Global Green Tourism Certification Expands

Last week, Green Globe International, the worldwide owner of the Green Globe brand, announced that it has reached a binding definitive agreement with Green Hotel Certification for a programme to deliver a dual certification to tourism properties, including hotels and resort destinations.

With this agreement in place, Green Hotel Certification will initiate sales and marketing efforts in North, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Europe, the first regions targeted for the co-branding programme.

"We are pleased to have reached this definitive agreement with Green Certifications so that the marketing of our co-branded Green Globe/Green Hotel Certification programme can begin immediately," stated Bradley Cox, chief operating officer of Green Globe International. "We have worked closely with Green Hotel Certification to assemble the materials necessary to effectively sell the dual certification to hotel and resort customers in the targeted markets. We believe that Green Hotel Certification brings to this co-branding effort a highly effective sales and service team, which will articulate to the marketplace the power of the combined brands."

"A strong brand supported by an efficient sales and service team will make all the difference in the world. The Green Globe / Green Hotel Certification product will deliver both operational savings as well as immediate recognition in the market place," commented Guido Bauer, President of Green Certifications, Inc.

In the same week, Dr. Ghassan Aidi, president of IH&RA, announced that the sustainable-tourism criteria organised by The Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, would be used in IH&RA accommodation certification.

“We did launch our criteria based on the Global Criteria during our Congress in Mexico on October 20, 2008," He said, adding “We are going by next year to start to certify hotels members of IH&RA, respecting these criteria to help implementing them. We will start certifying our members starting next year as applying the criteria for sustainable development and will be under the Label of Emeraude Hotelier. Our industry, the hospitality industry, needs these criteria to educate owners, developers, operators, and consumers.”

The Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC Partnership) is a coalition of 27 organizations working together to foster increased understanding of sustainable tourism practices and the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles. The Partnership was initiated by the Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Foundation and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and joined by International Hotel&Restaurant Association (IH&RA), the American Hotel&Lodging Association (AH&LA), American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA), Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST), Choice Hotels, Conde Nast Traveler, Conservation International (CI), ECOTRANS, Expedia Inc., Federation of Tour Operators (FTO), HM Design, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts, Instituto do Hospitalidade, The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Kenyan Ecotourism Society, The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (SCBD), Solimar International, Sustainable Travel International (STI), the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), Tourism Concern, Travelocity/Sabre, and VISIT.

Valere Tjolle