TUI gives green award to GSTC

TUI promotes harmonization of sustainability labels in tourism and grants international sustainability award to GSTC

This year’s International TUI Sustainability Award has been granted to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), for fostering a common understanding of sustainability in the tourism sector. With the award TUI AG promotes the efforts undertaken by the GSTC to establish a common basis for the many different sustainability labels in tourism.

The prize, worth 10,000 euros, was awarded at GSTC’s annual meeting in Washington, DC last week.
Erika Harms, Executive Director of GSTC, said: "The GSTC is honored to receive this award, a reflection of the wide reaching stakeholder engagement to promote sustainable tourism practices at a company and at a destination level."

Mila Dahle, head of Group Environmental Management / Sustainable Development at TUI AG, commented on the decision to choose this year’s award-winner: "The GSTC is committed to establishing a uniform language for us to talk about sustainability in the tourism sector. Thanks to these efforts, they will facilitate the selection of high-quality sustainability labels by our partners and hotel companies in the destinations and enhance transparency for our customers." TUI has been a member of the GSTC since 2011.

The International TUI Sustainability Award (previously: International Environmental Award), granted for the first time in 1991, is awarded to initiatives that provide crucial and exemplary contributions to promoting sustainable tourism.

The criteria applied in selecting the award-winners include: preservation of nature and biodiversity in the holiday destinations, sustainable use of resources, awareness raising and sensitivity as well as consideration of the interests of the local population.

Previous award-winners have included local environmental initiatives in Turkey, Greece, Kenya and Menorca and the Blue Flag initiative of the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE), the Federation of Nature and National Parks of Europe or the Eco Centre for the Protection of Coral Reefs on the Maldives Island of Kuramathi.

Valere Tjolle
VISION latest sustainable tourism special offer: Sustainable Tourism Marketing Guide HERE