GSTC Members can join members-only webinars, that share the most up-to-date knowledge on sustainable tourism. The webinars are presented by GSTC staff as well as GSTC members
The webinars and meetings are an opportunity to actively network and connect with fellow members from around the world, sustainable tourism professionals and stakeholders.
We encourage members to take advantage of the various education and training opportunities available through the GSTC, and to continue seeking knowledge and tools to improve your sustainable tourism practices.
Upcoming Webinars for GSTC Members:
How to prevent sexual exploitation of children in tourism (by ECPAT)
As the travel and tourism industry expands, the opportunities for child sex offenders to exploit boys and girls have increased. The travel and tourism industry is in a unique position to identify the most vulnerable – and to prevent the sexual exploitation of children. The webinar will focus on the prevention of the sexual exploitation of children, including trafficking and practical ways that members can implement the specific section of the GSTC Criteria.
Presenters:
* Gabriela Kühn, Head of Program – Against Sexual Exploitation of Children in Travel and Tourism (SECTT), ECPAT International
* Damien Brosnan, Programme Manager, The Code
April 9th, 2020 | 11:00-12:00 CEST | 16:00-17:00 BKK
Influencing Supply Chains Using Certifications
Presenter: Randy Durband, GSTC CEO
Supply chain development is a form of procurement and a form of verification of the sustainability of the products and services under offer of a tourism business. If a seller or operator of travel services wishes to claim that their supply chain is sustainable, how do they go about it? Do they conduct their own analysis of each supplier’s performance? That would be time-consuming and costly. A better approach is to trust the work of the experts that conduct neutral, independent, 3rd-party certification of businesses.
The webinar will use two case studies of Royal Caribbean Cruises Sustainable Shore Excursion and MSC Cruises Protectrours, that give priority to businesses that are certified by a Certification Body that is accredited to the GSTC Criteria*.
* Note: the phrase “accredited to the GSTC Criteria” is short-hand for a CB being accredited for the certification scheme using either the GSTC Criteria directly or their own GSTC-Recognized standard. GSTC Recognized standards comply with the GSTC Criteria, therefore this short-hand phrase includes the use of either of those standards.
April 14th, 2020 [Americas] | 15:00-16:00 PST (CA) | 18:00-10:00 EST (NY)
April 15th, 2020 [Europe/Asia/Africa] | 10:00-11:00 CEST | 15:00-16:00 BKK
Sustainable Tourism Activities around Volcanoes National Park in Northern Rwanda
Presenter: Greg Bakunzi, Founder, Red Rocks Initiatives For Sustainable Development
May 12th, 2020 | 11:00-12:00 EST (NY) | 17:00-18:00 CEST (Rome)
Red Rocks Initiative is an African non-profit organization that supports sustainable development in Africa by engaging in sustainable tourism and community driven environmental conservation initiatives that are meant to benefit local communities.
Food Waste Reduction in Hotels: Insights from Winnow
Presenters: Nicola Sewell, Marketing Manager, Winnow
June 17th, 2020 | 10:00-11:00 CEST | 15:00-16:00 BKK
Winnow was founded in 2013 with the belief that food is too valuable to waste. Our proposition was to create a solution to the problem of food waste in the hospitality sector. Today, Winnow is helping chefs and managers in 40 countries save over 36 million meals.
Interested in presenting?
Members that are interested in delivering webinars can contact GSTC General Manager, Roi Ariel, at roi@gstcouncil.org to discuss further details.
Past Webinars for GSTC Members:
Behind BookDifferent.com
Presenter: Lonneke de Kort, BookDifferent CEO
Bookdifferent.com is a Social Enterprise, founded in 2012 in The Netherlands. Their main goal is to help people choose a better way to travel. That means, also, booking accommodations that take care of the environment, the local people, and the communities they are located in.
Feb 11th, 2020 | 10:00-11:00 CEST | 16:00-17:00 BKK
Natural Habitat’s Zero Waste Trips
Presenter: Dr. Court Whelan, Director of Sustainability and Conservation Travel, Natural Habitat Adventures
Natural Habitat Adventures operated a Zero Waste Adventure on the July 6-12, 2019 departure of Safari America: Yellowstone Country. This small group diverted 99 percent of all on-trip waste produced as a byproduct of Nat Hab-sponsored trip operations: • Refuse • Recycle • Compost • Upcycle • Re-Use At the end of the trip, the group was able to fit all waste produced into a single small container.
