19 March 2024 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) is pleased to announce that the GSTC MICE Criteria have been published and are available to the public for non-commercial use. Developed for Venues, Event Organizers, and Events & Exhibitions, the GSTC MICE Criteria, developed with support from the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), will [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has released its inaugural 2023 Monitoring and Evaluation Report (M&E Report), marking a significant milestone in the NGO’s journey. In 2023, the GSTC revised its Monitoring and Evaluation System to version 2 in order to track progress toward meeting the goals outlined in its Theory of Change. This [...]
The 4th annual Technology for Change Asia event by Economist Impact convened over 450 attendees from different fields related to technology, innovation, investment, science, and business in Hong Kong for a two-day conference on February 27th and 28th. Guided by moderators from The Economist Group, 50 distinguished speakers explored cutting-edge technological advancements and their [...]
GSTC will be present at the ASEAN Circular Economy Stakeholder Platform Webinar Series; Vice Chair CB Ramkumar will speak at Webinar #3: The Role of Tourism in Advancing Food Sustainability in ASEAN through Circular Practices, along with colleagues Fernanda Rodak, Sustainability and Social Responsibility Manager at Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), and Imelda (Dada) [...]
The Co-Designing Institute for Polyphonic Society (CoDIPS) sponsored the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training for their team and local stakeholders in Miyajima, Hiroshima, Japan. The two-day GSTC Training in Japanese was held from the 20th to the 21st of January 2024. The training was led by GSTC Trainer Kazuhiro Arai, Representative of Daisetsuzan Nature School, [...]
Hostelworld, the Online Travel Agent for the hostelling category, unveiled a new framework dedicated to communicating and elevating sustainability practices in the industry, marking a significant step towards a greener future for travel. Developed in partnership with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the ‘Staircase to Sustainability’ framework introduces a first of its kind [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) partnered with Cappadocia University (KUN), in Nevşehir – Ürgüp, Türkiye, for their Sustainable Tourism Management Graduate Program. The online training was given within the scope of a course about the GSTC Criteria in the Spring semester of the Sustainable Tourism Master's program for 3 hours a week for [...]
Uganda Tourism Board has joined as a Member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Uganda is a landlocked country in East Africa known for its diverse geography and cultural variety. The country's landscape ranges from the snow-capped Rwenzori Mountains to the extensive Lake Victoria, the largest lake on the continent. The capital, Kampala, [...]
GSTC Chair Luigi Cabrini participated in the ENTRUST International Conference on the 7th of February 2024, held in the Inishowen Gateway Hotel, Buncrana, in Donegal, Ireland. The International Conference opened with a welcoming speech from Alison McGonagle, ENTRUST Project Coordinator, Mary Daly from Go Visit Donegal, and Joan Crawford from Failte Ireland. Mr. Cabrini [...]
Furano Sustainable Action Promotion Meeting (FSAPM), sponsored the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training for their tourism stakeholders in Furano Hokkaido, Japan. The three-day training in Japanese was held from November 28 to November 30, 2023. The training was led by GSTC Trainer, Dr. Mami Futagami, Dr., Professor Emeritus, Meijo University who shared her knowledge and [...]
GSTC will be present at ITB Berlin 2024. Under the motto "Pioneer the Transition in Travel & Tourism. Together.", experts from business, science, and politics will discuss new concepts and strategies for a travel industry in transition at the Berlin Exhibition Grounds from the 5th to the 7th of March, 2024. Roi Ariel, GSTC [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) was present at FITUR, The International Tourism Fair, organized by Ifema, in Madrid, Spain, from January 24 to 28, 2024. Estefanía del Azar, GSTC Communications Manager, spoke at Booking.com’s presentation of The Economist report “Destination Always”, in which Luigi Cabrini Chair of GSTC, participated in its workshop in [...]
Nippon Travel Agency (NTA), founded in 1905, by Shinsuke Minami, holds the distinguished title of being Japan's oldest travel agency. With over a century of expertise, NTA has consistently dedicated itself to crafting exceptional travel experiences. The West Japan Railway Company (JR West), serving as the parent company of NTA, fortifies NTA's capabilities, empowering [...]
Raising the sustainability performance of their hotels is an important part of the TUI Sustainability Agenda. One way of measuring progress is through globally acknowledged sustainability certificates. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) establishes and manages global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, known as the GSTC Criteria. Photo credit: TUI Blue Sarigerme [...]
14 experts shared their view "Will the next 50 years bring the Great Decoupling or the Great Collapse?" [1] All bets are on the former when economies thrive decoupled from greenhouse gas emission. Decoupling must equally occur between societal development and biocapacity. The hotel sector has developed many sustainability and ESG approaches to chart [...]
Shodoshima Tourism Association (STA) sponsored the GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training for their tourism stakeholders in Shodoshima Kagawa, Japan. The three-day training in Japanese was held from the 20th to 22nd of December, 2023. The training was led by GSTC Trainers, Kazuhiro Arai, Representative of Daisetsuzan Nature School, and Koji Miwa, Policy Researcher at the [...]
German National Tourist Board has joined as a Member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) The German National Tourist Board (GNTB) works on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action to represent Germany as a tourist destination. Working closely with the German travel industry and private-sector partners and trade [...]
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) announced in April 2023 the development of new criteria sets, GSTC MICE Criteria and GSTC Attraction Criteria, with support from the Singapore Tourism Board STB. The GSTC MICE Criteria (covering Venues, Event Organizers, and Events/Exhibitions) and GSTC Attraction Criteria aim to serve as the global sustainability standards for [...]
GSTC’s Roi Ariel shares how the increasing number of certification bodies is changing the meetings industry. An increasing number of certification bodies have entered the MICE industry to certify hotels as sustainable. These include Bureau Veritas, Vireo Srl and Control Union. The latter, for example, has more than 200 certification programmes. Such certification bodies [...]
As a new year begins, it is a good opportunity to reflect on international travel in 2023 and to also look ahead… The global travel industry courageously navigated the pandemic’s severe ramifications and continues to demonstrate tremendous resilience post-Covid-19. It’s been nearly four years since the pandemic was declared in March 2020, swiftly followed [...]
