One year after launching the R4MSEC Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) reflects on the progress of this initiative, created to address the specific challenges micro and small tourism enterprises face in accessing sustainability certification. The Roundtable was established to bring together stakeholders from across the tourism [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) participated in ITB Berlin 2026, held from March 3 to 5 in Berlin, Germany. As one of the world's leading travel trade shows, ITB Berlin once again provided an important meeting point for tourism stakeholders from across the globe. This year, GSTC welcomed visitors to its dedicated exhibition [...]
The GSTC MICE Standard for venues, event organizers, and events & exhibitions has been translated into Spanish and is now available to download in the GSTC Standard Translations section. Our sincere thanks to Alejandra Zita, Specialist and Trainer in Sustainable Events and Tourism in Latin America, for her support and volunteer work on the [...]
GSTC participated in the CLIA European Summit 2026, organized by the Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), held from 23 to 26 February 2026 in Madeira, Portugal. The Summit brought together a wide range of stakeholders from across the European cruise ecosystem, including industry leaders, policymakers, port authorities, destination representatives, and other industry stakeholders. The [...]
2026年2月18日～19日、東京国際フォーラムにて開催された「サステナブル・ブランド国際会議2026 東京・丸の内」は、「Adapt and Accelerate」をテーマに10周年を迎えました。本イベントには多くの企業リーダーが集い、ブランド変革、イノベーション、リジェネラティブ（再生型）実践、分野横断的な連携について議論が行われ、環境および社会的パフォーマンスに関する構造的な対話の場が提供されました。 本会議のオープンセミナー；MICE誘致における食のサステナビリティ ：サステナブル・レストランは必須か？では、GSTC（グローバル・サステナブル・ツーリズム協議会）ファイナンス・ディレクターの貝和 慧美が登壇し、GSTCの活動概要およびGSTC MICEスタンダードに関する最新の国際動向ついて紹介し、会議・イベント分野におけるサステナビリティ実践を導くグローバルフレームワークとしての重要性を強調しました。 「会議・イベント業界が環境および社会的要請の高まりに直面する中、GSTC MICEスタンダードは明確な指針を提供しています。GSTCのF&Bスタンダードもまもなく発表予定であり、MICEやホテル分野と密接に関連する内容となります。GSTCの各種スタンダードは、関係者が注力すべき分野を理解し、サステナビリティの実践を強化し、長期的な計画や意思決定に責任ある手法を組み込む為の支援となります。」と貝和氏は述べました。 本セミナーは、一般社団法人日本サステナブル・レストラン協会（SRA）の代表理事であり、GSTC F&Bスタンダード開発の際に、アドバイザリーグループメンバーとして参加していた下田屋氏の企画・ファシリテーションにより実施されました。GSTCによる国際的な視点の共有に加え、日本各地の地域およびレストランの事例も紹介され、地域の事業者がどのようにサステナビリティをF&B戦略に組み込み、MICE市場での競争力強化につなげているかが示されました。 今回の議論では、サステナビリティスタンダードと市場の期待との整合性が高まりつつあることが強調されました。特にアジアでは、多くのデスティネーションが責任あるイベント運営に向けた体系的なアプローチの価値を認識し始めています。これは、MICE分野を含む観光バリューチェーン全体においてサステナビリティを推進するというGSTCの継続的な取り組みとも密接に連動しています。
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has launched the GSTC Knowledge Hub, a new resource platform developed to support tourism professionals with practical, well-structured, and accessible sustainability insights. The platform is designed to enable seamless navigation and keyword-based search, allowing users to quickly locate relevant content according to their specific needs and areas of [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has released a new resource, Pathways to GSTC Destination Certification, to support destinations in navigating the process toward GSTC Destination Certification*. As sustainability continues to gain importance across the tourism sector, many destinations are seeking guidance on how to move from intention to implementation. This document addresses that [...]