November 6th, 2019 | Recording available for GSTC members
China Ivory Consumption Research 2019
By WWF and GlobeScan
WWF has released its third annual report this September with GlobeScan on China’s ivory consumption 2019. This research was conducted for the first time in Sep-Oct 2017, before the implementation of China’s ivory trade ban on December 31st of that year. The study, which is the largest ever consumer research in China on this topic, was repeated after the ban in May-Jun 2018 and for a third time in May-Jul 2019 to evaluate changes in consumers’ awareness, attitudes and behaviour, specifically past purchase incidence, future intention to buy, consumer profiles and segments, ban awareness, campaign recall and more. WWF is pleased to invite you to an online webinar with us to explore the key findings of the research.
October 31st, 2019 | Recording available here
Awareness training on ISO 17065
Presenter: José Augusto A. K. Pinto de Abreu, GSTC Accreditation Panel Member
October 31st, 2019 | 17:00 AEST | 12:30 IST | 8:00 CET | 7:00 GMT
This is a 3-hour session of awareness training on ISO 17065 to Certification Bodies and Standard Owners to review key elements of ISO 17065 with a focus on compliance to it as part of the GSTC Accreditation process.
Planet Happiness: Well-being at Destinations
Planet Happiness is a grass-roots big data project to introduce Gross National Happiness, wellbeing & more to local communities, governments at all levels and businesses. Its target audiences and collaborators are individuals, local communities, businesses and governments connected to the travel and tourism industry. Dr Paul Rogers is the co-founder and director of Planet Happiness. He has over 20 years’ experience as a tourism advisor to national and local governments and has worked in more than a dozen countries in Asia, Africa and Australia.
October 15, 2019 | Recording available on GSTC Youtube channel
Plastic-free Excursions: How it is done in Krabi, Thailand
Felix L. Wallner, Senior Business Development Manager, Krabi Spesialisten
August 28, 2019 | Recording available for GSTC members
Destination Stewardship: St. Kitts’ Sustainable Destination Council (SDC)
Diannille Taylor‑Williams, St. Kitts Ministry of Tourism
August 22, 2019 | Recording available for GSTC members
Procurement for Sustainable Supply Chains
Randy Durband, GSTC CEO
June 19, 2019 | Recording available for GSTC members
How your company can support ocean and sea turtle conservation
SEE Turtles protects endangered sea turtles throughout Latin America and the world by supporting community-based conservation efforts. Our Billion Baby Turtles program provides support for important turtle nesting beaches and has helped save more than 1 million hatchlings. Too Rare To Wear is a campaign working to end the demand for turtle shell products. Our conservation trips provide volunteer and financial support for conservation efforts and our school programs help teachers and students learn about these incredible animals and how to protect them. Our latest program, Divers For Turtles, inspires divers and the dive industry to support turtle conservation efforts.
Brad Nahill, President, SEE Turtles
June 12, 2019 | Recording available for GSTC members
Green Fins: Guidelines for Sustainable Diving and Snorkeling
Green Fins, internationally coordinated by Reef-World (GSTC Member), are an environmental set of standards with a comprehensive management approach to provide guidance and support for business owners and national authorities to promote best practices. Diving and snorkelling centres are uniquely positioned to act within their own communities and among customers to encourage positive and lasting change.
Chloë Harvey, Reef-World Director
May 29, 2019 | Recording available for GSTC members
ASI accreditation services for GSTC
Elyse Stavely, ASI Communications Coordinator
Evi Mateboer, ASI GSTC Program Manager
February 13, 2019 – Recording available on GSTC Youtube channel
Certification tools and standards for protected areas management (Public)
Joint webinar: GSTC + IUCN TAPAS Group + Botswana Tourism Organisation
Richard Malesu, Botswana Tourism Organisation
Roi Ariel, General Manager, GSTC
Jeremy Sampson, Ecosystem Programme Communications Officer, IUCN
Mauro Randone, Regional Projects Manager, WWF Mediterranean
Sep 19, 2018 – Recording available on GSTC Youtube channel
Pick up your money from the grounds: sustainability for a financial reason
Andrés Fellenberg v.d. Molen, Director & Senior Lead Auditor at Green Partner
Sep 11, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
What are visitors First Impressions of your community and what can be learned from them to drive sustainable tourism? (English)
Andy Northrop, Regional Educator, Sustainable Tourism, Greening Michigan Institute, Michigan State University Extension
August 6, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
Turismo Comunitario en América Latina para alcanzar los ODS (Españo)
