A breakdown of what common environmental lingo actually means. How can travelers distinguish between rigorous sustainability certifications and ones that just sound good? Illustration by Virginia Gabrielli. Carbon neutral. Carbon offsets. Carbon onsets. As a sign of the tourism industry’s progress, these terms are now everywhere when you’re booking travel. More and [...]
The 13th International Resort Tourism Congress took place on the 24th of November in Antalya, Türkiye. Luigi Cabrini, GSTC Chair, presented ”Sustainability, the future of tourism” where he spoke about the importance of sustainable tourism practices, the GSTC Criteria (the global standards for sustainable travel and tourism), and Türkiye’s groundbreaking national sustainability program. Türkiye [...]
The GSTC Industry Criteria in Traditional Chinese (Mandarin) for Hotels and Tour Operators has been updated and are available to download in the Criteria Translations section. GSTC飯店業與旅行社永續旅遊產業準則的繁體中文版本已更新，您可以到"準則翻譯頁面區塊"進行下載
GSTC CEO, Randy Durband spoke at The Standard Podcast in the episode ‘Sustainable travel: How to choose a more sustainable destination’ last November 2023. Where he discussed along with journalists Jon Weeks and Juliet Kinsman, about the important need to 'speak up' and challenge hotels on their eco-credentials, and food waste, on how much [...]
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 [...]
Luigi Cabrini, GSTC Chair, was present at the TTG Travel Experience and participated in a session along with Daniela Santanchè, Minister of Tourism of Italy, Vittorio Sgarbi, Secretary of State for Culture in Italy, Bernabò Bocca, President of Federalberghi and Ivana Jelinic, President of ENIT. “We must overcome the concept of sustainability as an [...]
The TMC works with GSTC to highlight the benefits of adopting a sustainability accreditation framework in empowering change. [From left, Vibhav Singh (Amex GBT) and Roi Ariel (GSTC). Photo Credit: ITB Asia] The value of embracing the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) framework is becoming increasingly evident as meeting planners witness a rising [...]
Destination Stewardship Report Autumn 2023 September-December (Volume 4, Issue 2) The Destination Stewardship Report is a collaboration between the Destination Stewardship Center, Center for Responsible Travel, and Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Our goal is to provide practical information and insights useful to anyone whose work or interests involve improving destination stewardship in a post-pandemic world. [...]
GBTA + VDR Europe Conference was held in Hamburg, Germany from the 14th to the 16th of November, 2023. The sessions conducted by industry professionals reflected on the evolving landscape of business travel and provided fresh perspectives on the factors shaping the future of corporate travel. Aimed for business travel and meetings management professionals [...]
When can we expect to see space business parks, robot room service and zero-emission aircraft? Will we meet with clients in the metaverse, teleport to conventions or even host corporate events in outer space? What exactly is the future of business travel? No one can know for sure. However, Booking.com for Business has been [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) is pleased to announce that the Stay for the Planet Regulations and Technical Notes v.2.0, has gained GSTC-Recognized Standard status, meaning it has been fully recognized as equivalent to the GSTC Industry Criteria. The recognized standard is used in the Stay for the Planet, which is a hotel [...]
On July 12, 2023, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) announced the publication of its revised GSTC Accreditation Manual version 3.0. GSTC held an informative zoom meeting on November 14, 2023 to explain the revised GSTC Accreditation Manual for Certification of Hotel/Accommodation & Tour Operator version 3.0. As tour operators have become an essential [...]
GSTC’s first round of public consultation for the GSTC MICE Criteria, which took place from 15th June to 15th August 2023, has been completed. The key findings report is available here. The GSTC MICE Criteria (covering Venues, Event Organizers, and Events/Exhibitions) aims to serve as the global sustainability standards for the MICE industry. The [...]
The Alaska Travel Industry Association (ATIA) Annual Convention & Trade Show: "Aurora Night Live" took place from the 24th to the 26th of October in Fairbanks, Alaska. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, presented “Destination Stewardship: Maximize the Benefits and Minimize the Negative Impacts.” Where he spoke about the importance of sustainable tourism practices in destinations. [...]
The JTB-sponsored Japanese GSTC Training for its employees concluded successfully at the JTB headquarters in Tokyo from September 26-28, 2023. The course was led by Dr. Mihee Kang, GSTC Assurance Director along with the co-trainers Dr. Mami Futagami, Emeritus Professor at Meijo University, and Koji Miwa, Policy Researcher at Institute for Global Environmental Strategies [...]
The Ministry of Tourism and Youth of the Republic of Serbia has joined as a Member the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). With the support of the United Nations Development Programme, the Republic of Serbia officially became a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. Serbia has many opportunities and potentials for the development [...]
GSTC Chair, Luigi Cabrini participated in participate the Economist Impact workshop last year, tied to Economist Impact's "Destination Always" research programme, supported by Booking.com. Travel and tourism generates US$2.5trn in direct revenues globally, helping to provide economic opportunities to people and destinations, build intercultural understanding and foster appreciation of the natural world. But there [...]
The 6th Bali International Tourism Conference with the theme “Future Tourism: Beyond Sustainability” was held online, via Zoom, on the 16th and 17th of November, 2023. Organized by the Centre of Excellence in Tourism, Udayana University (Bali-Indonesia) and supported by the Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy - Republic of Indonesia, the Cultural Research [...]
On the 31st of October, 2023, the Georgian Tourism Association (GTA) hosted the 6th International Conference on Standards in Tourism at the Biltmore Hotel in Tbilisi. The event brought together industry experts and thought leaders to discuss the latest in tourism standards and regulations from different perspectives. Among the esteemed speakers was GSTC CEO, [...]
Destination stewardship is a process by which local communities, governmental agencies, NGOs, and the tourism industry take a multi-stakeholder approach to maintaining the cultural, environmental, economic, and esthetic integrity of their country, region, or town. In other words, to ensure that the destination retains and enhances the distinctive attributes that appeal to both residents [...]
