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 Committee has validated the votes and has released the results. Three current board members were re-elected to 3-year [...]
Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) initiated the National Sustainable Tourism Certification (NSTC) as the first step towards making Sri Lanka's tourism industry sustainable with the technical and financial assistance from UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative (BIOFIN). As part of the process, hotels were awarded for their sustainable practices on 5th August 2019 at Ape Game, [...]
Making Tourism Accessible (by TrainingAid) “I have a wife and three children. If I can’t use a product or service, then the business loses not only one person’s business, but five.” Martin Heng, Accessible Travel Manager & Editorial Adviser for Lonely Planet, emphasizes that people with disabilities and people with different access [...]
Dr. Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Board Member & Director for the Mediterranean Region, spoke at the Moscow Urban Forum 2019 in July. Dr. Pappas shared important developments in the travel industry's shift to adhere to sustainability standards in the session "Attraction point. Tourism as a resource for the internal development of the city". Moscow Urban [...]
Belize Tourism Overview Belize offers plenty of opportunities to explore its natural resources. It has one of the largest barrier reefs in the northern hemisphere - a World Heritage Site; the Blue Hole; offshore islands; and Mayan archaeological sites, ancient cities, and sacred cave complexes. This array of ecosystems and cultural attractions has made [...]
On June 18-19, GSTC Member Taiwan Tourism Bureau (Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration Taiwan) and GSTC Member Sustainable Travel Taiwan (STT) hosted the first “Global Sustainable Tourism Practical Workshop” in Sun Moon Lake, Taiwan. The aim of the Workshop was to help DMOs, tour operators and hotels of the area to learn [...]
Jennifer Wesselhoff, President and CEO of the Sedona Chamber of Commerce, speaks about Sedona, Arizona's new sustainable tourism plan following their GSTC Destination Assessment in 2016. Sedona is applying the GSTC Criteria for Destinations, applying key tactics to keep their resident and visitor experience top-notch while the population *doubles* daily from tourism--a $1B business for [...]
What does it take to be recognized as an eco-friendly property? [...] the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the body that manages the global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, created The GSTC Industry Criteria and Suggested Indicators for Hotels in an effort to “come to a common understanding of sustainable tourism.” The idea is to [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Vireo Srl has achieved the ‘GSTC-Accredited’ status for certifying destinations. Achieving the GSTC-Accredited status for certifying destinations means that a certification program is following processes and procedures that have been reviewed and approved by the GSTC Accreditation Panel in order to provide an [...]
The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth identifies the GSTC Criteria as the key Tool for Sustainable Tourism The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth has published a report under the title "Tools for Sustainable Tourism” (Verktyg för hållbar turism), referring to the GSTC Criteria and GSTC-Recognized Standards. A short summary in [...]
TUI 2018 Sustainability Report: 9.2 million customers stayed in sustainable hotels certified to a GSTC-Recognized standard (81% of the hotels owned by TUI Group) TUI Group has just released its 2018 Sustainability Report with the progress on their goal to increase the number of hotels with sustainability certifications to accommodate 10 million customers a year [...]
We are currently revising the GSTC Destination Criteria (GSTC-D). Earlier this year we held a public consultation asking for comments on the existing criteria and inviting recommendations for improvements and additions. We are most grateful to everyone for their contribution. Based on the consultation we have proposed revised GSTC-D criteria, accessible here. From mid-June, [...]
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 [...]
Tourism in Roatan, Honduras Today Roatan is an island in the Caribbean located 65 kilometers from the coast of Honduras. Tourism is key to Roatan’s economy. However, it's unfortunately confronted with its own set of issues. The island’s growing popularity has resulted in increased wastewater, pollution, and other environmental threats. These are all accelerated [...]
Push to Certify Sustainable Destinations The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has teamed up with the state-run Designated Areas Sustainable Tourism Administration (Dasta) and Mae Fah Luang University to develop experts in sustainable destination assessment. The collaboration marks a significant step for the global body in ASEAN, where Indonesia and Thailand are the first [...]
“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 [...]