Natalia Naranjo, GSTC Representante de País – Colombia & Ecuador
July 9, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
Apoyo al Emprendimiento e innovación social en Turismo Sostenible, Ayllutures (Español)
Susana Conde, GSTC Representante de País – España
May 29, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
Climate change and its effects on tourism and from tourism; with case studies from India and around the world (English)
CB (Ram) Ramkumar, GSTC Board Member and Country Representative in India; Founder and Managing Director of Green Dreams for the Planet
April 17, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
The PLEDGE on Food Waste: Why and How to Reduce Food Waste (English)
Benjamin Lephilibert, Managing Director, LightBlue Consulting
February 27, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
Sustainable Design – EarthCheck’s Building Planning and Design Standard (BPDS) (English)
Marco Sepulveda, General Manager, Sustainability, EarthCheck
January 30, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
Cardamom Tented Camp: Your Stay Keeps the Forest Standing (Southwest Cambodia) (English)
Cardamom Tented Camp: Your Stay Keeps the Forest Standing (Southwest Cambodia) (English)Marius Hermann Project Manager, Cardamom Tented Camp
January 23, 2018 – Recording available for GSTC members
Elephant Camps: Assessments on Animal Welfare and Sustainability (English)
Elephant Camps: Assessments on Animal Welfare and Sustainability (English)Gili Back, Sustainability Manager, Khiri Travel
November 21, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Norway: Sustainable Destination (English)
Ingunn Sørnes, Special Adviser at Innovation Norway, GSTC Board Member
September 20, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
5 Key Tourism Trends to Watch: Sustainability for Businesses, Destinations and Consumers (English)
Dr. D’Arcy Dornan, GSTC Brazil Country Representative, GSTC Trainer
Ayako Ezaki, GSTC Training Director
September 14, 2017 – Available on YouTube
New Developments: Sustainable Tourism in Chile and Latin America (Spanish)
Jorge Moller, GSTC Board and Chile/Argentina Country Representative
August 1, 2017
From GSTC Early Adopter to Start Up: Engaging Local Stakeholders in Sustainable Tourism Development (Jackson Hole & Yellowstone) (English)
Tim O’Donoghue, Riverwind Foundation Executive Director
June 21, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Leading Sustainable Tourism Destinations: STTP Case Studies (English)
Dr. Ioannis Pappas, Co-Founder & CEO, Green Evolution SA / GSTC Greece Country Representative
Ayako Ezaki, GSTC Training Director
June 12, 2017 – Available on YouTube
GSTC-Recognized and GSTC-Accredited (English)
Randy Durband, GSTC CEO
May 25, 2017
Consejo de Destinos para la Sostenibilidad: Experiencia de Riviera Maya (Español)
Beatriz Barreal Danel, GSTC Board and Mexico Country Representative
May 24, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Increasing Market Access for your Certified Sustainable Hotels (English)
Irene Lane, GSTC Market Access Working Group Chair
May 16, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Sustainable Management: Lessons Learnt from the Asia Pacific Region (English)
Antje Martins, GSTC Trainer / Training & Corporate Project Manager, EarthCheck
Ayako Ezaki, GSTC Training Director
May 8, 2017 – Available on YouTube
GSTC Sustainable Destinations Program (English)
Kathleen Pessolano, GSTC Destinations Program Director
May 4, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Six Financial Benefits of Good Sustainability Marketing (English)
Dr. Xavier Font, University of Surrey, Travindy
March 23, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Destination Council for Sustainability: Experience from Riviera Maya (English)
Beatriz Barreal Danel, GSTC Board and Mexico Country Representative
March 8, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Demanda, motivaciones y perfil del viajero de Turismo Sostenible (Español)
Susana Conde, GSTC Board and Spain Country Representative
March 1, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Sustainable Tourism Certification in Africa: Water and Waste Practices by Hotels (English)
Dr. Anna Spenceley, GSTC Board Member
February 21, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Sustainable Tourism in China: Developments in the Pandas’ Wolong National Nature Reserve, Sichuan, China (English)
Dr. Lewis Cheung, Infinity (Int’l) Travel Lead Trainer
February 7, 2017 – Recording available for GSTC members
Sustainable Destination Management, Case Study from Brazil (English)
Dr. D’Arcy Dornan, GSTC Brazil Country Representative
Ayako Ezaki, GSTC Training Director
January 24, 2017 – Available on YouTube
Lanzamiento de “GSTC Integrity”: Qué significa? (Español)
Andrés Fellenberg v.d. Molen, GSTC Thecnical Director
Jan 19, 2017
GSTC-Recognized and GSTC-Accredited (English)
Randy Durband, GSTC CEO
January 18, 2017