The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) recently held a group online course for Turismo de Portugal, delivered from the 16th of October to the 13th of November, 2023. The training was sponsored by Turismo de Portugal, offered to their employees from various departments covering such areas as resource management, infrastructure, environmental protection and education and innovation.
With the aim of equipping participants with the essential knowledge and tools to implement sustainable tourism principles through their work, the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course offered insights, examples and opportunities for exchanging ideas and discussing solutions, supporting Turismo de Portugal’s Sustainable Destination Strategy, which has a strong focus on training and capacity building.
Turismo de Portugal who has been a GSTC Member since 2020, is the National Tourism Authority in charge of promoting, improving, and guaranteeing the sustainability of tourism in Portugal. As part of the Ministry of the Economy and Sea, Turismo de Portugal is responsible for the promotion, enhancement and sustainability of the tourism business, bringing together all of the institutional competencies involved in making tourism more dynamic, from supply to demand.
According to Leonor Picão, Senior Director in Turismo de Portugal, “This was an important opportunity to improve knowledge and share good examples and insights on sustainable destinations development.” Turismo de Portugal has been working with public and private stakeholders to implement its National Strategy 2017-27, based on the 3 pillars of sustainability, and the partnership with GSTC is important to consolidate this path.
The course was delivered online in the English language, with live bi-weekly scheduled sessions delivered over the course of four weeks.
GSTC Trainers were:
- Ayako Ezaki, Online Training Manager, GSTC; Director of Training Strategies & Development, TrainingAid
- Ignacio de las Cuevas, Manager of Centre of Excellence in Tourism Innovation at Eurecat, Technology Centre of Catalonia
Guest Presenters were:
- Jana Apih, Managing Director, GoodPlace, Factory of Sustainable Tourism
- Xavier Font, Professor at University of Surrey, Editor in Chief, Journal of Sustainable Tourism
- Simon Reuter, Research Manager, Outdooractiv
The course offered an excellent opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about the GSTC Criteria and sustainable tourism practices, helping participants prepare concrete steps to developing viable and actionable sustainable tourism practices through their work, and contributing to positive development of tourism in Portugal.
If you want to learn more about GSTC’s Sustainable Tourism Training Program click here.
