Groups Set Sustainable Tourism Criteria
When this Cheapflights’ reporter attended a conclave of the Adventure Travel Association (Web site: www.adventuretravel.biz) last year, this critical topic was much on the minds of participants. Just what criteria should be used in defining “sustainable tourism”, the kind that works with the environment, so it’s there for future generations to enjoy?
Now a trio of groups have got together to set up a common framework: the Rainforest Alliance (Web site: www.rainforest-alliance.org), the United Nations Environment Programme (Web site: www.unep.org), and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (Web site: www.world-tourism.org).
Ted Turner, Founder and Chairman of United Nations Foundation (Web site: www.unfoundation.org) says: “Unfortunately, up to this point, the travel industry and tourists haven’t had a common framework…the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC) will change that.”
Certainly lots of people travel – more than 900 million last year according to the UNWTO, and the organization predicts 1.6 billion tourists each year by 2020.
The criteria are available at the Web site (www.sustainabletourismcriteria.org). They focus on four areas: maximizing tourism’s social and economic benefits to local communities; reducing negative impacts on cultural heritage; reducing harm to local environments; and planning for sustainability.
Conceptually, all of this is fine, but it’s the application of the criteria that will tell the tale. To that end, The GTSC Partnership is putting together educational materials and technical tools to help hotels and tour operators put those conceptual criteria to work.
A Cheapflights’ observation: it may be a while before these criteria percolate throughout the world travel system, but, assuming they do, they could provide a template for preserving critical habitats, promoting prosperity among people who need it most, and allowing travelers to enjoy this planet while helping preserve it.
© Cheapflights Ltd Jerry Chandler