Eco Announcements

BANGKOK, 12 October, 2017 – The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) identified four model communities under the ‘Follow the King’s Wisdom for Sustainable Tourism’ project in remembrance of the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor, and Mr. Martin Hart-Hansen, UNDP Deputy Resident Representative, presided over the opening ceremony of the “Follow the King’s Wisdom for Sustainable Tourism” exhibition. Held in Bangkok, from 4 to 8 October, 2017, the exhibition highlighted the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s contribution of to his principles as well as the tourism routes and products from the model communities.
Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, TAT Governor said, “The project formed part of TAT’s marketing plan under the ‘Local Experience’ concept. It aims at adding value to tourist’s itineraries by offering local experiences in these communities’ living under the late King Bhumibol Adulyadej’s philosophy of Sufficiency Economy.”

DUBAI, 11th October, 2017 (WAM) -- 'Responsible Tourism' will be the official theme for the Arabian Travel Market, ATM, 2018 show, which will take place at the Dubai World Trade Centre from 22nd to 25th April, 2018.

Simon Press, Senior Exhibition Director, ATM, said, "The GCC is one of the fastest growing regional hospitality markets on a global scale and is a resource-intensive industry. Its impact on the environment is multi-dimensional, ranging from CO2 emissions, water and energy demand and food waste to noise and light pollution.

"Travellers have become conscious of the carbon footprint they are leaving while visiting destinations, and the subsequent impact on the environment. This growing trend has forced the entire industry to look long and hard at how sustainability and a credible social conscious must drive business strategy."

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility in Hospitality and Tourism

Special issue call for papers from International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management

Guest Editors
Babak Taheri, Heriot-Watt University: Edinburgh, UK, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Kevin O'Gorman, Dubai, UAE and Putrajaya, Malaysia
Juliette Wilson, University of Strathclyde, UK

Editor-in-Chief
Fevzi Okumus, University of Central Florida, USA, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) in hospitality and tourism is laden with contradictions. From the simple "carbon offsetting" of budget flights to the warning from the Maldivian Government that their country will disappear due to rising water levels whilst also building, in one year, at least seven additional airports to service their resort islands. The academic literature does not always help; the continually inconclusive or contradictory findings of financial impact studies, often meaningless CSR reporting, and consumer cynicism over perceived "green-washing" activities (Farrington et al., 2017) further contribute to the lack of clarity in this area.

Edinburgh - 10 October 2017: The Scottish Government is to establish a fund to provide investment in infrastructure to support sustainable growth in rural tourism across Scotland.

The Rural Tourism Infrastructure Fund – which will see £6 million invested over two years (2018/19 and 2019/20) – will help ensure the services and facilities tourists and communities need are provided.

Latest figures indicate notable increases in visitor numbers to rural tourism sites in certain areas, including:

This October 23-25, 91 banks will meet in São Paulo, Brazil to discuss their social and environmental commitments under the so-called Equator Principles, a set of rules guiding which big infrastructure projects they will and won't finance.

Now is the time for them to act on their supposed principles. They must stop financing climate change and respect Indigenous peoples’ rights. Sign now to demand that they make commitments to change.

These “Equator banks” have all promised to avoid or minimize the social, environmental and climate impacts of such projects, and to respect the rights and interests of Indigenous communities affected by them. However...

These Principles for banks to follow sound good – but they’re not working.

The Green European Foundation is hosting a workshop about digital commons in Brussels, on 12 October 2017, with the support of our partner Etopia.

The commons are driven by citizens’ initiatives, including an increasing amount of digital opportunities as well as new technologies which have the power to transform democracy. This topic will be addressed in the upcoming workshop in Brussels hosted together with Etopia. The event is a part of our ongoing project Reclaim the Commons which aims to explore the transformative power of the commons, whilst involving the Greens and a wider audience around this topic.

Edmonton, Alberta, October 5, 2017 - The devastating effects of climate change witnessed most recently by the increasing intensity of tropical hurricanes is prompting innovators like Exceed Solar to take action.

The Alberta-based company recently launched its web site (www.exceedsolar.com) and an entirely new and innovative approach to sustainable living.

Branded as Sol Spaces, Exceed Solar is soon to unveil functional, modular-style living spaces with alternative energy solutions already built in. From backyard studios to larger living spaces the company has combined technology with the growing trend toward more sustainable housing.

Madrid, Spain, 15 September 2017

The member States of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) approved today a historical document - the UNWTO Framework Convention on Tourism Ethics. The Convention, approved at the 22nd UNWTO General Assembly transforms the Code of Ethics for Tourism into an international convention, the first in the life of the Organization.

The Convention covers the responsibilities of all stakeholders in the development sustainable tourism, providing a framework that recommends an ethical and sustainable modus operandi, including the right to tourism, the freedom of movement for tourists and the rights of employees and professionals. 

September 14, 2017 – The Global Sustainable Tourism Conference 2017 in Aysén, Chile (GSTC2017Aysen), brought together 250 delegates from 29 countries, as well as thousands of viewers joining the live broadcast of the conference.

The Conference focused on “Sustainable Destinations”, and the application of the GSTC Destination Criteria, with a focused panel of representatives from destinations that apply the GSTC Destination Criteria: Rosa Harris, Director of Tourism - Cayman Islands; Beatriz Barreal, Founder & General Manager - Sustainable Riviera Maya (Mexico); Dawson Ramsden, Ecotourism Marketing Executive - Botswana Tourism Organisation;  Eduardo Gomez, Director Regional - Sernatur Los Lagos (Chile); and Tamara Ullrich, Board Member - ZOIT Cchellenko (Chile). Other topics included tourism and climate change (adaptation and mitigation strategies); marketing sustainable tourism; sustainable visitor management; indigenous tourism; sustainable food in the tourism industry; and more. Simultaneous translation was provided in English and Spanish.

Access All Videos of the Proceedings

Conference Programme