"Hotel sustainability certification is driving savings and increasing customer satisfaction levels, according to Tui research. But it is a challenge 'to get the message to customers' and awareness is hampered by the inaction of leading online travel agents (OTAs) that fail to identify certified hotels." "Certified hotels also recorded higher customer-satisfaction scores. The hotels [...]
"Planning a responsible trip, however, requires a lot of research – and it remains especially difficult to find information on responsible tourism in remote destinations and developing countries. So why not recruit an operator to do the legwork?" "Sustainable tourism certification is also increasing. For the past two years, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) [...]
The One Planet – Sustainable Tourism Programme Annual Magazine 2017/2018 is available now in a digital version. In this third annual edition, the One Planet - Sustainable Tourism Programme magazine presents the highlights of the network’s activities during 2017-2018. Featuring the new strategy 2018-2022 “One Plan for One Planet”, this publication spotlights also the four principle tenets of the Kasane Call to Action on Sustainable Tourism: “#TheTourismWeWant”: Lead, Innovate, Finance, [...]
Impact Travel Alliance freshly published thought-leadership study, 'Bringing Sustainable Tourism to the Masses,” contains optimistic news and a strong framework to accomplish the much-needed work ahead to integrate sustainability into all types of travel. Released at Impact Travel Immersion, the study was written in partnership with Mandala Research and Community by Design. “We are on the cusp of seeing [...]
The Five Years In: The One Planet Network 2012-2017 (Mid-term Magazine) presents key outputs and outcomes of the One Planet Network at mid-term (2012-2017), based on the 10YFP Indicators of Success framework and online reporting process, identifying opportunities and challenges to be addressed in the years ahead. This report is one of three elements of the [...]
The GSTC Industry Criteria has been translated into Vietnamese and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. Tiêu chuẩn Điểm đến Du lịch GSTC đã được dịch sang tiếng Việt và có thể tải về từ mục Criteria Translations.
The GSTC Industry Criteria has been translated into French and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. Les Critères Industriels du GSTC sont traduits en français et peuvent être téléchargés dans la section traductions des critères.
The GSTC Industry Criteria has been translated into German and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. Die GSTC Industry Criteria wurde ins Deutsche übersetzt und kann im Bereich Criteria Translations heruntergeladen werden.
The Criteria for Thailand’s Community-Based Tourism Development is now a GSTC-Recognized Standard July 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the Criteria for Thailand’s Community-Based Tourism Development, published by Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status. The Criteria for Thailand’s Community-Based Tourism Development [...]
Sustainability Vanuatu & Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) MOU Signing GSTC Members Sustainability Vanuatu and Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) have recently signed an MOU, sharing good practices based on similar challenges and opportunities while using the GSTC destination framework. The MOU is a result from the Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States [...]
Mr. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, has visited Vanuatu, a new GSTC Destination Member, in June 2018. (Left to Right) Acting Director, Vanuatu Department of Tourism, Mr. Donald Pelam; GSTC CEO, Mr. Randy Durband; and Chairman of Sustainability Vanuatu, Mr. Paul Kaun The visit included signing an MOU with the Acting Director of [...]
Vanuatu Department of Tourism Joins GSTC June 2018 - Vanuatu Department of Tourism has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. Vanuatu Department of Tourism is a government agency established under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade, Industry and Ni-Vanuatu Business. The Department focuses on policy, destination management, product development, cruise [...]
July 5, 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Green Destinations has achieved the ‘GSTC-Accredited’ status. The awarded status affirms Green Destinations’ commitment to promoting sustainable destinations. Green Destinations (GD) is a non-profit organisation of experts and destination ambassadors working in 80 countries. GD supports a large community [...]
On 14 June 2018, a GSTC Delegation attended the 2018 Sichuan Garze Mountain Tourism Festival opening ceremony took place. Mr. You-Cai Xiao, the Governor of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Deputy Secretary of Garze Committee of the Communist Party of China, opened the ceremony, with Mr. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, giving opening remarks. "The UN has created the [...]
8.3 million TUI customers stayed in sustainable hotels certified to a GSTC-Recognized standard (80% of the hotels owned by TUI Group) TUI Group's ambition is to increase the number of hotels with sustainability certifications to accommodate 10 million customers a year by 2020. TUI Group encourages their hotels to become certified to GSTC-Recognized Standards, with [...]
Keynote speech by Randy Durband, GSTC CEO On June 12th, the 1st (2018) Adventure Travel World Leaders Forum took place in Beijing, China. The event was organized by China Adventure Travel Association, a GSTC Member. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, gave the keynote speech on the "Origin and Current Situation of Worldwide Adventure [...]
(c) Walking Mountains Science Center Training Partner: Walking Mountains Science Center, Vail, Colorado The GSTC is pleased to welcome the Walking Mountains Science Center in Colorado, USA, as a new training partner for the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP). Founded in 1998, the Walking Mountains Science Center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization offering nature-based [...]
The UNTWO Publication on "Tourism for Development" has been released At last, the UNWTO flagship publication on ‘Tourism for Development" has been released. This publication, as a key outcome of the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 (IY2017), addresses the changes needed in policies, business practices, and consumer behavior for tourism to [...]
Innovation Norway Sustainable Destination Standard is Now a GSTC-Recognized Standard June 7, 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Innovation Norway’s Sustainable Destination Standard has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status. Innovation Norway’s Sustainable destination standard includes 45 criteria and 108 indicators to be measured, registered and monitored. The standard covers [...]
GSTC Training Partner: PlayForest Cooperative The PlayForest Cooperative is a cooperative of sustainable travel businesses designed to benefit local communities and local activists dedicated to the conservation of their forests and to provide genuine community-based natural tourism experiences to the visitors. While PlayForest works as a tour operator to develop tours, the cooperative focuses on [...]
