.
   2. Reducing energy consumption: large solar farms are a feature of our region, they provide significant savings in our region’s greenhouse emissions (tonnes CO2)
   3. Reducing water consumption: most businesses in wine country are not connected to town water. This means water must be harvested and collected in dams for irrigation and everyday use.
   4. Reducing waste:  
      1. Most businesses in Wine Country manage their own wastewater as there is no town sewer.  Water is recycled as irrigation water for vineyards and gardens.
      2. The region has a highly effective program for recycling all of the general waste like paper, plastics + glass are all separated in order to avoid disposal as landfill. 
3. The attitude, you the visitor takes and the choices you make. Choosing to respect and benefit the local people, their cultures, economies and the environment. This could include, but is not exclusive to the following communities: LGBTIQA+, Indigenous and people living with a disability.

We encourage visitors to