The Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) organized a half-day GSTC training (Cerf Island, Seychelles, April 1st, 2017) for its board members and partners to familiarize them with the criteria and discuss their implications for the Seychelles. One of the main aims of the SSTF is to work towards a GSTC destination certification of the Seychelles by 2022. The foundation will use the GSTC criteria as a basis for its action planning, working together with its partners and other stakeholders towards this ambitious goal.
The workshop was held by GSTC trainer Anna Spenceley who presented and discussed the criteria with the training attendees.
Discussing the « lifecycle » of destinations, the attendees noted that many islands in the Seychelles are at a crossroad in terms of tourism growth: Some are facing the risk of a declining product and visitor experience due to unsustainable growth; all have the opportunity to rejuvenate by focusing on a sustainable path.
Through the training session, SSTF has been able to gather stakeholder feedback on the first areas of the GSTC Destination Criteria to prioritize for action planning and for next steps to be taken by the foundation to build measurable activities and projects.
Following the training, SSTF will develop an action plan based on the criteria and the priorities identified by the training attendees, with the long-term goals of developing a Seychelles baseline standard in 2017, and building concrete 5-year development targets and indicators.
About the SSTF
The Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) aims to making Seychelles an international best practice example for sustainable tourism through an integrated collaborative approach between public, private sector, academia and NGOs. The foundation connects, collects, shares, lobbies, implements and raises funds for this endeavour and is the main focal point for all sustainable tourism matters in the country.
GSTC Training Program
The GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP) provides the knowledge and resources needed to help improve sustainability practices by tourism industry businesses and destinations. Built on the framework of the GSTC Criteria,, the STTP training class will help you achieve tangible actions that fulfill the globally recognized standard of sustainability best practices.
STTP training class options include onsite (face-to-face) training, online facilitated training, and tailored training for destinations and for businesses. For more information, contact: Ayako Ezaki, GSTC Training Director, training [at] gstcouncil.org
