Global Sustainable Tourism Conference opens in Antalya...

The “Sustainable Tourism Conference,” held each year in a different country by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) – recognized as the world’s foremost environmental and sustainability platform – has this year opened in Antalya, hosted by Türkiye.

The conference began with opening remarks by Minister of Culture and Tourism Mehmet Nuri Ersoy, GSTC CEO Randy Durband, TÜROB-Türkiye Otelciler Birliği President Müberra Eresin and TÜROFED-Türkiye Otelciler Federasyonu President Erkan Yağcı. The Global Sustainable Tourism Council conference, organized by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) – which sets and manages the global standards for sustainable travel and tourism – is being followed by more than 350 domestic and international participants, comprising public institutions, hotels, tour operators, universities, development agencies and other sector representatives. The four-day conference features panels, training sessions, meetings and social events.

Having signed a cooperation agreement with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in 2022 and thereby established its “sustainable tourism roadmap,” Türkiye became the first country to conclude such an agreement ‘at the government level in the field of sustainable tourism.’ Under the three-year protocol signed with the GSTC, which sets the most widespread and highest standards in sustainable tourism, Türkiye’s tourism industry is being restructured, and a ‘National Sustainable Tourism Program’ was created for this purpose.

The National Sustainable Tourism Program aims to drive transformation across the entire tourism sector, encompassing accommodation facilities first and foremost, as well as destinations and tour operators. Under the Sustainable Tourism Program, developed in cooperation with the entire sector and international organizations under the leadership of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and TGA, all accommodation facilities in Türkiye were required to comply with Stage 1 of the program by the end of 2023.