"The Sustainable Tourism Index assesses countries on their commitment to develop and promote sustainable practices in tourism. It finds that, not surprisingly, the world’s developed countries have done more at the national level than their emerging-world rivals to formulate policy, foster adherence to recognised standards, encourage travel and tourism businesses to reduce their environmental footprint, [...]
Dec 27, 2017 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the Korean Ecotourism Standard for Destinations and the Korean Ecotourism Standard for Accommodations and Tours have achieved ‘GSTC-Recognized’ status. The Korean Ecotourism Standards for Destinations and Accommodations and Tours have been developed to guide both public and private sectors to [...]
December 2017 – McKinsey and the World Travel & Tourism Council examine how destinations can reap the benefits of tourism while preserving their unique qualities. In this report, McKinsey and the World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) introduce a simple, fact-based diagnostic to help destination leaders identify and address the challenges they face. We also offer [...]
GSTC Technical Director Andrés Fellenberg (second from left) and Vireo Srl auditors GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training for Auditors The GSTC has delivered a 2-part auditor training program for Vireo Srl, a certification body based in Italy specialized in environmental and sustainability certification schemes. The training consisted of (1) online interactive sessions covering key sustainable [...]
About the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program With the aim of strengthening awareness of sustainable tourism in destinations around the world, the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP) covers global trends in sustainable tourism and sustainability best practices for businesses and destinations, and offers a unique opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the GSTC [...]
December 2017 - Awareness of GSTC is growing in India, facilitated by the partnerships GSTC is forging with organizations like GreenOtels. With the GreenOtels team, awareness summits have been conducted through 2017 in ten cities including Bengaluru, Jaipur, Chennai, Kochi, Pune, Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad and Vishakapatnam this year. The mission of GreenOtels, a GSTC [...]
The "How Digitalization is Revolutionizing Sustainability in Thailand’s Future Tourism Industry" event, organized by DASTA (Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration), will take place on December 19th, 2017 in Bangkok. Main Topic: How Digitalization is Revolutionizing Sustainability in Thailand’s Future Tourism Industry Keynote Speaker: Mr. Randy Durband – GSTC Session 1 - Tourism industry outlook [...]
More than 1 billion tourists travel internationally each year. But not everyone wants you visiting their city. “There’s been a sudden explosion of awareness around over-tourism because there are more destinations where it’s become an issue,” says Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. As policy-makers and travel companies work to address an [...]
GSTC stalwart, Steve Noakes, was conducting a training themed “Sustainable tourism- Tourism sector contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030” for Mongolian tourism specialists on 4-7 December 2017 at the Khaan Hall of Chinggis Khaan Hotel in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and the Gorkhi-Terelj National Park. This 3-day intensive training program on tourism and the Sustainable Development [...]
The International Conference Azores 2017: Towards Sustainable Tourism was held in Lagoa, Azores, Portugal, on 5-6 December 2017. GSTC was among the international tourism organizations that have participated as speakers. Luigi Cabrini, GSTC Chair, gave a Keynote Address on "Tourism Trends and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's Criteria for Sustainable Destinations". Kathleen Pessolano, GSTC Strategic Partnerships and Destinations [...]
Ms. Natalia Naranjo, GSTC Trainer and Destination Assessor In a special agreement between GSTC and Sernatur Aysen, Chile, which hosted the GSTC2017 Aysen in September, the Chelenko Destination began a new process to start their path to the sustainability. For 2 weeks during November 2017, the Chelenko Destination went through a destination assessment and [...]
On November 22nd, 2017 the i20: Conectando Islas event took place in the heart of the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Valparaíso, Chile. i20: Conectando Islas is a gathering to discuss island sustainability and the urgently needed acts to reduce the negative impacts of tourism. The event was co-hosted by GSTC Member, Regenera ONG, and Ecoturismo at DUOC [...]
The "Hotel Yearbook 2018 – Sustainable Hospitality" has been released and is available online for free. Along the same lines as previous editions of the Hotel Yearbook, the 2018 Sustainable Hospitality edition gathers the thoughts and research from a wide-ranging group of senior executives, analysts, consultants and opinion leaders from all over the world to [...]
November 23rd and 24th 2017, at UniSey campus Anse Royale, Mahe The Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) in cooperation with the University of Seychelles (Department of Tourism and Cultural Heritage) and their partners the IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group (TAPAS group), the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) [...]
"Having sustainability certification is more important for Europeans, with 40% considering them to be “very important”. Younger consumers – those aged under 24 - can also be swayed by a resort having official certification with 65% saying it is “important” or “very important”." The Stop, Think, Discuss survey by Bouteco Hotels found 66% of respondents said sustainability [...]
Dr. Mihee Kang, GSTC Country Representative in Korea; and Mr. Inseog Hwang, Secretary General of Taehwa River Ecotourism Society On 17-21 November 2017, the 8th Asian Bird Fair was held in in Ulsan City's Taehwagang Migratory Bird Park, Republic of Korea (ROK). During the 8th Asian Bird Fair, Ulsan Metropolitan City and Taehwa River Ecotourism Society [...]
The GSTC is saddened by the loss of Amos Bien, GSTC Founding Member and Former Technical Director The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and its members are very saddened by the loss of Amos Bien (1951-2017), who was a leader of the GSTC from its inception. On Sunday 19 November 2017, after a long struggle, [...]
A Tribute to Amos Bien from Former GSTC Executive Director Erika Harms “Finding market solutions to environmental problems is the only way we will succeed”. This was the mantra by which Amos Bien practiced sustainable tourism. In 2006 when we at the UN Foundation embarked in the process of developing a set of sustainable tourism [...]
Shimabara Peninsula Declaration on Sustainable Tourism Destination Development and GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training in Shimabara Peninsula, Nagasaki, Japan, 1–5 November 2017 On 5th November 2017, three local governments in Shimabara Peninsula announced the Shimabara Peninsula Declaration on Sustainable Tourism Destination Development. The declaration was announced during the Shimabara Peninsula Forum (1-5 November 2017), which included [...]
'GSTC Emerging Destinations Workshop' and 'ASEAN Sustainable Tourism Policy Workshop' were Held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, 2-3 Nov 2017 The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) together with its Indonesian training partner, INDECON, conducted a two-day workshop (2-3 November 2017) in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, focusing on applying the GSTC Criteria in Emerging Destinations. The development of new, “emerging” [...]
