The leading global authority in setting and managing standards for sustainable travel & tourism. Presentata in occasione del "Sustainable Tourism Forum 2023" organizzato dal GSTC Italy Working Group e tenutosi a Padova il 27 settembre 2023.

1. INTRODUCTION
gstcouncil.org

2. GSTC: An Overview
Who and What is the GSTC
GSTC Criteria
GSTC Activities

3. The leading global authority in
setting and managing standards
for sustainable travel & tourism

4. Sustainable Tourism
“Tourism that takes full account of its current and
future economic, social and environmental impacts,
addressing the needs of visitors, the industry,
the environment and host communities”
Making Tourism More Sustainable - A Guide for Policy Makers,
UNEP and UNWTO, 2005
Also in 2005, UNWTO and UNEP published
“The 12 Aims of Sustainable Tourism”
Next came the GSTC in 2007…

5. Founding Organizations
Supporting Founding Members
UNWTO, UNEP, Sabre, Rainforest Alliance

6. Why GSTC?
Tourism consumes resources that are
disproportionate to the value it adds to economies

7. Two sets of GSTC Criteria have been developed
GSTC Industry Criteria (Hotels & Tour Operators)
(2008, 2012, 2016)
GSTC Destination Criteria (2013, 2019)
Standards-Setting Code

8. Criteria development
• More than 80,000 relevant people were invited to comment
• Analyzed more than 4,500 criteria from more than 60 existing
certification standards and other voluntary sets of criteria,
principles and guidelines.
• Worldwide applicability
Revision every few years

9. GSTC Criteria
Four Pillars of Sustainability
Sustainability
Management
Social &
Economic
Cultural Environmental

10. GSTC Members (Partial list)

11. Why use the GSTC Criteria
Worldwide applicability
Suitable for all types countries
For large and small businesses / destinations
For urban, rural, and natural areas
Considering traditional communities

12. Why use the GSTC Criteria
Obstacles?
• Lack of leadership:
Decision-makers don’t
consider it a priority.
• Lack of demand: Our
customers are not asking
about it.
• Lack of capacity: We
want to become more
sustainable, but don’t
have the resources to
implement specific
measures.
Business Case?
• Protecting your
destination /
business assets.
• Taking advantage of
current market
trends.
• Maximizing the use
and efficiency of
your business’
resources (including
human resources).

13. Market Trends
Market Trends
BOOKING.COM REPORT
83 % of global travelers think
sustainable tourism is important
73% want to have authentic
experiences that are representative of
the local culture when they travel
81% want to stay in a sustainable
accommodation in the upcoming
year
BUT
40% said they have not stayed in a
sustainable property in the past year
49% believe that there aren’t enough
sustainable travel options available.

14. Important Challenges
• Getting Buy-Ins: How to get more people
on board on the importance and
relevance of sustainability.
• Internal: Concrete steps to improve
sustainability performance within
organizations.
• External: Concrete steps to engage and
educate stakeholders within the tourism
value chain.
• Balanced Tourism: Quality visitor
experience & quality of live for local
residents

15. The Old Normal
Pro-growth mentality
• 50% more international trips by 2030
o 36,000 new planes in 20 years
o 136 new airports just in China
• Double energy use in 25 years
• Double land use in 25 years
• Double water use in 45 years
“The global tourism
system is increasingly
at odds with
objectives to reduce
global resource
use.”

16. Socia Cultural impacts
Overtourism Challenges
• Unchecked tourism growth can lead to
negative impacts such as loss of local identity
and values through commodification of
cultures and unwanted changes to meet
tourist demands.
• Local residents and host community members
may develop negative attitude when tourism
is not carefully managed, leading to friction
and irritation.

17. Environmentalimpacts
Tourism’s Top Asset
Uncontrolled tourism development can
lead to destroying the environmental
resources on which it depends, as it puts
enormous pressure on destinations and
local environments through:
• Depletion of natural resources
• Pollution
• Physical impacts (degradation of
ecosystems
due to tourism infrastructure and
activities)

18. Program 3. GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training

19. What courses do we offer as part of our
GSTC Official training?
GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program GSTC Auditor Training
GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course
GSTC Applied DEI
in Travel Course
GSTC Sustainable
Business Course
GSTC Sustainable
Hotel Course
Accessible & Inclusive
Travel Course
GSTC Offers Training Accessible to Deaf
and Hard of Hearing Participants*
English, Spanish, German, Greek, Swedish, Korean, Japanese,
Chinese, Bahasa Indonesia, Turkish, Russian
English
English English
English, Spanish, German, Greek,
Swedish, Korean, Japanese, Chinese,
Bahasa Indonesia, Turkish, Russian
* Please consult conditions at training@gstcouncil.org

20. GSTC Applied DEI in Travel Course
Dates:
6- 29 June | 14:00 ET
10 Oct – 2 Nov | 16:00 KST
It is essential in today's
visitor-facing organizations
and gives opportunities to
learn about best practices of
Diversity, Equity, and
Inclusion.

21. GSTC Accessible & Inclusive Travel Course
Dates:
3- 9 July | 16:00 KST
6 -12 Nov | 20:00 EST
Designed to apprise participants of the size and
potential of the accessible and inclusive travel market
segment and provide practical tips and guidance on
how to better attract, serve and retain customers with
access needs.
This course provides a deeper understanding of how to
provide accessible and inclusive experiences for people
with disability and others with access needs, and
thereby gain a competitive advantage, increase their
market share and boost their revenue.

22. Market Access: TUI Group

23. Case Study
Sustainable Seafood Target
Responsibly source 90 percent of its
wild-caught seafood by volume from
MSC certified sustainable fisheries by 2020
Global Tour Operations
Preferential contracting to certified tour
operators to operate shore excursions

24. Case Study

25. Thank You!
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