Ahead of the GSTC2026 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference, GSTC will deliver two onsite GSTC Auditor Trainings in Phuket, Thailand. Running in parallel with the other pre-conference training courses, these trainings provide participants with the opportunity to develop auditing competence aligned with the GSTC Standards and strengthen their technical understanding of sustainability audits before the [...]
The Region of Istria (Croatia) has joined as a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Istria is a heart-shaped peninsula located in the heart of Europe, in the Adriatic Sea of the Mediterranean. The region is characterized by a combination of coastal scenic areas and seaside towns, inland rural landscapes, vineyards, and [...]
GSTC CEO, Randy Durband, along with Michelle Janke, GSTC Regional Director for Europe, visited Budapest, Hungary, February 9 and 10, 2026, to engage with key tourism stakeholders and further strengthen collaboration around sustainable tourism development in Hungary and the wider Central European region. The visit aimed to exchange insights on sustainability challenges specific to [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has released the first report from the R4AWT – Roundtable for Animal Welfare in Tourism, an initiative established to support dialogue and collaboration on animal welfare practices within the tourism sector, aligned with the GSTC Standards. First R4AWT Roundtable Report on Animal Welfare in Tourism available here [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) congratulates Cooperative JOO-IN, a locally rooted tour operator based in Buyeo, South Chungcheong Province, which has become the first Korean local Tour Operator brand to achieve GSTC Tour Operator Certification. The certification was officially approved on December 26, 2025, following a one-year independent assessment conducted by Control Union [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) participated in the ASEAN Tourism Forum 2026, held on January 29, 2026, in Cebu, Philippines, under the theme “Navigating our tourism future, together.” Marking its 45th edition, the forum brought together national tourism organizations, policymakers, development institutions, and tourism stakeholders from across the ASEAN region and beyond to [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has published its first report from the R4MSEC – Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification, an initiative launched on 14 March 2025 to support the development of certification approaches that are more accessible and relevant for micro and small tourism enterprises. First R4MSEC Roundtable Report on Micro [...]
GSTC attended a series of European tourism policy and sector events held in Brussels from January 26 to 28, 2026, as part of European Tourism Week. These events brought together European institutions, public authorities, and tourism stakeholders to address current priorities and future directions for the tourism sector in Europe. GSTC was represented at [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) participated in the Tamil Nadu Global Tourism Summit 2026, held in Chennai, India, on 2-3 February 2026. As part of the official program, CB (Ram) Ramkumar, GSTC Vice Chair, moderated the panel session “Rethinking Ecotourism Beyond Sanctuaries.” The session encouraged participants to move beyond a narrow understanding of [...]
GSTC congratulates Khiri Travel on achieving GSTC Certification across all its operational destinations in Asia. Khiri Travel, a destination management company based in Southeast Asia, operating in Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka, was officially certified on 18 December 2025 by Control Union, a GSTC-accredited certification body. At Khiri [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) participated in the Sapporo MICE Promotion Committee MICE Seminar, held on Tuesday, January 27, 2026, at Lilac Square in Sapporo City, Hokkaido, Japan. Yasufumi Takagi, Membership Manager, Tourism & MICE Promotion Department, of Sapporo City, did the opening remarks. He stated that ‘he hopes to deepen his understanding [...]
The revision process of the GSTC Destination Standard version 2.0 has officially begun, marking a new milestone in its continuous evolution since its formal release in December 2013. This revision phase opens a structured consultation process aimed at ensuring the Standard remains relevant, robust, and aligned with the evolving realities of sustainable tourism and [...]
GSTC will be present at ITB Berlin 2026 (March 3rd-5th), with a dedicated area for the GSTC secretariat and GSTC-accredited Certification Bodies at Hall 4.1 (Responsible Tourism). Come meet us there. In addition to the physical exhibition area, GSTC representatives will share insights through the following talks at The Lighthouse Stage in Hall 4.1b Adventure ∙ [...]
