The Coral Triangle Initiative Sustainable Marine Tourism Conference was held in Bali, Indonesia on August 27-29, 2015. GSTC Chair Luigi Cabrini was one of the plenary panel speakers on Best Practices for Sustainable Marine Tourism as well as in a session on Eco Certification for Sustainable Marine Tourism Businesses. [...]
August 26th, 2015 – In TUI Group’s recently released Sustainable Holidays Report 2014, the multinational travel and tourism company highlights continued work on their sustainability program. TUI had identified four goals in their three-year sustainability program, related to the priority areas of destinations, carbon, colleagues and customers. The report provides updates on the progress made [...]
August 3, 2015 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council announces the results of their 2015 Board of Directors Elections. 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 Council. The GSTC Election [...]
(July 28, 2015) An interview with Khiri Travel’s Graham Read about their recent Travel Life certification and sustainability practices. The Southeast Asia based destination management company and GSTC member Khiri Travel , recently achieved Travel Life Certification for their Tour Operations in Thailand, Myanmar and Vietnam. Khiri group’s new certification is a major advancement for creating [...]
A GSTC Sustainability Training and Accreditation Workshop was held in Bonn, Germany from July 21-24, 2015. This workshop was hosted by the GSTC accreditation partner, Accreditation Services International (ASI). The training program specifically targeted certification bodies that may wish to seek GSTC Accreditation for their existing or proposed sustainable tourism [...]
(July 9, 2015) A record 1.1 billion tourists traveled to international destinations in 2014, and the World Tourism Organization predicts that international travel will increase by 4% by the end of the year. The tourism industry continues to have an enormous impact on the environment and on communities in and near popular travel destinations – [...]
July 7, 2015 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the TOFTigers Initiative’s Pug mark Eco Certification program has achieved ‘GSTC Recognized’ status. The awarded status affirms TOFTigers Initiative’s commitment to promote sustainable tourism products and services. Started in 2008, the PUG certification is a credible eco-label that highlights the [...]
(June 18, 2015) Innovation Norway continues to champion sustainable tourism with their recent launch of the country’s Sustainable destination standard. Since May, four destinations in Norway have achieved the new label and one has received the prestigious World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Destination Stewardship. Innovation Norway has successfully [...]
UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai Shows Support June 15, 2015 - Longtime Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) supporter UNWTO Secretary-General Taleb Rifai recorded this message about the GSTC. It reinforces the necessity and value of the GSTC Criteria in global tourism. As a global agency, responsible for the promotion of responsible, sustainable, and universally accessible tourism, [...]
(June 4, 2015) For their contributions to the successful planning and execution of the Latin American Regional Meeting in Quito, Ecuador, the GSTC would like to thank our Country and Regional Representatives: Natalia Naranjo Colombia and Ecuador; D’Arcy Dornan for Brazil and Jorge Moller for Chile and Argentina. Without their outstanding efforts and regional knowledge, [...]
May 28, 2015 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that The Long Run’s Global Ecosphere Retreats® (GER) Hotels and Tour Operators Standards program has achieved ‘GSTC Recognized’ status. The awarded status affirms The Long Run’s commitment to promote sustainable tourism products and services. The Long [...]
(May 27, 2015) In a collaboration between the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and the Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) a six day GSTC Sustainability Training Course concluded this past Sunday in Kasane, Botswana. The GSTC Sustainability Training Course had 20 participants from the BTO including Auditors of the Botswana Ecotourism Certification System, and key managers [...]
Biosphere Responsible Tourism Certification, run by Instituto de Turismo Responsible (ITR) recently achieved GSTC Approved Status for their Destination Standards. Previously, ITR had been Approved for their hotel and tour operator standards. This is a landmark accomplishment as ITR is the first to achieve GSTC Approval for both Hotel & Tour Operator and Destination [...]
5 May 2015 – Quito, Ecuador. The Ministry of Tourism of Ecuador and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) have partnered to create standards for sustainability in the travel and tourism sector throughout Ecuador. The GSTC has conferred it’s mark of “Recognition” that Ecuador’s sustainability standards adhere to the universal standards that the GSTC has developed [...]
April 30, 2015 – The GSTC Latin America Regional Meeting took place April 26th with great success. The gathering gave 75 travel and tourism professionals from over 12 countries a foundational list of tools, contacts, and references to improve overall sustainability of their operations. Structured in part like a workshop, [...]
With environmental threats to the Great Barrier Reef reaching alarming concern, GSTC Recognized standard Ecotourism Australia, is guiding hotels and tour operators towards certification and striving to conserve this asset to the tourism industry in Australia. Ecotourism Australia represents close to 1,500 ecotourism products in and around Australia. Membership is offered for tourism operators [...]
The iconic Yellow Mountains of Huangshan, China boast the only Global Destination Stewardship Award in the country and an UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. Huangshan Scenic Area, China (HSAC) are longtime members of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and past participants of the GSTC Early Adopters Program. Given these accomplishments, HSAC will be hosting the [...]
April 14, 2015 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the GREAT Green Deal Sustainable Certification Program has achieved ‘GSTC Recognized’ status. The awarded status affirms GREAT Green Deal’s commitment to promote sustainable tourism products and services The GREAT Green Deal Sustainable Certification Program (GGD) represents a way of doing [...]
April 8, 2015- The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce the recent launch of the GSTC Destinations Program. For all destinations, even those with no previous experience with sustainability, the GSTC Destinations Program offers valuable engagement with a GSTC destination expert providing custom guidance on the world’s leading destination sustainability standard: the [...]
Sustainable tourism certification programs have increasingly become an important strategy for encouraging the sustainable production of travel & tourism goods and services. However, the overwhelming number of existing sustainable tourism certification programs create both market and consumer confusion regarding what is to be expected from a sustainable tourism product or experience. Since 2008, the Global [...]
