Sustainable tourism criteria issued at conference

The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria Partnership, a coalition comprising 27 member organizations, issued criteria early this week for sustainable tourism practices, at their conference held in Barcelona.

The guidelines focus on four principal areas of sustainability, including maximizing the social and economic benefits of tourism to local communities, reducing the negative impact of large numbers of visitors on a community’s cultural heritage, reducing the harm caused to local environments and planning for sustainable practices.

Travelocity’s chief marketing officer, Jeff Glueck, commented that consumers should have widely-agreed standards to be able to judge which practices are actually green. He added that the criteria will also make it possible to offer real certifications for hotels, resorts and other travel vendors. Travelocity is a GSTC Partnership member organisation.

The United Nations Foundation founded the Partnership, which also includes, among others, the American Hotel & Lodging Association, the American Society of Travel Agents, the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism, the International Ecotourism Society and Expedia.

Sustainability guidelines were developed with the input of experts in the field and representatives of the tourism industry. Over 60 existing sets of guidelines that have been implemented in various parts of the world were reviewed during the process.

The chairman of the UN Foundation, Ted Turner, joined with the Rainforest Alliance, the UN Environment Programme and the UN World Tourism Organization at the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress, in announcing the new criteria.

www.sustainabletourismcriteria.org