Tel. +44 (0)1273 600030 (UK)
During the winter we set up a training academy to support all three of our Turkish centres in Phokaia, Ortakent and Teos. We employed 35 Turkish staff and spent two months training them up to work as part of the Beach teams in our resorts for this summer.
We provided free accommodation and food, taught them all to sail dinghies and windsurfers and then flew out RYA trainers to run an instructor course for them, of whom 85% passed. Those who passed now have an internationally recognised qualification. Then we trained them up to safety boat standard on powerboats, gave them daily English lessons, put them on a six week course to do all their Turkish captain’s license courses so they can drive powerboats and ski boats legally in Turkey. We also put them all through their emergency first response first aid course. And then we took seven of them and trained them to drive ski boats and take their first steps in teaching wakeboarding and skiing.
Community
We have employed 10 local staff on the beach/ski team and invested in training them up to become qualified instructors. 90% of our hospitality staff are local. Bike rides go to the local markets giving the guests time to buy locally sourced gifts and food. We have regular “Sail4Cancer” nights raising both money and awareness for this great charity.
We encourage UK staff to learn Turkish. We always show respect when in the local towns and areas. We are also giving free English lessons to all of our local staff and are attempting to do Turkish lessons for the UK staff. We outsource various activities to local businesses, including scuba diving, laundry, security services, gardeners and maintenance in hotel.
We have 3 non-inclusive nights, so the guests can eat in the local restaurants. Some of our staff accommodation is rented through houses owned by the local villagers. We have Efes beer on tap in the bar which is a Turkish beer and we offer a selection of local Turkish wines on our menu (90% of wines we serve are Turkish wines). We also offer excursions to local areas to generate revenue in those shops and restaurants. We buy local food wherever possible (vegetables, fruits etc.). To support local business and wherever possible, we source supplies from the local community
Environment
We use key cards in all the rooms so the electricity is switched off when guests leave their room. We do not use any harmful liquids to clean the boats, and we give guests a chance to re-use towels. All of our safety boats are 4-stroke engines, minimising harmful emissions. We also ensure bike rides do not disturb local farmers or fishermen. We have a constant litter pick policy – If you see litter anywhere on site pick it up!
The waste water is treated onsite in a biological unit and reused on the grounds. In all our rooms we have showers not bath tubs. No air conditioning unit will turn on if the windows or doors are open. All of the cleaning chemicals we use are supplied by Ecolab, who are certified with Product Quality ISO 9001 and Environment ISO 14001 because they are safe for the environment and biodegradable. All of the Kitchen and Maintenance oil is recycled. We use energy efficient light bulbs across resort
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