The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) co-organized a European Climate Action Day event in Brussels, Belgium, on March 26, 2026, titled « Building Climate-Resilient Destinations: Integrating Climate Indicators into Sustainability Standards. » Co-hosted as an official European Climate Action Day event, the gathering brought together policymakers, destination representatives, tourism businesses, and sustainability experts to explore how tourism destinations can better respond to climate risks through stronger standards, measurable indicators, and collaborative action. The event included presentations and panel discussions with representatives from the GSTC, the Puglia Region of Italy, EU organizations, and GSTC-Certified entities.
The program opened with introductory remarks moderated by Cinzia De Marzo, Lawyer, EU Senior Advisor, and European Climate Pact Ambassador, and included a welcome from Graziamaria Starace, Regional Councillor for Tourism and Promotion of the Puglia Region.
Held at the Puglia Region Headquarters in Brussels, the event also addressed the growing need for tourism stakeholders to strengthen both climate mitigation and adaptation efforts. Discussions were framed around the role of destinations in responding to challenges such as extreme weather events, biodiversity loss, and infrastructure vulnerability, while also aligning tourism with broader European climate objectives.
A central part of the event was the climate-focused workshop connected to the ongoing revision of the GSTC Destination Standard. Facilitated by Rachel McCaffery, the session created space for a focused exchange on how climate mitigation, risk assessment, adaptation, and resilience can be more effectively embedded into destination standards. The discussion provided input relevant to the broader consultation process for the revision of the GSTC Destination Standard.
Particularly valuable were the contributions from two GSTC-certified representatives who brought practical, on-the-ground perspectives to the conversation. Ignacio Sandino, General Manager of Citadines Toison d’Or and Citadines Sainte-Catherine Brussels of The Ascott Limited, shared how the certification process had supported their efforts to better understand their baseline, document actions, and develop new initiatives. His presentation highlighted concrete examples from Citadines Sainte-Catherine Brussels, including local partnerships, community engagement, and investments such as the installation of 230 solar panels expected to reduce annual energy consumption by 84,000 kWh.
The destination perspective was brought by Eric Caspers, Strategic Advisor, and August Eggebeen, Policy Support Officer for Economy and Recreation, from Schouwen-Duiveland in the Netherlands, a GSTC-certified destination. Their contribution offered a practical perspective on how certification can support destination management, measurement, and climate-related planning at the local level.
The event concluded with wrap-up remarks from Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Regional Director for Europe and European Climate Pact Ambassador, who reflected on the importance of aligning tourism policy, destination management, and sustainability standards with Europe’s evolving climate agenda. The Brussels event also demonstrated the value of dialogue among public institutions, destinations, and tourism businesses, while supporting the ongoing discussion on how climate considerations may be reflected in the revision of the GSTC Destination Standard.
“It was a pleasure to collaborate on this event with the European Climate Pact community and to build more of the bridges we need to encourage climate action in the tourism sector,” said Wendy Li, National Programs Director at GSTC. “Every destination needs to adapt to climate impacts, and every destination can play a part in reducing its emissions. We congratulate our GSTC-certified destinations, hotels, and tour operators for committing to climate action and look forward to sharing more of their practical examples.”
Acknowledgements
The GSTC extends its gratitude to Cinzia De Marzo for co-organizing this event and to the Puglia Region Headquarters in Brussels for their hospitality and warmth. We also thank the speakers who contributed their nuanced and expert insights from Visit Brussels, the European Committee of Regions, International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC), Citadines Brussels (the Ascott Limited), and the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland, Netherlands. Finally, thank you to all the participants in person and online who gave valuable input into the ongoing revision of the GSTC Destination Standard.
