The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has announced a partnership with the Global Travel & Tourism Partnership (GTTP) to launch an industry philanthropic initiative aimed at promoting sustainable tourism development and educating secondary school students on career opportunities in travel and tourism in more than 5,600 schools across 11 countries.
As part of the agreement, GSTC will endorse GTTP curricular materials and GSTC members will have an opportunity to mentor GTTP students about sustainability practices in the travel and tourism industry. GTTP will endorse the mission of the GSTC and reference its Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria in GTTP curricular materials.
The GSTC Criteria are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism, which focuses on social and environmental responsibility, as well as the positive and negative economic and cultural impacts of tourism.
The criteria are organized into four topics: Sustainable management, socioeconomic impacts, cultural impacts and environmental impacts (including consumption of resources, reducing pollution and conserving biodiversity and landscapes). The criteria are recognized and endorsed by the World Tourism Organization and the United Nations Environment Program, which are Permanent Members of the Board of Directors of the GSTC.
“The creation of a knowledge network, and the promotion of education and training initiatives in sustainable tourism worldwide are a fundamental part of our efforts,” said GSTC CEO Mauro Marrocu. “We see this new cooperation as a milestone because the GTTP provides a unique opportunity to teach sustainability values and practices to future generations.”
The two organizations say they will establish a working relationship and collaborate on projects for a period of two years.
GTTP says the collaboration with GSTC will help enhance its sustainable tourism education efforts via the Passport to the World program, which reaches over 450,000 students as year, as well as its teacher training programs and student mentoring initiatives.
“The sustainability of travel and tourism depends on attracting young people to careers in our industry,” said Gordon Wilson, CEO of Travelport. “This new initiative will further enhance both our organizations’ efforts and will introduce more resources on sustainable tourism to our students.”
In related travel industry news, Hyatt Hotels Corporation recently announced Ready to Thrive, a long-term commitment to help improve education and workforce readiness through a new global philanthropy program focused on literacy and career development.
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Founder, Hower Impact
Mike Hower is the founder of Hower Impact — a boutique consultancy delivering strategic communication advisory and support for corporate sustainability, ESG and climate tech.
Published Jul 9, 2013 1am EDT / 10pm PDT / 6am BST / 7am CEST