randy at gstc pata

The Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) and Visit Mexico will host the ATMEX Summit August 22-29 in Chiapas, Mexico. The summit will explore Mexico’s adventure travel offerings and provide opportunities for long-term business partnerships.

According to the hosts, the goal of the event is “to inspire operators in Mexico to continue to pursue adventure travel as a viable, sustainable and lucrative way to offer their cultural and natural riches to adventure travelers worldwide.”

On Friday, August 29, GSTC’s CEO Randy Durband will present on global sustainable tourism criteria. Participants will learn about the GSTC Criteria for Destinations and hear success stories from destinations in Mexico and around the world.

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 aesthetic integrity of their country, region, or town. The GSTC Criteria for Destinations establish best practices for ensuring sustainable destinations.

In this presentation, he will review why good sustainable practices support not only long-term growth of tourism visitors, but also enjoys immediate short-term benefits in the marketing of a destination to many important source markets. Sustainable practices provide savings in operating costs, enhance the marketing message of destinations, and preserve the destination for future generations. 

This session will be particularly useful for representatives of government agencies. Government leaders who embrace GSTC principles for sustainability and put GSTC programs into place — as Sierra Gorda and Riviera Maya are doing — enjoy national and international acclaim for following good management practices.

For more information on the ATMEX Summit, visit www.atmex.mx.

To contact Randy Durband, email ceo@gstcouncil.org