Booking.com's 2020 survey found that demand for sustainable accommodation is growing year on year: 82% of global travellers identified sustainable travel as important to them; 70% say they’re more likely to book accommodation if they know it’s eco-friendly. Therefore, Booking.com launched a new sustainability handbook for its partners. The handbook includes information on setting [...]
Using Standards to Scale Sustainability in Tourism There are countless standards and certification schemes for sustainable tourism in the world. This provides opportunities, but can also create confusion. For this reason, UNEP and UNWTO joined forces with industry leaders and the conservation community. Together, they created the GSTC as a Council and the GSTC [...]
In their 2019 Sustainability Report 2019, MSC Cruises aims for all shore excursion tour operators at their frequent destinations to be certified to the GSTC Criteria as part of the PROTECTOURS Program: “In 2019, approximately 10% of our excursions were with tour operators certified to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council - GSTC standards. The GSTC [...]
The GSTC Industry Standard has been translated into Japanese and is available to download in the Standard Translations section. GSTC観光産業向けスタンダードが日本語に翻訳されました。スタンダード（多言語）のページよりダウンロードが可能です。
In September and October 2020, the GSTC, in partnership with the Japan Tourism Agency (JTA) offered professional training sessions of the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP) in five regional destinations: 三浦半島 Miura, Kanagawa 京都 Kyoto ニセコ Niseko, Hokkaido 沖縄 Okinawa 白川村 Shirakawa, Gifu These destinations are part of the JTA's ongoing efforts to implement the Japan Sustainable Tourism [...]
Hotelbeds is launching a new initiative to identify, highlight and promote sustainable accommodation within its hotel portfolio. Over 15,000 properties are already part of The Green Hotels Programme and are available from today to more than 60,000 B2B travel buying partners worldwide. Additionally, Hotelbeds announces it has become a full member of the Global [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the GreenStep Sustainable Tourism Standard (version 2) for Lodging and Tour Operators has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status. GreenStep’s Sustainable Tourism standard is part of their broader Sustainable Tourism 2030 initiative, which provides programs and services for destinations, tourism businesses, and accommodation providers. The [...]
Turismo de Portugal has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. Turismo de Portugal is the official Portuguese Tourism Board, responsible for the promotion, development and sustainability of tourist activity in the country. It thus unites in one single body all the institutional powers relating to the development of tourism, [...]
Booking.com Reveals Nine Predictions For The Future of Travel #6 Impact Awakening Booking.com expects to see a more eco-conscious mindset in 2021 and beyond as Coronavirus has amped people’s awareness about their impact on the environment and local communities, according to new insights, data and research spanning 20,000 travelers across 28 countries. "Over half [...]
Destination Stewardship Report Autumn 2020 October-December (Volume 1, Issue 2) The Destination Stewardship Report is an e-quarterly collaboration between the Destination Stewardship Center and Global Sustainable Tourism Council, and in time maybe others. Our goal is to provide practical information and insights useful to anyone whose work or interests involve improving destination stewardship in a [...]
The GSTC Destination Criteria v2.0 has been translated into Thai and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. เกณฑ์การท่องเที่ยวอย่างยั่งยืนโลก สำหรับแหล่งท่องเที่ยว v2.0 (GSTC Destination Criteria v2.0) แปลภาษาไทย สามารถดาวน์โหลดได้แล้วที่ Criteria Translations.
The GSTC Destination Criteria v2.0 has been translated into German and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. Die GSTC Destination Criteria v2.0 wurde ins Deutsche übersetzt und kann im Bereich Criteria Translations heruntergeladen werden.
The pandemic has accelerated these trends. Prior to 2020, the government had already poured trillions of yen into promoting lesser-visited parts of Japan as tourist destinations. Although sustainability rarely factored into official tourism strategy within Japan, the effects of the climate crisis and overtourism appear to have finally made some impact. Government white papers [...]
Because so many organizations and destinations are coming at this from different starting points, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council - GSTC has established a baseline standard for more responsible tourism practices, offering criteria that help consumers find reputable destinations and companies. It also helps both government and private-sector organizations develop sustainable tourism requirements for destinations, [...]
ECPAT and the Down to Zero Alliance call upon governments and businesses to prioritize child protection when developing a sustainable future for the sector 25 September 2020 – The Down to Zero Alliance comprising Terre des Hommes Netherlands, Defence for Children-ECPAT, ECPAT International, Free a Girl, ICCO and Plan International Netherlands calls upon the intergovernmental [...]
The Center for Responsible Travel (CREST) released a new tourism industry study; The Case for Responsible Travel: Trends & Statistics 2020. This year's report includes a special focus on the two major crises facing our world today: climate change and COVID-19. Using cutting-edge research, the 2020 Case for Responsible Travel report provides an overview [...]
Sep 4, 2020 - WWF, in cooperation with relevant players in the travel and tourism industry and other civil society actors, has launched the Sustainable Travel Alliance online (可持续旅行联盟), in which over 21 members have made a commitment to fighting the illegal wildlife trade, and reducing plastic and food waste in the tourism sector. [...]
The Slovenian Tourist Board has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. The Slovenian Tourist Board (STB or STO in Slovenian) is a national tourist board that plans and carries out the marketing of Slovenia’s comprehensive tourist products and services and ensures the sustainable development of Slovenian tourism. The core [...]
The GSTC Board of Directors plays an integral role in the leadership of the organization. Most seats on the board are filled via annual elections of and by current members of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The GSTC Election Committee has validated the votes and has released the results. Four current board members were [...]
GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training for the Cayman Islands The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), in partnership with the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism (CIDT), organized a custom online training course for 20 CIDT representatives from across the organization, including a wide range of sections and departments - from customer service, to promotion, to [...]
