GSTC has designed the Early Adopter Program for the Attraction Criteria to support the development of the applicable implementation of the GSTC Attraction Criteria. Along with the recent new set of criteria, applications are now open for the Early Adopter Program. This two-year program is a valuable opportunity for industry stakeholders to actively engage [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) launched the new GSTC Attraction Criteria in November 2024. GSTC designed the Early Adopter Program to facilitate the practical implementation of the GSTC Attraction Criteria, supporting their development and effective application in the industry. The GSTC Attraction Early Adopter’s Program will begin this January 2025. Applications are now [...]
By Tim O’Donoghue, Riverwind Foundation 2012: Jackson Hole is a Sustainable Destination Standards Early Adopter In 2012, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council selected Jackson Hole as one of the first Early Adopters of Sustainable Destination Standards. The GSTC’s concluding remarks were that “Teton County more than any other place in the world has the [...]
GSTC Member St. Kitts’ Sustainable Destination Council (SDC) Wins WTTC 2019 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards in the Destination Stewardship category Once Again, GSTC Member Wins WTTC Tourism for Tomorrow Destination Stewardship Award 2019: St. Kitts’ Sustainable Destination Council (SDC) WTTC has announced the 2019 leaders in sustainable tourism at the 2019 Tourism for Tomorrow [...]
St. Kitts' Sustainable Destination Council (SDC), has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. The Sustainable Destination Council (SDC) serves as an advisory council for the Ministry of Tourism, with the aim to increase opportunities for locals and tourists to act as destination stewards, and has the influence over the [...]
NCE Tourism - Fjord Norway Region Joins GSTC May 2018 - NCE Tourism – Fjord Norway in Western Norway, has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. NCE Tourism – Fjord Norway is a tourism cluster with a focus on adventure travel. The cluster unites adventure companies (tour operators, destinations, transportation [...]
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 [...]
March 2017 - GSTC Member and GSTC Criteria Early Adopter, Riverwind Foundation's Jackson Hole & Yellowstone Sustainable Destination Program, is one of three finalists for the Destination Leadership category of the 2017 National Geographic World Legacy Awards. The awards were presented at ITB Berlin, the world’s leading travel trade show, on March 8, 2017. [...]
(June 18, 2015) Innovation Norway continues to champion sustainable tourism with their recent launch of the country’s Sustainable destination standard. Since May, four destinations in Norway have achieved the new label and one has received the prestigious World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Tourism for Tomorrow Award for Destination Stewardship. Innovation Norway has successfully [...]
Washington, D.C. (October 21, 2014) GSTC Early Adopter St. Kitts is the 2014 recipient of the Caribbean Tourism Organization (“CTO”) / TravelMole Sustainable Tourism Award for Destination Stewardship. St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism Permanent Secretary Patricia Martin and Assistant Permanent Secretary Diannille Taylor-Williams accepted the award on behalf of St. [...]
St. Kitts and Nevis, located in the northern Leeward Islands in the West Indies, was one of the first destinations in the world to be selected as a GSTC Early Adopter, and the first in the Caribbean. St. Kitts still retains “hidden gem” status, not being a mass-market Caribbean destination. [...]
Flyer for Sierra Gorda’s Carbon Offset Program The GSTC Early Adopter destination Sierra Gorda is a biosphere reserve covering one-third of the state of Querétaro, in north-central México. The Sierra Gorda Reserve is of the most biodiversity-rich protected areas in México, and is a member of UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere program. Sierra Gorda [...]
Sierra Gorda, Mexico The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted its Early Adopter program from 2012 through early 2014. During the program, a diverse group of fourteen forward-thinking destinations worldwide pilot tested the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria for Destinations. Each Early Adopter underwent a baseline destination sustainability assessment [...]
Tourism has been a crucial economic driver on St. Croix for many years and the island has been careful to avoid over- development that might detract from its varied natural and cultural assets. As part of the island’s strategic plan to increase visitation, St Croix has been exploring ways to [...]
Mexican coastline destination adopts criteria and indicators for sustainable tourism WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 1st, 2014) – One of Mexico’s iconic tourism destinations, the Riviera Maya in the State of Quintana Roo, has become the first destination on the Mexican Caribbean coast to complete the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) Early Adopter Program. “At the [...]
WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 21, 2014) – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) conducted its Early Adopter program from 2012 through early 2014. During the program, a diverse group of fourteen forward-thinking destinations worldwide pilot tested the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria for Destinations. Each Early Adopter underwent a baseline destination sustainability [...]
Since the late 1990s, Samoa has held a pivotal leadership role in Sustainable Tourism practices and the Early Adopter Program provided the destination with an opportunity to benchmark its performance in the international context. The Independent State of Samoa is made up of 10 islands in the Polynesia, covering a total area of 2,831 square-kilometers. Remarkably beautiful, [...]
First destination in the South Pacific Region to adopt criteria and indicators for sustainable tourism WASHINGTON, D.C. (March, 2014) – Samoa is the first South Pacific destination to complete the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) Early Adopter Program and the second destination in the world to do so at the national level. Since the [...]
First destination in the South Pacific Region to adopt criteria and indicators for sustainable tourism WASHINGTON, D.C. (March, 2014)– Samoa is the first South Pacific destination to complete the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) Early AdopterProgram and the second destination in the world to do so at the national level. Since the late 1990s, Samoa [...]
Mexican biosphere reserve Sierra Gorda adopts baseline criteria and indicators for sustainable tourism March 11, 2013 – Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve in Mexico is the first Central American destination to complete the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) GSTC Early Adopters Program to test its new Criteria and Indicators for Destinations, under the scope of the [...]
