As climate-related disasters ramp up, how can travelers minimize the harms and maximize the benefits they bring to recovering destinations? Photo credit: Gabriel Lugo Professional bird guide Gabriel Lugo was looking forward to another busy season of tours when Hurricane Maria slammed into Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017. The Category 4 [...]
Bahamas Wins Top CTO Sustainable Award NASSAU, Bahamas (16 March 2023) – The Bahamas can officially claim the title of sustainable champion after starting the year off as the winner of the coveted 2022 Caribbean Tourism Organization’s (CTO) Destination and Stewardship Resilience Sustainable Tourism Award. The announcement was made during the CTO 2022 Virtual [...]
ABTA, IATA, and GSTC have declared their commitment to hold their upcoming events in Türkiye as planned. Travel and tourism organizations planning conferences in Türkiye this year have pledged to go ahead as the country deals with the aftermath of the earthquakes in southeast Türkiye in February. Antalya, in southern Türkiye, is due to [...]
WTTC Announces next stage of its Hotel Sustainability Basics initiative The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) has launched the Hotel Sustainability Basics (Basics) verification scheme. Announced at ITB Berlin, Basics will enable tourist accommodation providers from around the world, regardless of their size, to begin their sustainability journey. The Basics are a coordinated [...]
Sustainability certifications are a top priority for TUI: "Our sustainability certified hotels clearly signals hotels that demonstrate social and environmental good practice [...]" says Ian Corbett, Head of Sustainability in TUI Group's Labels and certifications are common in many different sectors and contexts. The travel industry also has numerous certification schemes. For TUI, these [...]
Sustainable Tourism at a Critical Juncture From right to left: Roi Ariel (General Manager, GSTC), Natalie Kidd (Chief People and Purpose Officer, Intrepid Travel), Jason Lin (Co-founder & CEO, Talent Basket), Jennifer Lin (Senior Manager, Business Development, Southeast Asia, Rezio), Shinobu Hayama (CEO, Journey for Change), Halim Choi (Program Officer, Jeonbuk MICE Bureau). [...]
Turismo sostenible en España: medioambiente y turismofobia Abordamos la sostenibilidad en el turismo. Nos preguntamos si es posible desarrollar esa actividad turística sin que se destroce el medioambiente, es decir, además de generar ingresos para la población autóctona, ser respetuoso con el ecosistema y con la cultura local. Vamos a analizar los motivos por [...]
How has health and political crisis impacted travel, and is tourism ready for sustainability? Article and interview by Anula Galewska, Travindy This article is part of the “Sustainable tourism insights” interview series with speakers and participants of the Green Destinations Conference in Athens, Greece held in September 2022. Dr. Ioannis Pappas is the Director [...]
Can We Certify Our Way to Sustainable Travel? Article written by Sun Woo Baik in Asparagus Magazine When I think about the impacts my travels have had, my mind immediately goes to the massive, gas-guzzling, carbon-spewing aluminum tube I boarded to get to my destinations. Aviation is the most obvious culprit for travel-related emissions, [...]
How to Tread Lightly in Fragile Places Article written by Elaine Glusac in The New York Times Organizing a responsible visit to sensitive areas like the Galápagos Islands or Antarctica involves research, decoding certifications and possibly a travel adviser. For independent travelers, sustainable certifications can help identify responsible operations. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council [...]
Tablet Hotels' Sustainability Program Gains Momentum Tablet Hotels, the hotel experts at the MICHELIN® Guide, has launched a hotel sustainability program, making it easy for travelers to choose hotels that are working to make a positive impact on the planet and in their community. The program features the sustainability icon, which indicates hotels that have [...]
easyJet holidays launches new ‘eco certified’ collection, in partnership with the GSTC easyJet holidays is making it easier for its customers to make sustainable choices for their holiday, by identifying a new ‘eco certified’ collection on its website. The hotels included in the collection will be identified by a green leaf motif, and all have [...]
Vision setting: A sustainable coastal and marine tourism sector in 2030 and 2050 What is sustainable coastal and marine tourism in 2030 and 2050? What are three key shifts needed by 2025 to achieve this ambitious vision? Expert Perspective by Randy Durband, CEO of GSTC on Ocean Panel. Coastal and marine tourism is enormous [...]
Vision setting: A sustainable coastal and marine tourism sector in 2030 and 2050 What is sustainable coastal and marine tourism in 2030 and 2050? What are three key shifts needed by 2025 to achieve this ambitious vision? Expert Perspective by Caroline Tippett, Vice President of Ocean Markets and Finance, World Wildlife Fund, published on [...]
WTTC launches major hotel sustainability initiative at its Global Summit in Manila The World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) launched its ‘Hotel Sustainability Basics’, a coordinated set of basic actions that hotels should implement as a minimum at the beginning of their sustainability journey. The initiative was launched at WTTC's Global Summit in Manila in [...]
Une interview avec Ignacio de la Cueves, formateur GSTC, aborde les critères GSTC et leurs objectifs. Qu’est -ce que les critères GSTC et quels sont leurs objectifs ? Les critères GSTC servent de normes mondiales pour la durabilité dans les voyages et le tourisme. Les Critères sont utilisés pour la formation et la sensibilisation, [...]
What Makes an Eco-Resort Truly Sustainable? This article by Elana Spivack was published on Popular Science. Eco-resorts are generally committed to a carbon-zero existence and preserving their surrounding environment. The word “resort” connotes luxury, and many claim to provide luxury sustainably. These locales have been cropping up in recent years as environmental consciousness becomes [...]
This article by GSTC Chairman Luigi Cabrini and GSTC CEO Randy Durband was published on OECD Forum. Can global sustainability standards be key to a green recovery? In 2019, tourism accounted for 10% of the global GDP and 1 of every 11 jobs worldwide, with a record 1.5 billion international tourists. But in 2020 [...]
Following global trends, hoteliers are now moving faster towards more sustainable practices. However, sustainability is a broad topic and taking the first steps might be daunting. To make it easier, Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), shares 6 ways that are crucial in making hotels sustainable: Market Demand for Eco-Friendly - [...]
New York Times: How to Travel More Sustainably Don’t skimp on doing your own research, and be aware that ‘green’ certificates aren’t always all they’re cracked up to be. Looking for a hotel or tour operator that has earned a sustainability label might seem like a good place to start, but the reality isn’t so [...]