SINGAPORE: A roundup of news from the GSTC2024 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference, which took place in Sentosa, Singapore this month.
The event brought together 500 delegates from 55 countries and participants included international and regional tourism stakeholders involved in the development and promotion of sustainable tourism, including the public sector, hotels, tour operators, academia, development agencies, NGOs, consultants, and more.
As with previous GSTC Conferences, the carbon footprint of the event and the travel of all attendees has been calculated, and offset by Green Evolution but the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) also extended a complimentary e-card for spending in Singapore for participants who chose to carbon offset their flights individually.
Prior to the conference, four onsite GSTC Trainings took place in Sentosa, Singapore, with 80 industry professionals taking part. The training looked at the GSTC Criteria, the global standards for sustainability in tourism and travel, Accessible and Inclusive Travel, as well as a course for GSTC Auditor Training, which covered the GSTC Industry Criteria and the audit process.
Alvin Tan, minister of state, Ministry of Trade and Industry & Ministry of Culture, Community and Youth opened the conference alongside Luigi Cabrini, chair of the GSTC.
“The introduction of the GSTC Criteria aims to develop a common language for sustainable tourism and align that understanding globally, serving as one of the most widely accepted international standards for sustainability in travel and tourism,” said Tan.
Cabrini said: “Time has shown that GSTC filled a gap by making available a system that can serve both the private and the public sector to achieve higher levels of sustainability. Our role in establishing and managing global standards is now widely recognised.”
The conference was held at Resorts World Sentosa, the first destination in the world certified to both the GSTC Destination Criteria and GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels in 2021. The venue, Equarius Hotel, is also certified to the GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels.
Lee Shi Ruh, president, Resorts World Sentosa, said: “This conference allows us to lead sustainability conversations on a global platform with some of the most influential industry leaders in sustainability, to show that sustainable tourism and responsible growth in the hospitality sector can take place in tandem.”
The Conference themes were: (A) Driving Sustainable Urban Tourism; (B) Sustainable Hospitality; (C) Integrating Sustainability across the Value Chain; (D) Preserving Culture, Heritage and Communities.
Through these themes, the event offered delegates insights and practical skills to drive progress in their sustainability journeys and speakers from the tourism industry shared their expertise. Here are a few of the panel discussions from the event which are relevant to hotels.
Pathways to Sustainability
Elif Balcı Fisunoğlu vice general manager, tourism operations and development, Türkiye Tourism Promotion and Development Agency (TGA) explained that in 2022 TGA decided to create a measurable system for the hotels in Turkey and that using both national and international frameworks companies can help to transform Turkey into a sustainable tourism country. “We agreed with the GSTC to work on criteria for the accommodation and we have 19,000 verified and certified hotels as part of our programme. The tour operators – we are 50 per cent ready – and we are working on the destination side by doing assessments with the GSTC.”
It was also announced during the conference that Turkey has been working on the criteria for restaurants and food with the GSTC and the training is ready to begin. Fisunoğlu added: “We believe that in order to make a sustainable destination first we need to make our tourism businesses sustainable.”
Liz Ortiguera managing director of Asia-Pacific and sr advisor to the CEO, World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) said: “We consist of the 180 largest travel companies globally and we advocate of the responsible development of sustainable tourism. In the past two years there has been a big evolution and now all tourism ministries have a sustainability score card. In addition to that, the research I’ve seen shows in this region the consumer interest is high in sustainable travel options. My theory is that these countries are at the forefront of climate change.”
When talking about hotels and sustainability Ortiguera said: “The big chains have embraced it and there is a movement along this pathway. Is it fast enough? No, but there is movement. And we have 500 attendees here all embracing this ethos and not questioning the needs. Consumers want more transparency and more verification. We went through years of greenwashing and labelling but now the hotels committed to actions and achieving verification and certification will get recognised and rewarded.”
She acknowledged that the OTAs had backed off recently because of the EU Green Claims Directive making it important to offer more transparency to those who are achieving these milestones. “We appeal to TMCs and OTAS to make it more transparent.”
Ortiguera said that Hotel Sustainability Basics, which was launched three years ago was designed by the industry and for the industry with the main target audience independent properties to help them on the pathway. “The imperative is to leave no one behind.”
Innovation in Hotel Sustainability
Innovation in hotel sustainability looked at how hotels can explore new avenues to enhance operations and guest experiences while minimising environmental impact. The session showcased how digital solutions can promote sustainable practices like energy efficiency, water conservation, and waste reduction. The panellists Marc Zornes founder, Winnow, Iris Lam director of sustainability, global development, Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Jen Ong assistant director – sustainability, Resorts World Sentosa and Benjamin Lephilibert CEO, LightBlue Consulting; co-founder, The PLEDGE on Food Waste discussed the challenges and opportunities that arise in implementing these solutions. The panel was moderated by Jasline Ng sustainability manager, Greenview.
Zornes talked about hotel breakfasts, buffet waste and how to tackle food waste from not only a production point of view but a deeper look at how we handle food. He showed a picture of a water melon – with 31 different ways to use it as he talked of the zero waste partnerships Winnow is trialling. “We really shouldn’t call it waste if it’s actually food we are putting into the bin.”
