2 July 2018 - The African Union Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Tourism, H.E. Dr. Amani Abou-Zeid said that the Tourism industry employs over 21 million people in Africa, hence accounting for 6.5 per cent of the total workforce in the African continent.
The Commissioner made her remarks at the 61st United Nations World Tourism Organization Commission for Africa, Conference, in Abuja held under the theme “Tourism Statistics: A Catalyst for Development” from 4 to 6 June 2018.
July 5, 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Green Destinations has achieved the ‘GSTC-Accredited’ status. The awarded status affirms Green Destinations’ commitment to promoting sustainable tourism products and services.
Green Destinations (GD) is a non-profit organisation of experts and destination ambassadors working in 80 countries. GD supports a large community of local, regional and country destination managers and stakeholders, enhancing destination sustainability, market visibility, and tourism quality. Green Destinations developed a complete, affordable and easy-to-use Assessment & Certification programme that fits the needs of both small and larger destinations. It is operated through an online Assessment & Reporting platform based upon the GSTC-Recognised Green Destinations Standard and the GD Database with data from 2000 destinations. The platform helps destinations to improve sustainability management and performance.
On June 27, IUF members at Marriott hotels around the world demonstrated in support of the call for concrete action by the world's largest hotel group to protect workers from the endemic sexual harassment which afflicts hospitality workers.
June 30, 2018 - The Adventure Angels are a lively group of adventuresome women who seek to inspire women entrepreneurs in adventure travel. Moldova is a small country in Eastern Europe north of the Balkans, sandwiched between Romania and Ukraine. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Moldova emerged as its own country full of pride and potential. Natalia Curnic is a travel tourism entrepreneur from Moldova and is the proud recipient of the Adventure Angel Abundance Scholarship 2018. She will attend the Adventure Travel World Summit in Tuscany this October and will be able to share her unique vision of Moldova among other adventure travel professionals.
Madrid, Spain, 20 June 2018 – The Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), Zurab Pololikashvili, called for the tourism sector to take more action to combat climate change and biodiversity loss during the 30th joint meeting of its Commissions for South Asia and Asia-Pacific in Fiji (18-20 June 2018).
Maputo, 8 June 2018 – Two pristine reserves in southern Mozambique, Maputo Special Reserve and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve, are set for transformative tourism development. This follows from an agreement signed by the Mozambique Government and Peace Parks Foundation to jointly develop Maputo Special Reserve (MSR) and Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve (PPMR). The agreement is based on a strategic business plan, developed by both partners, and initial funding of $16 million donated by the Reinet Foundation, the Wyss Foundation and other private donors. The World Bank funded MozBio programme is also investing in the development of the Reserves.
Brussels, 11 June 2018 – On 21 June 2018, the European Travel Commission (ETC), the Flemish tourist board VISITFLANDERS and the International Gay & Lesbian Travel Association (IGLTA) will host an Educational Forum on LGBTQ Tourism in Europe. The event aims at advancing knowledge on LGBTQ tourism in Europe, discussing the status quo of Europe as a safe and welcoming destination for LGBTQ tourists, investigating new ways to strengthen the region’s attractiveness as an LGBTQ-friendly destination, and understanding the future evolution of LGBTQ travel.
June 7, 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Innovation Norway’s Sustainable Destination Standard has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status.
Innovation Norway’s Sustainable destination standard includes 45 criteria and 108 indicators to be measured, registered and monitored. The standard covers nature, culture, environment, social values, community involvement and economic viability. Measurable and continuous development is ensured through performance counts and renewing the brand every three years.
10 May 2018 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Thailand’s Sustainable Tourism Management Standard, published by Designated Areas for Sustainable Tourism Administration (DASTA), has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status.
DASTA’s Thailand’s Sustainable Tourism Management Standard has been created for managing tourism and aims at helping all types and sizes of tourism-related organizations to manage tourism systematically and sustainably. It is expected to enable those related organizations to achieve a performance that is higher than the basic level required by law. These standards, therefore, can be challenging for organizations that want to improve the efficiency of their operation, leading to 'Sustainable Tourism'.
Tourism Alert & Action Forum - "Salvador Statement on Just Tourism", March 18th 2018
Following on from the meeting of the Tourism Advocacy and Action Forum (TAAF) in 2014 in Istanbul, Turkey, a group of activists and representatives of organization working on tourism issues met at Salvador, Brazil in March, 2018 in a side event to the World Social Forum (WSF). The WSF ran under the theme “To resist is to create, to resist is to transform!” and the TAAF took inspiration on resistance and transformations in tourism.
Amending our name to the Tourism Alert and Action Forum, our group of activists and representatives: reaffirmed our commitment to the principles of the Istanbul Statement and considered the experiences of communities suffering the negative impacts of tourism policies and projects that are included within the imposition of models of hegemonic development. We also recognized that tourism works together with the execution of mining, oil, energy, forestry, marine resources extraction, bioprospecting, privatization of lands, water, goods, public services and cuts or violates human rights extensively.
