The Duke of Wellington writes to Jan Telensky

News udpate: The Duke Of Wellington writes to Jan Telensky, patron of Holdays4Heroes, saying he finds the project "a most noble gesture". The letter from His Grace The Duke of Wellington can be viewed at Holidays4Heroes news.

The world’s leading green resort achieves the world’s first Live Earth certification

The world’s leading green resort achieves the world’s first Live Earth certification

AquaCity Resort, Slovakia, has become the first destination in the world to achieve `Live Earth’ certification, a global accreditation that offers an internationally recognised certification of sustainability; encompassing environmental, social, cultural and economic factors.

Over four million people have visited AquaCity since it was constructed four years ago.

Reg Easy, Director of Live Earth, said:
“AquaCity Resort has achieved standards of sustainability to which all tourism destinations should aspire. Live Earth recognised that the Resort is making responsible use of energy and materials, staff are being trained in best environmental practise and waste materials are being disposed of responsibly. This is exactly the benchmarks that we are looking for from our Live Earth certificated members”.

AquaCity is built above vast subterranean sources of geothermal water, which is utilised both in its waterpark and spa, and to heat and power the resort, supplemented by solar power generated by photo-cells in the façade of one of the indoor pool complexes.

The resort saves around 27 tonnes of C02 from entering the atmosphere each day and was built to fulfil the owner’s vision to demonstrate to the world that being `green’, not only saves the earth’s valuable resources, but saves money by using freely available natural energy, to give this world class resort a business edge.

The Live Earth programme is part of The Green Organisation, a non-profit, non-political, non-activist environmental sustainability group, dedicated to recognising, rewarding and promoting best practices around the world.

Live Earth certification recognises the best practices of sustainability, but setting benchmarks of sustainability and certifying those organisations who achieve these standards.

For information about Live Earth certification visit www.leiuk.org or tel 0044(0)1892 66533.
For information about AquaCity visit www.aquacityresort.co.uk

Press contact: Mary Stuart-Miller, 0044 (0) 1403 738844, m.stuart-miller@virgin.net


Poprad turns out to say `Thank you for the music’



One of Slovakia’s most successful businessmen, British owner of the world-renowned AquaCity resort Poprad, Czech born Mr. Jan Telensky, has brought church music back to the community of Poprad in north east Slovakia with his generous sponsorship of the restoration of an unique Baroque church organ.



Mr. Telensky paid for the 18th century organ to be restored and installed in the Church of St. Egidius in his wife’s home town after hearing of his plight while visiting Poprad for the mayoral elections.



The organ, which took 18 months to restore, will be blessed by the Bishop on Sunday 20th April in a `Christening’ service at which the British Ambassador to Slovakia, Mr. Michael Roberts, an accomplished organist, will play a half hour recital.



Built in the Austro Hungarian town of Orava in 1786, the organ was neglected and gradually fell into decay, before being dumped and in the mid 1990’s. Hearing of its plight, the Dean of Poprad, Father Oparti, pleaded with his colleagues in Orava not to throw it on the scrap heap and took it to the 13C church of St. Egidius in Poprad.



Mr. Telensky, who also owns the neighbouring, world-renowned AquaCity Resort, one of the region’s largest employer, offered to pay for the total restoration of the organ, which included reclaiming the ivory from two Viennese grand pianos and sourcing ebony from sustainable forests in Africa.



The organ was rebuilt by local organ masters, using pipes made in the Czech town of Kutma Hora, and an additional register to the existing 20 registers, made in Germany, making it unique for a Baroque organ.



The opulent decoration on it includes gold angels, seated at different levels, to represent Slovakia’s three mountains of Tatra, Matra and Fatra. Two of the angels are watching the other playing a flute. Mr. Telensky said, “The decoration is symbolic of the spirit of our times. We live in a world where a small minority of people create the opportunities, the others criticise them and put them down”.



The British Ambassador to Slovakia, Mr. Michael Roberts, a distinguished organist, will perform a half an hour recital during the service. Mr. Telensky, himself an accomplished musician, will join him, playing violin, and AquaCity marketing manager, Mr. Jan Profant, playing double bass, performing Vivaldi’s second movement of the Concerto in D Minor for violin, organ and strings.



Commenting on the cost of the restoration, Mr. Jan Telensky said “The bible tells us that `When the left hand gives the right one must never know about’. The restoration of Christianity following communism is priceless and to give such an instrument to the oldest church in this region, which in the past didn’t have an organ, is something you can’t put a price on”.



The `Christening’ service for the newly restored organ will take place at 10am CET and members of the public and press are warmly invited to attend.
End.



Press contact: Mary Stuart-Miller, 0044 1403 738844. e-mail m.stuart-miller@virgin.net



Further information:-
The Church of St. Egidius is an early Gothic, Roman Catholic church in the centre of the north eastern Slovakian town of Poprad, dating from the late 13th century, housing wall paintings from the 15th century. It was closed during the communist era under threat of subsidence, though vagrants and the homeless were allowed to reside there.

AquaCity to host the first World Travel Green Awards in September 2008

World’s first leading green resort hosts first World Travel Green Awards

AquaCity Resort, Slovakia, has been chosen to host the first World Travel `Green’ Awards, to be held in the eco-friendly waterpark and spa over the weekend of 5th – 7th September 2008.

The Awards recognise the top achievers in the global travel industry, voted for by travel agents internationally. The Green Awards will recognise the contribution tourism organisations are making towards conserving the planet and advancing green tourism.

