Hello friend,

In light of the #GSTC2024Singapore Conference, to be held from 13-16 November 2024, we spoke with Randy Durband, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, about the challenges and opportunities facing sustainable tourism today, and what one can expect from #GSTC2024Singapore.

If you read this newsletter regularly, you may already know that we are looking for travel and tourism professionals and companies to join us as speakers, venue partner, and sponsors at the AST Forum Hanoi. But just in case you missed last week’s edition, please find collaboration details below.

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GSTC Aims to Cement its Sustainable Tourism Leadership at #GSTC2024Singapore

The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), established by the United Nations to manage global standards for sustainable tourism, is returning to Asia to host its highly anticipated Global Sustainable Tourism Conference in Sentosa, Singapore, from 13-16 November 2024.  

This event takes place at a critical juncture, as the very standards of sustainability in tourism appear to be at a crossroads.

In August 2024, Travalyst, founded by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, introduced a list of 49 sustainability certifications compliant with its criteria “aimed at industry alignment”. 

This move has sparked questions about whether we are witnessing a potential fracturing in the criteria that define sustainable tourism.

For industry insiders, the concern is clear: with so many organizations attempting to shape the narrative, are we headed toward a fragmented approach to sustainability?

More importantly, what does this mean for businesses and travelers navigating an already complex certification landscape?

In today’s fast-evolving travel and tourism industry, sustainability certifications have become markers of credibility and operational excellence. From luxury hotels in Singapore to community-led eco-tours in rural Thailand, certifications are viewed as crucial to meeting the growing demand for responsible travel. 

According to the GSTC, the number of ‘GSTC-accredited certification hotels’ jumped from 569 in Q3 of 2023 to 1,279 in Q2 of 2024. That is a whopping 120% increase. 

At their core, sustainability certification bodies aim to provide a benchmark for best practices in environmental, social, and economic sustainability. 

But as these certifications proliferate, confusion sets in. The question remains: which certification can truly be trusted?

Dr. Harold Goodwin, Director of the Responsible Tourism Partnership, remarked, “Certification may be the safest form of greenwashing. It certainly denies consumers information about what sustainability measures a business delivers.” The diversity of certification bodies, each with its own set of standards, further complicates the matter.

The GSTC, as the body responsible for accrediting certification bodies, is pivotal in this debate. Its rigorous process ensures that standards are met, and its leadership could provide much-needed clarity in an industry grappling with greenwashing, inconsistency, and regional disparities. 

Recent Expedia data reveals that 95% of Asian travelers prioritize sustainability in their travel choices, but many remain skeptical of vague claims and hard-to-verify information.

So, where does the GSTC stand in this evolving landscape? 

Here’s a preview of the interview with Randy Durband, the CEO of GSTC.

_____________________________

Hello Randy, what inspired GSTC to focus on the 4 themes for #GSTC2024Singapore?

Each year, we focus on different themes that we consider to be a combination of ‘hot topics’ globally and enduring themes that are particularly relevant to the host destination or region. 

For #GSTC2024Singapore, the four main themes are Driving Sustainable Urban Tourism, Sustainable Hospitality, Integrating Sustainability across the Value Chain, and Preserving Culture, Heritage, and Communities.

These themes reflect the evolving challenges and opportunities in the tourism industry, with a focus on fostering responsible growth while safeguarding the environment and local communities. GSTC’s Global Conferences are an exciting opportunity to engage with thought leaders and practitioners driving sustainable change globally.

While the GSTC’s criteria have helped set crucial industry standards, there are mixed reactions to new frameworks like Travalyst’s criteria and the WTTC’s Hotel Sustainability Basics. In your opinion, are these new criteria advancing the industry or creating more confusion?

We released an official statement regarding Travalyst’s accommodations program – read the full statement here.

We appreciate their goals and good intentions of advancing sustainability in tourism by providing useful information to travelers and businesses to identify those accommodation providers that are taking meaningful steps to operate more sustainably.

At the same time, we are not comfortable with a program that treats all marks the same, because, in our extensive work in viewing global approaches to verification of sustainability claims in hospitality, we see widely divergent levels of rigor in labeling schemes.

By not encouraging or requiring accreditation, which is an external review of the Certification Body, the industry tolerates an unreasonably wide-open door to inferior verification systems masquerading as quality certification.

Regarding WTTC, we are working with them to establish a structured framework for hotel sustainability. Their Hotel Sustainability Basics serve as a stepping stone towards GSTC certification. 

Greenwashing is a widespread and counterproductive issue, fueled by self-reporting and self-assessment. How is GSTC collaborating with certification organizations to combat this perception and ensure transparency?

Certification represents a written assurance by a third party of the conformity of a product, process, or service to specified requirements. Accreditation, on the other hand, is the formal recognition by an authoritative body of an entity’s competence to work to specified standards. 

GSTC Accreditation is a mark of quality that GSTC places on certification bodies that choose our independent and neutral process to verify that they certify businesses, such as hotels, tour operators, or destinations, competently and neutrally. 

GSTC looks very hard at the Certification Bodies certification process to ensure that they issue certifications based on merit and neutrality.

Participants from ASEAN countries enjoy reduced registration fees. Register for #GSTC2024Singapore via this link here.

There are 4 ways that you can join us:

👉🏽 Speak: Share your expertise on these pressing topics as one of our speakers.
👉🏽 Co-Host: Partner with us to host the AST Forum at your visionary hotel.
👉🏽 Sponsor: Showcase your innovative solutions to a highly engaged audience.
👉🏽 Attend: Join the waitlist to secure your spot and receive updates.

Together, we’ll deep dive into some critical topics:

»»» Sustainability Certification: Green Stamp or Greenwash?
»»» Typhoon Yagi Aftermath: Building Climate Resilience in Vietnam’s Tourism or Sustainability: A Revenue-Generating Strategy or a Cost Center

With only 16 questions, it will only take under 5 minutes to complete. Your answers will be kept completely confidential. 

Your input is important in helping us reach a substantial number of responses to create a guide that compares how various sustainability certifications align with the unique needs and expectations of our industry in Asia.

»»» To thank you for your time and valuable feedback, you will receive an exclusive digital report packed with the key findings and real-life case studies to enhance your sustainability strategies.

When you're ready, here’s how we can help you grow your business:

»» Hire us to produce long-form content: newsletters, impact reports, e-books, and business case studies.

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