Visit Skellefteå becomes a member of another international network for sustainable tourism, the international organization GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council). SSustainable Tourism Council).
– We are relying on our regional partners Swedish Lapland Visitors Board and Region Västerbotten Turism, says Maria Broman, CEO of Visit Skellefteå. The interest in Skellefteå as the center of the green transition in Europe is enormous and we as a destination want to be a role model and inspirer that contributes to strengthening the entire region.
GSTC is an independent global organization initiated by the United Nations. Its members are public and private actors worldwide who work together for sustainable tourism in all aspects, environmentally, socially and economically.
– The whole is important and it is crucial that both the destination and the companies develop their sustainability work and contribute to the global goals. With membership in GSTC, we want to create an even better destination organization by increasing our expertise and contributing to the development of both the companies and the local community, continues Maria.
GSTC establishes and manages global standards and criteria for sustainable tourism. Through GSTC, a common international standard for sustainability has been achieved, where the criteria are organized into four parts: sustainable management, socio-economic impacts on the local community, conservation of cultural heritage and environmental impact.
The joint sustainability initiative in Västerbotten, Västerbotten Experience, is based on analyses of tourism companies according to GSTC criteria. Just over 100 companies in Västerbotten, of which around twenty in Skellefteå, have already been analysed according to GSTC.
– Thanks to the fact that GSTC is an international standard, it creates credibility in communication with both end consumers and tour operators, says Bo Wikström, business developer and trained sustainability auditor at Visit Skellefteå. GSTC analyses according to Västerbotten Experience give both us and the companies a good basis for communicating sustainable nature and cultural experiences in Västerbotten.
“Skellefteå is showing its leadership in sustainability in a number of different areas and as a member of GSTC we are strengthening the tourism industry's contribution to the Sustainable Skellefteå collaboration program,” says Maria Broman. Membership in GSTC complements our membership in the global sustainability ranking Global Destination Sustainable Index (GDSI), where Skellefteå has been included since 2021, concludes Broman.
According to the press release.
