Pre-Conference GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course

Pre-Conference Training: GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course

Dates: August 3-4, 2025
Location: Sheraton Fiji Golf and Beach Resort, Denarau Island, Fiji
Language: English

The GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course provides the knowledge and tools needed to help improve sustainability practices in travel and tourism. The training covers the GSTC Criteria, the global standards for sustainability in travel and tourism, and provides best practices for businesses and destinations.

With an in-depth understanding of the GSTC Criteria, you will be able to make informed decisions on how to implement sustainability practices for your company or destination, and be ready for developing actionable sustainable tourism policies and practices for your organization.

Exam and Certificate

By completing this 2-day training class, you will meet the training requirement towards earning the GSTC Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism.

Once you complete the course, you will have the option to take the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Exam. The exam takes place online, and you will have 4 weeks after the course to submit it. If you pass the exam (80% and above passing mark is required), you will receive a Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism by the GSTC. The certificate demonstrates your knowledge of sustainable tourism standards and practices.

>> Learn more about GSTC Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism

GSTC Trainer

Dr. Kelly Bricker

Dr. Bricker is Professor and Director of the Hainan-Arizona State International Tourism College (HAITC), located in Phoenix, Arizona. She completed her Ph.D. research with the Pennsylvania State University, where she specialized in sustainable tourism and protected area management. She has research and teaching interests in ecotourism, sense of place, community development, natural resource management, value of nature-based experiences, and the impacts of tourism. She has authored and edited books on sustainability, which highlight case studies in tourism meeting environmental and societal issues in Sustainable Tourism & the Millennium Development Goals: Effecting Positive Change; educational texts focused on adventure education in Adventure Programing and Travel for the 21st Century and graduate education in De-Mystifying Theories in Tourism Research; and most recently, relevant to current projects, co-edited This Land Is Your Land: Toward a Better Understanding of Nature’s Resiliency-Building and Restorative Power for Armed Forces Personnel, Veterans, and Their Families (Sagamore Publishing, LLC). Dr. Bricker serves the boards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, the Tourism and Protected Area Specialist Group of the IUCN, and Tourism Unity. With partners in OARS and her husband, she developed an ecotourism operation called Rivers Fiji.

Registration Details

Training + Conference

This training fee is 320USD when joining the training in conjunction to the GSTC2025 Fiji Conference. To register to the course, please select the ‘2-day pre-conference training’ as an add-on when registering to the conference.

Training Only

The training registration fee, if you’re not joining the conference, is USD 470 per person for GSTC members and USD 495 for non-members.

To register separately for the training class ONLY, please contact training@gstc.org.

What’s Included

• As part of your course registration, you will receive training materials to be provided before the course; lunch and coffee breaks during the training days; and a Certificate of Attendance confirming your attendance in the class.
• Travel and associated costs are NOT included in the course registration fee. Participants are responsible for arranging their own travel to and from the venue, and accommodation during the training days. To book a room with a discounted fare at one of the official hotels, please see here.
• Please note: the exam registration fee (US$ 75 per person) is NOT included in the above course registration fee. If you would like to take the exam after the course, please select the add-on option “Exam & Certificate” when you register. You will also have the option to sign up for the exam and after the course.