AquaCity Resort was the first winner of the World’s Leading Green Resort and its British CEO, environmentalist businessman and visionary, Mr. Jan Telensky, was awarded special recognition as the Travel Industry’s Leading Green Personality in 2007.

AquaCity was built to demonstrate Telensky’s vision that it is possible to be green, affordable and still have a business edge, by reducing running costs through using freely available, natural resources to heat and power the resort. This saves millions of euros each year and around 27 tonnes of carbon emissions from entering the atmosphere each day, compared with a resort burning fossil fuels.

The world’s first Green Travel Awards at AquaCity will host around 250 representatives from hotels, resorts and destinations worldwide and will honour those who are making the most effective contribution to green tourism.

Mr. Jan Telensky said “AquaCity is the natural home for the World Travel Green Awards, having been the first winner of the World’s Leading Green Resort. The future of tourism is bound up in its responsibility towards conserving energy, respecting our surroundings and not destroying what the tourists are coming to enjoy when they come on holiday. That is why AquaCity is playing such an important role in demonstrating to the world’s hotels and destinations that they can be green, affordable and profitable”.

Graham Cooke, president and founder of the World Travel Awards said “We’re delighted to be coming to AquaCity for the first ever World Travel Green Awards. The World Travel Awards is proud of its impartial nature and the comprehensive process of its voting programme. Votes are cast by 167,000 travel agents and tourism professionals from 198 participating countries which makes winning an award the greatest form of recognition in the travel business”.

For information about AquaCity visit http://www.aquacityresort.com/

For information about the World Travel Awards visit http://www.worldtravelawards.com/ or call 0044 20 7925 0000

Press contact: Mary Stuart-Miller, 0044 1403 738844, m.stuart-miller@virgin.net

The Prestigious Tatler Magazine features AquaCity



Please click on the images to enlarge

AquaCity, Poprad on Travel Channel

TRAVEL CHANNEL REPORT
AquaCity was voted the World’s Greenest Resort at this year’s World Travel Awards. Producer Ged Cleugh travelled there from London Stansted to Poprad Slovakia with Sky Europe. His trip was organised by Czech Travel.

AquaCity, Poprad – named the world's leading green resort at the World Travel Awards – sponsors Going Green on RTI.

AquaCity, Poprad – named the world's leading green resort at the World Travel Awards – sponsors Going Green on RTI.

22 October 2007, Poprad, London: RTI, Radio Tatras International, the leading pan-European English/Slovak radio station, is proud to announce the commencement of a new mini-series called GOING GREEN.

GOING GREEN will be short sponsored programs explaining how anyone can help the environment and often save money whilst they are doing so.

Jan Telensky, owner and chief executive of AquaCity, said, “Even though AquaCity has been awarded for it’s work within the complex, there is much more we need to do to help mother earth.

“AquaCity is now a globally recognised example of how we can create sustainable tourism, one of the most overwhelming issues the travel industry faces today and a far-reaching example of how to use green technology to commercial advantage.

“Many of those examples we now wish to share with the RTI audience and additionally some ideas that we have received from the RTI listeners.”

Eric Wiltsher, Broadcast Director RTI, added, “This is a perfect of example of sustainable business supporting the wider issue of the environment.

“Many of the tips in GOING GREEN are obvious, but being reminded about them helps us to actually do something about GOING GREEN.

“As Mr Telensky stated, using green technology can be of great commercial advantage, it can also be of financial advantage to those at home as well – just changing one light bulb can make a difference to the environment and the home-owners electricity costs.”

GOING GREEN can be heard seven days a week on RTI, in Slovak and English, and listeners with additional suggestions for inclusion in future programmes should e-mail planet@rti.fm

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Notes for Editors

For more information about RTI:

Petra Norris - Telephone (office hours) +421 (0)52 78 71 999

info@rti.fm

For more information about AquaCity and it’s environmental achievements:

Mary Stuart-Miller – mary.stuart-miller@virgin.net

AquaCity Resort wins world’s top `green’ tourism accolade


AquaCity Resort in Poprad, Slovakia, has won the world’s top `green’ tourism accolade, `World’s Leading Green Resort’ at the World Travel Awards in Gateshead, Newcastle, on 9th October, ahead of competition from resorts in the Maldives, the Caribbean, South America and Australia. Over 167,000 travel agents and travel industry professionals from 200 countries voted for the winners in the 14th Annual World Travel Awards, which this year for the first time included `green categories’.

Mr. Jan Telensky (centre) with Mr. Dusan Novotny (left), Counsellor Slovak Embassy, receiving the World Travel Award for World's Leading Green Resort, from Graham Cooke, President, World Travel Awards

Owner and CEO of AquaCity, British based businessman Mr. Jan Telensky said:-

“In just three years, with no previous experience in the travel industry at all, I’ve shown the world that affordable, green luxury can go hand in hand. I have fulfilled the vision I had to create a luxury resort that runs on geothermal water and the sun’s energy to power its hotels, pools, spa, conference and leisure facilities.

AquaCity is now a globally recognised example of how we can create sustainable tourism, one of the most overwhelming issues the travel industry faces today. It is a blue-print for future tourism and a far reaching example of how to use green technology to commercial advantage.

Only by cutting my fuel costs, using natural energy sources to power the resort, can we afford to offer such a high quality holiday product at affordable prices. That is the key to AquaCity.

I would like to thank 167000 members of the travel industry who voted AquaCity the world's no. 1 green resort".”