On June 14th, 2023, ahead of the first cohort of the GSTC Accessible & Inclusive Travel Online Course (July 3-9, 2023), Martin Heng, former Accessible Travel Manager and Editorial Adviser at Lonely Planet, shared invaluable insights in a public webinar about Accessible & Inclusive Travel. This public webinar was moderated by Roi Ariel, GSTC [...]
“Closing beaches that have been overused wouldn’t need to happen today if yesterday there had been proper planning and execution of sustainable policies, plus enforcement of existing laws relating to waste management,” says Randy Durband, GSTC CEO. “The good news is that there is positive movement. The bad news is that much needs to [...]
"In order for a destination to be certified as sustainable, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council outlines a list of criteria. It ranges from supporting local businesses, to conserving natural resources, and encouraging visitors to participate in the community." Separately, places like Jackson Hole, Wyoming and Yellowstone National Park in Montana are following a similar [...]
Arival Looks into the question: "Are Sustainability Certifications Worth It?" There is a clear business opportunity for tour operators to please travelers who care about sustainability a little—and to earn new customers from the passionate travelers who care about sustainability a lot. Certifications can help prove your company’s sustainable practices, and offer assurance to [...]
The GSTC Destination Criteria has been translated into Swedish and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. GSTCs Destinationskriterier har översatts till svenska och finns att ladda ner i avdelningen för kriterieöversättningar.
The Mauritian Standard on Sustainable Tourism is Now a GSTC-Recognized Standard The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the Mauritian Standard on Sustainable Tourism has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status. The Mauritian Standard on Sustainable Tourism (MS 165:2019) was developed to guide the sustainable development of the tourism industry in [...]
How to Support Healthy Tourism When You Travel: Tips from Airbnb Tourism Advisory Board Professor the Hon. Bob Carr, the former Foreign Affairs Minister for Australia and former Premier of New South Wales: "Beyond the advice of our Tourism Advisory Board, there are many other resources you can tap for learning how to be a [...]
PATA BUFFET (Building an Understanding For Food Excess in Tourism) State of the Industry Report Every year around the globe, 1.3 billion tonnes of food is lost or wasted. That is one-third of all food produced for human consumption (FAO, 2019). There is a huge opportunity for the tourism and hospitality industry in the Asia [...]
The GSTC Destination Criteria has been translated into Swedish and is available to download in the Criteria Translations section. GSTCs Branschkriterier har översatts till svenska och finns att ladda ner i avdelningen för kriterieöversättningar.
GSTC Member "Region Västerbotten" in Northern Sweden, has identified GSTC and its Criteria as a means to help create sustainable tourism in businesses and DMOs. Region Västerbotten is responsible for regional development and growth in Västerbotten County. This is the story of they have applied the GSTC Criteria in their region: Step 1: Regional [...]
Region Västerbotten in Northern Sweden has completed a three-year project of introducing sustainable thinking and acting among industry and public stakeholders with the GSTC Criteria as guidelines. About 60 tourism businesses were assessed with GSTC Industry Criteria and given sustainable tourism action plans. Participants ranged from small family outdoors businesses to city hotels, museums [...]
APEC Addresses Greenwashing in Tourism and refers to the importance of GSTC in a new Policy Report Demand for sustainable tourism has been on the rise, and with it came exaggerated sustainability claims – also known as “greenwashing”. This policy brief addresses the issue by examining the use of environmental certifications to address greenwashing and [...]
Global Travelers prefer eco-friendly accommodation: Booking.com Sustainable Travel Report 2019 70% of global travelers say they would be more likely to book an accommodation knowing it was eco-friendly, whether they were looking for a sustainable stay or not. However, when it comes to recognizing a sustainable place to stay, almost three quarters (72%) of [...]
Condé Nast Traveler Recommends GSTC “Aside from air travel, properties have some of the greatest impacts in terms of energy use and food." Check a hotel’s website for a "Responsible Travel," "Environment," or "Good Stewards" section—if they’ve spent time, energy, and money to be low-impact, they’ll likely have this information displayed - says Jim Sano, WWF's [...]
The Toll of Tourism: Can Southeast Asia Save Its Prized Natural Areas? From Thailand to Bali, a huge increase in tourists, many from China and other rapidly developing economies, is straining sensitive ecosystems to the breaking point. Some countries are trying to control the boom, with a few closing popular destinations to allow damaged [...]
Travel with Care in Thailand Thailand's Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat acknowledged that sustainable tourism looks beyond economic benefits: "Thailand, which witnessed 38 million tourist arrivals last year and tourism revenue approaching 20% of GDP, has provided us with a more challenging job." The tasks, he said, are to ensure fair distribution of [...]
H.E. Mr. Tserenbat Namsrai, Minister of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, and Mr. Randy Durband, CEO, GSTC As the central government body who is in charge of tourism development policy and coordination in the country, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism devotes itself to implement effective and credible sustainable tourism policies in [...]
GSTC Member St. Kitts’ Sustainable Destination Council (SDC) Wins WTTC 2019 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards in the Destination Stewardship category Once Again, GSTC Member Wins WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Destination Stewardship Award 2019: St. Kitts’ Sustainable Destination Council (SDC) WTTC has announced the 2019 leaders in sustainable tourism at the 2019 Tourism for Tomorrow [...]
HuffPost UK Recommends GSTC Book sustainable hotels and excursions #5 Look sustainable hotels and excursions: "Add sustainable accreditation to your criteria when checking out places to stay. According to Michael Gold, editor of The Economist Intelligence Unit’s Sustainable Tourism Index, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is one to look out for." Read the full article: 7 Ways To [...]
GSTC Chair, Luigi Cabrini, comments on tourism in Brazil in two articles published on G1 (Rede Globo): Carros ameaçam dunas em Jericoacoara; veja problemas do turismo em 4 parques nacionais (30 March 2019) 'Efeito manada' nas redes sociais e 'economia disruptiva' podem estimular turismo predatório (1 April 2019) by Patrícia Figueiredo
