Discover how Martin County is dedicated to promoting and supporting ongoing sustainable tourism practices. 

Project Highlights

The Protect Our Paradise website serves as a portal for visitors and residents to learn more about environmental conditions, initiatives, and issues taking place in Martin County. The website, operated by the Martin County Office of Tourism & Marketing, includes various resources and points of focus that can be accessed by the blue tabs at the top of the page. There are plenty of simple ways visitors can help support sustainability while staying in our area. 

For example, plan a “green” getaway. Launched in 2004, the Florida Green Lodging Program is a Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) initiative that designates and recognizes lodging facilities that make a voluntary commitment to conserve and protect Florida’s natural resources. Facilities are able to obtain different “Palm” levels, rating 1 to 4 palms, based on the total number of points received when implementing criteria to receive their designation.

Martin County has also teamed up with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to promote a Skip the Straw initiative, which challenges individuals, schools, and businesses to help reduce pollution from plastic in Florida. 

And there are countless “voluntourism” activities and experiences that visitors can partake in during their time in Martin County. For example, join a beach clean-up with Keep Martin Beautiful or help restore local seagrass habitats with the Florida Oceanographic Coastal Center.

How else can you help make a difference? Shop local vendors that support sustainability practices, join advocacy groups with missions you support, and most importantly, incorporate reduction strategies into your everyday routine.

Resilience is described as persistence and the ability to function in the face of change. The Martin County Office of Tourism & Marketing set the example during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tourism & Marketing team fostered economic resiliency by creating a Digital Marketing Training Program to help local tourism-dependent businesses navigate the ever-evolving digital marketing landscape and sharpen their marketing skills. Over 60 businesses registered for the free program and participants who completed all four trainings received $500 in advertising funds to help develop new campaigns for their businesses.

The Hutchinson Shores Resort & Spa was just designated as a 3 Palm property by the Florida Green Lodging Program. There are only 18 hotels with the 3 Palm designation in the Southeast region. Meanwhile, the Hutchinson Island Marriott Beach Resort & Marina has been designated as a 2 Palm property. 

If every person in Florida took the Skip the Straw pledge, we could reduce pollution from plastic straws by approximately 2.35 million.

Visit the VolunTourism website to learn more about how to incorporate voluntourism into your upcoming Martin County vacation.