About the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program

With the aim of strengthening awareness of sustainable tourism in destinations around the world, the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP) covers global trends in sustainable tourism. It looks at sustainability best practices for both businesses and destinations. It also offers a unique opportunity to gain an in-depth understanding of the GSTC Criteria, the global baseline standards for sustainability in travel and tourism.

Using the GSTC Criteria as the basis, the STTP curriculum is designed to help tourism businesses to:

  • Guide them through the various sustainable business practices; from product development to supply chain management.
  • Assist them with sustainability training and skills development efforts; helping improve employee sustainability performance.
  • Communicate to customers and to the media about sustainable business practices more effectively.

The STTP curriculum is also designed to help destinations as:

  • A tool for destination leaders and industry stakeholders to properly understand relevant sustainability issues and practices.
  • A baseline standard to assist the development of regulatory and legal frameworks for national, provincial, or local standards.
  • Guidelines to support the process of becoming certified as a destination by a GSTC-accredited standard.

“The GSTC training program is a critical part of the GSTC’s mission of increasing sustainable tourism knowledge and practices among tourism industry stakeholders” – Randy Durband, Chief Executive Officer, GSTC

The STTP is supported by and delivered in partnership with TrainingAid.

STTP Training Participants from around the World

Despite the various challenges 2020 has presented to our industry, we’re pleased to share that our training program has had another strong year. As presented during the GSTC Member Meeting earlier this month, sustainability has been one of the key topics often mentioned when discussing expected post-COVID changes our industry will go through. The support that the industry has continued to show us throughout the year, gives a good indication that sustainability will continue to be, a priority for tourism industry stakeholders, despite Covid-19.
In the coming year, we look forward to working with members and partners from around the world to provide training opportunities dedicated to sustainable tourism practices. Our next course (Jan-Feb 2021) is now sold out, and we encourage everyone interested in joining any of the upcoming courses available in 2021 to register early to secure your spot.

We are proud to share that working with our international team of trainers and partners, we have met and exceeded our goals. Throughout the year, the STTP offered 28 training sessions, attended by a total of over 822 tourism industry professionals.

Sustainable Tourism Training Program in 2020

So what are some other updates and highlights of the STTP in 2020?

Finally, we are also looking to diversify these learning opportunities, by focusing more deeply on specific topics and issues. We try to offer tailored group training options, and exploring training formats that best support our goals.

Whether you were part of the STTP in 2020 or earlier, or you’re interested in joining one of our training classes in the future, we want to hear from you. Please feel free to get in touch to share your ideas and suggestions, so we can work together with you to improve our training programs.