Mr. CB Ramkumar GSTC Vice-Chair & South Asia Program Director leading the training  

[Photo 1: Mr. CB Ramkumar, GSTC Vice-Chair & South Asia Program Director leading the training.]

The first GSTC Training held after the MOU agreement between Ascott and GSTC, has concluded successfully, held from the 11th to the 13th of October, at ACE in Singapore, with a total of 29 participants, the course was led by Mr. CB Ramkumar GSTC Vice-Chair & South Asia Program Director. His dynamic approach provided participants with invaluable practical insights and expert guidance, illuminating the path towards sustainability.

Cheh Hsien LEE, Planning Division Director, Sentosa Development Corporation, who joined the GSTC 2022 Asia-Pacific Conference in Korea, was the guest speaker at the training. The group also made a site visit to one of The Ascott Limited’s property, lyf One-North Singapore, which has an accredited certification of a sustainable hotel (certified to the GSTC Criteria by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body).

“The Ascott Centre for Excellence (ACE) has demonstrated that they are a leading light in Singapore with their progressive visionary outlook. They are motivating hotels to start their sustainability journey, in line with the overall strategic vision of Singapore as a country. This was obvious when I saw the interest, passion and sincere intent to move hotels towards sustainability from the participants – engineers, audit documentation staff, senior managers, and others who attended the training. Congratulations to the ACE team for this great start, and best wishes for more of these kinds of training’s for the Singapore market,” said Mr. CB Ramkumar GSTC Vice-Chair & South Asia Program Director.

Photo 2: Class picture

[Photo 2: Class picture]

The GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course equipped participants with the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable tourism practices and offered an excellent opportunity to gain in-depth knowledge about the GSTC Criteria, the global standards for sustainability in tourism and travel.

 Upon successful course completion, participants receive a certificate of completion and become eligible to take an optional official exam to obtain the GSTC Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism.

Photo 3: Ms. Beh Siew Kim, Chief Financial & Sustainability Officer, Lodging, CapitaLand Investment, and Mr. Randy Durband GSTC CEO.

[Photo 3: Ms. Beh Siew Kim, Chief Financial & Sustainability Officer, Lodging, CapitaLand Investment, and Mr. Randy Durband, GSTC CEO.]

The Ascott Limited (Ascott), a lodging business unit wholly owned by CapitaLand Investment, and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), whom manages the GSTC Criteria and provides International Accreditation for sustainable tourism Certification Bodies, signed last July, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly train and equip industry leaders and professionals on principles and best practices in sustainability. The signing took place at the ACE Learning Festival in Singapore, an annual event organized by the Ascott Centre for Excellence (ACE), Ascott’s global hospitality training center.