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The beauty of the GSTC is that it is a collaborative effort. All of our members have undertaken activities or represent companies who have undertaken activities to support the advancement of Sustainable Tourism. We are inclusive organization and we work hard to reach out to build partnerships. Making sustainable tourism mainstream is not something that [...]
The GSTC Board of Directors includes twelve seats with three-year terms, with annual elections for those among the twelve which are vacant or expired. This committee plays an oversight role on the process of nominating and electing board members to those seats. Their specific duties are dictated by the organization's bylaws. herbert.hamele @ ecotrans.de y: [...]
Membership Council Membership Governance Board of Directors Executive Committee Elections Working groups Conflict of Interest Operation Staff Travel Policy Funding Donations Fees For Service Sponsorship
By-laws: Revised (proposed) By-laws: Current GSTC Business Plan Operations Manual Accreditation Standards Setting/Criteria
Resolutions 1. Revised By-laws
Discussion Papers 1. Certifications on the Board
Board Meeting Agenda Membership Council Meeting Agenda
Over the past twenty years, Barcelona has undergone an extraordinary evolution as a tourist destination. Boosted by the Olympic Games of 1992 (an authentic point of inflection - before and after) Barcelona has gone from being practically irrelevant on the international tourist circuit, to becoming one of the most highly desired world destinations. With [...]
Consumer interest in Sustainable Travel is on the rise. According to a recent report from CMIGreen, consumers are more actively engaging in activities and purchasing decisions that are inline with their values. When consumers made the same value alignment with fish and paper products big changes were seen in those respective industries. Study after study [...]
In a previous post we talked about the fact that customers are removed from the certification process. They aren’t fully aware of what a business is doing and/or if that business is making improvements in order to maintain its status as a certified sustainable business. True. These same concerns surrounded the establishment of programs for [...]
Leilani Latimer - Sabre Holdings, GSTC Board Member and Chair of the Market Access Working Group Standards for Sustainable Tourism When you think of standards, do you think of limitations or confinements? If you've ever been in sales, you know that standards can give you boundaries, which you can then run freely [...]
One of the most common misconceptions about the GSTC Criteria is that it was designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution. This couldn’t be farther from the reality. The criteria are a reference or starting point for any business seeking to become more sustainable. In fact, the GSTC has created tools to help businesses do a [...]
The International Standards Working Group will gather at the 2nd Annual GSTC Membership Council Meeting to continue our work on updating the GSTC Criteria. Our Working Group is responsible for managing the GSTC Criteria, specifically the revision process as required by ISEAL standards. Prior to the annual meeting I wanted to provide a bit [...]
Shannon Stowell - President, Adventure Travel Trade Association and GSTC Board Member I recently sent a direct invitation to the entire Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) members to join the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Why? Why would I encourage our members to join another organization? Because I believe membership in the GSTC [...]
Amos Bien - Technical Director, GSTC The GSTC and the Rainforest Alliance are presenting a two-part webinar series for ATTA on using certification to position businesses in the marketplace. Our fabulous Technical Director, Amos Bien, will moderate the sessions. Session #1, covering terminology and definitions, will be June 9 @ 10am PDT [...]
Last week at the World Travel & Tourism Council's Global Summit held in Las Vegas, Nevada, GSTC Executive Director Erika Harms spent some time chatting with TravelMole TV's Charles Kao.Erika discusses a number of issues about GSTC's future education outreach to providers and consumers, the growing demand for sustainable tourism, new partnerships with Amadeus and [...]
There has been some talk about the GSTC not being responsive to criticism. We’d like to address this and then get back to the collaborative work of helping the travel and tourism sector protect destinations, reduce poverty and create equitable and productive markets. The GSTC takes feedback and criticism seriously. We posted an open letter in [...]
The GSTC Secretariat is pleased to announce the opening of the GSTC Board Election process as described in our by-laws (Article 5, Section 5) and Operations Manual. To review the process please click here. First please visit the Candidates page to learn about each candidate. Then click on VOTING FORM to make your selections. On [...]
