Travel with Care in Thailand Thailand's Tourism and Sports Minister Weerasak Kowsurat acknowledged that sustainable tourism looks beyond economic benefits: "Thailand, which witnessed 38 million tourist arrivals last year and tourism revenue approaching 20% of GDP, has provided us with a more challenging job." The tasks, he said, are to ensure fair distribution of [...]
H.E. Mr. Tserenbat Namsrai, Minister of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia, and Mr. Randy Durband, CEO, GSTC As the central government body who is in charge of tourism development policy and coordination in the country, the Ministry of Environment and Tourism devotes itself to implement effective and credible sustainable tourism policies in [...]
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 [...]
"Quality through Creativity" Led the 2019 GSTC Asia-Pacific Sustainable Tourism Conference in Chiang Mai, Thailand The 2019 GSTC Asia-Pacific Sustainable Tourism Conference "Quality through Creativity" took place from Febraury 27th to March 2nd in Chiang Mai, Thailand. Organized by Thailand’s Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA) and the Global Sustainable Tourism Conference (GSTC), the [...]
December 2018 - Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a national member. Tourism Sri Lanka is a ‘Story of Untapped Potential’. Just been voted as the no. 1 destination in the world by Lonely Planet, the island is seeing a rapid demand growth from visitors and [...]
December 2018 - Tourism Vancouver has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a municipal destination member. Tourism Vancouver is a destination marketing organization and business association representing approximately 1,000 members in tourism and related industries/activities. “We are very pleased to welcome the Tourism Vancouver to GSTC,” says Randy Durband, GSTC CEO. “We [...]
Sustainable Tourism Professionals Gathered at the Global Sustainable Tourism Conference 2018 in Maun, Botswana The Global Sustainable Tourism Conference 2018 in Maun, Botswana, which was organized by Botswana Tourism Organisation (BTO) and the Global Sustainable Tourism Conference (GSTC), brought together 150 delegates from 26 countries, as well as hundreds of viewers joining the live [...]
Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, Thailand Minister of Tourism & Sport, and Mr. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO In a recent article in The Nation, Mr. Weerasak Kowsurat, Thailand Minister of Tourism & Sports, said: “We seem to agree that the head counts of foreign tourists or their expenditure are not the top priority. So, targets like 36 [...]
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 [...]
Sustainability Vanuatu & Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) MOU Signing GSTC Members Sustainability Vanuatu and Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Foundation (SSTF) have recently signed an MOU, sharing good practices based on similar challenges and opportunities while using the GSTC destination framework. The MOU is a result from the Conference on Sustainable Tourism in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) [...]
Mr. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, has visited Vanuatu, a new GSTC Destination Member, in June 2018. (Left to Right) Acting Director, Vanuatu Department of Tourism, Mr. Donald Pelam; GSTC CEO, Mr. Randy Durband; and Chairman of Sustainability Vanuatu, Mr. Paul Kaun The visit included signing an MOU with the Acting Director of Vanuatu [...]
Vanuatu Department of Tourism Joins GSTC June 2018 - Vanuatu Department of Tourism has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. Vanuatu Department of Tourism is a government agency established under the Ministry of Tourism, Trade, Industry and Ni-Vanuatu Business. The Department focuses on policy, destination management, product development, cruise tourism [...]
On 14 June 2018, a GSTC Delegation attended the 2018 Sichuan Garze Mountain Tourism Festival opening ceremony took place. Mr. You-Cai Xiao, the Governor of Garze Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Deputy Secretary of Garze Committee of the Communist Party of China, opened the ceremony, with Mr. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO, giving opening remarks. "The UN has created the [...]
Innovation Norway Sustainable Destination Standard is Now a GSTC-Recognized Standard June 7, 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Innovation Norway’s Sustainable Destination Standard has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status. Innovation Norway’s Sustainable destination standard includes 45 criteria and 108 indicators to be measured, registered and monitored. The standard covers [...]
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 [...]
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: [...]
January 2018 - The Guatemalan Tourism Board, INGUAT, has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a national member. INGUAT (Instituto Guatemalteco de Turismo) is the national superior authority in the tourism sector that develops the promotion, advertising, and sustainability practices of tourism industry through the specific legal guidelines from Guatemala’s Government. Its mission [...]
January 2018 - Region Västerbotten, Northern Sweden, has joined the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) as a destination member. Region Västerbotten is responsible for regional development and growth in Västerbotten County, Northern Sweden. Västerbotten County and the county’s 15 municipalities own Region Västerbotten, a politically headed organization. With sustainability at the core of Västerbotten’s [...]
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 [...]
