The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Destination Assessment of the Cook Islands took place between September 2024 and January 2025. The Cook Islands lie between French Polynesia to the east and Tonga to the west, situated about 3,000 kilometers (1,865 miles) northeast of New Zealand. The islands are of volcanic origin, with Rarotonga— the [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the Municipality of Kotor, and the Port of Kotor in Montenegro joined forces for the destination assessment in the historic port city. The agreement was announced during CLIA’s Port and Destination Dialogue in Hamburg, Germany, last year. The GSTC Destination Assessment took place [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted a Destination Assessment of Petra, Jordan, from May to August 2023. GSTC expert Assessors completed an unbiased assessment of the management of the destination’s compliance with the GSTC Destination Criteria (GSTC-D), the global standard for sustainable destinations. Petra Overview Petra, the capital of the Nabataean Arabs, is [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted a Destination Assessment of The Islands of Tahiti, French Polynesia, from August to December 2023. The Destination Assessment was led by Dr. Mihee Kang, GSTC Global Assurance Director, with the full support of Tahiti Tourisme. The Islands of Tahiti (also known as French Polynesia), situated in the [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted a Destination Re-Assessment of Dubrovnik, Croatia from February to April 2023. The Destination Re-Assessment was led by Dr. Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Director Mediterranean Region and commissioned by the Dubrovnik Municipality, with the support of its Tourism Board. GSTC conducted Dubrovnik’s first Destination Assessment four years ago in [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the municipality of Kotor and the port of Kotor in Montenegro will cooperate to conduct a destination assessment in the historic port city. Kotor is an important cruise port in the Adriatic region. The city of Kotor, set against a mountainous backdrop, is [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted a Destination Assessment of Sonoma County, California from February to November 2022. The Destination Assessment was led by Dr. Kelly Bricker, GSTC Vice-Chair, with the full support of Sonoma County Tourism (SCT). Sonoma County Tourism Overview Encompassing 1,575 square miles in northwestern California, Sonoma County is known [...]
Heraklion, following an invitation from the European Commission, has been selected as a partner in the Urban Agenda for the EU partnership (URBAN AGENDA for the EU), which is being created in the new thematic area of Sustainable Tourism. Through this network of cities, Member States and stakeholders, Heraklion will play an active role [...]
Athens, 28 July 2022. Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA), the world's largest cruise industry trade association, welcomes the completion of sustainability destination assessments in the popular Greek cruise destinations of Corfu and Heraklion. The project, co-funded by CLIA in partnership with the two municipalities and port authorities, was conducted by the Global Sustainable Tourism [...]
April 2022 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted a Destination Assessment of Heraklion, Greece, from March to December 2021. The Destination Assessment was led by Dr. Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Program Director for the Mediterranean Region, working closely with Heraklion’s authorities. Heraklion Tourism Overview Heraklion is the largest region of Crete and a [...]
February 2022 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted a Destination Assessment of Summit County, Utah, from July to December 2021. The Destination Assessment was led by Dr. Kelly Bricker, GSTC Vice-Chair, working closely with the Park City Chamber of Commerce | Convention & Visitors Bureau (PCCVB) and stakeholders throughout the County. Summit [...]
Dubrovnik, 2nd June - The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Destination Assessment of Dubrovnik Report was presented in Dubrovnik via video by Dr. Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Director - Mediterranean Region, with the participation of Mato Franković, Mayor of Dubrovnik, and Kelly Craighead, President and CEO of Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA). The presentation was [...]
Santo Island, Vanuatu Tourism Overview Sanma is a province located in the Northern part of the nation of Vanuatu. It occupies the nation's largest island, Espiritu Santo, located approximately 2,500 km northeast of Sydney, Australia. Sanma Province is made up of the islands of Santo and Malo, and includes a number of smaller surrounding [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
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 [...]
Pattaya City Background Information Pattaya City is located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand. It’s about 100 kilometers south-east of Bangkok. There are several natural and cultural attractions. Attractions include beaches, Pattaya Hill, Chaloem Phra Kiat Park, Pattaya Walking Street, Koh Larn, Takhian Tia Community, Chak Ngaew Community, theme parks and [...]
GSTC Destination Assessment Opening and closing workshops in Ohrid The objective of any assessment is to see the destinations’ present status and to create a strategic plan for improvement in order for the destination to become more sustainable. The assessment is based on the GSTC Destination Criteria, focusing on these four pillars: [...]
Ms. Natalia Naranjo, GSTC Trainer and Destination Assessor In a special agreement between GSTC and Sernatur Aysen, Chile, which hosted the GSTC2017 Aysen in September, the Chelenko Destination began a new process to start their path to the sustainability. For 2 weeks during November 2017, the Chelenko Destination went through a destination assessment and [...]
September 2017 - GSTC conducted a Destination Assessment of Lago Llanquihue, Chile - comprising the four municipalities of Puerto Varas, Fruitillar, Llanquihue, and Puerto Octay, on the banks of Lake Llanquihue in Northern Patagonia. This assessment served as a follow-up to the earlier GSTC assessment of Lago Llanquihue as part of GSTC's Early Adopter [...]
