City leaders in Greece have teamed up with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) in 2021 to assess the sustainability status of the municipalities of Corfu and Heraklion and to map out plans for a future of sustainable tourism. City leaders in Corfu and Heraklion have agreed with the two global organisations to co-fund a sustainability assessment of each destination.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council is managing the GSTC Criteria, the global baseline standards for sustainable travel and tourism; as well as acting as the international accreditation body for sustainable tourism certification. The GSTC is an independent and neutral organization, legally registered in the USA as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including UN agencies, NGO’s, national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism. GSTC establishes and manages global sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets : Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation. The GSTC Criteria form the foundation for GSTC’s role as the global Accreditation Body for Certification Programs that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services; but it accredits those that do.
The GSTC Destination Assessment focuses on four main categories of destination sustainability: destination management and governance; economic benefits to local communities; protection of cultural heritage, community, and visitor well-being; environmental protection and conservation. More details about the Destination Assessment Methodology and examples, please see
https://www.gstcouncil.org/for-destinations/destination-assessment/.
As a critical part of a GSTC Assessment, the Stakeholders Capacity Building and Awerness is essencial, thus a series of Webinars have been designed and will be deployed in March and April 2021 in the Destination. The description of this webinar program is given below :
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Webinar Description
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Code : GSTC-WBN-Q2-21
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Capacity Building of Destination Stakeholders
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Number of Participants per Destination
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Max 100 (selection after the registration by the Destination Organization)
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Webinars Duration
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04/03/2021 - 12/04/2021
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Webinar Language
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English is the official (in slides)
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Greek, whenever is available by the GSTC Expert
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Webinar Chapters
1. (04/3) Introduction to the GSTC, sustainable tourism and Destination Assessment Project
2. (11/3) Sustainable Tourism Industry, Supply Chain and Carbon Footprint
3. (18/3) Sustainable Tourism Certification schemes, Sustainability Monitoring and Reporting
4. (22/3) Destination Stewardship, DMMOs, Management Plans, and Certification
5. (29/3) Sustainable Tourism National Schemes, Tourism Strategy, Sustainable Tourism Initiatives
6. (05/4) Green Marketing, Market Access and Special Sub-Sectors
7. (12/4) Sustainability as a crisis tool for tourism restart and global Initiatives
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Webinar Duration per Chapter
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3 hours (1h presentation, 15’ break, 1h presentation, 45’ discussion)
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Starting at 16.00 Greek Time
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Certification of Attendance (for all Chapters) per Participant
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Presentation Material will be available to the Participants
- Webinar Link : will be sent to the Participants one day before the Webinar by e-mail
IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE FOR ALL CHAPTERS, PLEASE FILL OUT YOUR DETAILS IN THE FORM!