Lam asked how we foster innovation. She explained that Mandarin Oriental released its first sustainability report in 2010 but that it has recently looked more at its governance of sustainability. For the last three years the group has had independent auditors come into the hotels to makes sure they are doing what they say they are doing around sustainability. She said when they first started talking about getting rid of single-use plastic in 2017 there was a lot of push back like “Oh no we are luxury, no one will accept that we are getting rid of those amenity bottles or the clingfilm in the kitchen” – but through championing this with the people who have all the experience – colleagues who work day in day out – eventually changes were made.
A question from the floor was who should be funding these early innovations – should it be the owner, the operator, governments? Jen Ong assistant director – sustainability, Resorts World Sentosa said that her team looks at sustainability goals and targets and plans to make sure there is budget to achieve these and they will put aside Capex to make sure they can invest in these initiatives. She added that there is a lot of push in Singapore to take up the opportunities for grants and funding for sustainability.
Accessibility in Tourism
We recently covered accessibility and inclusion in the hotel sector and so this discussion was great to showcase. Accessibility is a central element of any responsible and sustainable development policy, and addressing the issues travellers face when it comes to accessibility contributes to building a more diverse and tolerant society, where everyone has the freedom to explore and participate in travel experiences without limitations. Martin Heng Accessible & Inclusive Travel Expert; head of content, Vacant, Dr. Pavlina McGrady associate professor and sustainable tourism management programme coordinator, Southern Oregon University, Ku Geok Boon CEO, SG Enable and Neha Arora founder, Planet Abled were joined by moderator Andrew Leary principal, Coraggio Group. Panelists shared insights and discussed best practices in promoting accessibility in tourism and offered ways to build strategies to advance these objectives.
Martin Heng said: “It’s all very well to talk about the infrastructure and the transport and the digital accessibility, but what most people don’t realise is that a positive attitude is the most important to making travel more accessible.”
He also noted that with an ageing demographic one in six trips are being taken by those aged 60 and over so it is becoming increasingly important to cater to this demographic.
The panel also talked about if travel content was accessible from the beginning of the trip and is there enough information for a disabled person to go-ahead and book their travel. And is there a proper feedback loop to give back to the destination for the future. This is inclusion in tourism.
A question from the floor asked about standards in the industry and what’s happening in standards and accessibility? Heng said “There is a major problem that every country has different building codes or resources to implement those building codes.
ISO 21902 Accessible Tourism 2021 does address this.
Neha Arora founder, Planet Abled added that even if there are standards “unless it moves from legal compliance to customer centric aspirations to catering for a disabled customers we will still have issues.” She noted while it’s great to have ISO standards the implementation can the the issue and the industry needs more experts around the world who understand the cultural aspects of each country.
McGrady said often disabled people are not involved in the planning process so “have a person in a wheelchair go through your hotel or a blind person visit your museums – I think one of the biggest issues is that people with disabilities are not included in the strategic planning.”
Heng agreed: “Co-design – so include your target group in the design of your product and services.”
Sustainable Luxury Resorts
Many luxury hotels have implemented green policies, by using sustainable construction materials, recycling waste materials, conserving water, or preserving ecosystems – and this discussion was about whether being more sustainable compromised on quality as well as whether sustainability could bring a return on investment. The moderator was Andrew Jones – guardian, Sanctuary Resorts with the panel including Grace Hu, chief sustainability officer, Dossen Group, Mark Wong SVPAsia Pacific, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH), Uzair Jaffer ESG manager, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts and Desak Made Intan Sari director of hygiene safety and sustainability, The Apurva Kempinski Bali.
A question from the floor was about packaging in luxury hotels for the amenities – how can we have sustainable packaging options? Uzair Jaffer – ESG Manager, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts explained how the group had transitioned to paper and compostable packaging and looked at guest feedback “and honestly the transition has been quite smooth. I think sometimes we are afraid that the luxury customers might not appreciate certain things but in reality that might not be the case.”
He added that the positive sides of being sustainable need to be discussed more such as the “positive upside elements around guest retention and guest attraction and employee retention – this is what you see as ROI.”
Mark Wong SVP Asia Pacific, Small Luxury Hotels of the World (SLH) talked about investments in wheelchair and disability in one resort and how it wasn’t always the physical aspect of the investment, but also the staff training which was important.”We started to see a different segment of customers who usually did not book that resort but they have heard about it and now experienced it and that’s where we start to measure the return on investment.”
Public Consultation for GSTC Hotel Criteria
The GSTC is also inviting the public to look at the GSTC Hotel Criteria (and GSTC Tour Operator Criteria) drafts and the second public consultation is now active. A report on the revisions from the first public consultation and second public consultation will soon be published.
The GSTC Criteria operate as a universal foundation for sustainability standards in travel and tourism. It has been established through a comprehensive global effort to introduce a universally understood and adopted language around sustainability within the industry.
You can provide feedback here – you don’t have to comment on every criterion but all responses must be submitted by January 15, 2025 to [email protected].
You can check out our coverage of GSTC Stockholm earlier this year below.
Key initiatives to help with the sustainability of the GSTC2024 Singapore conference
– Reduction in paper and plastic usage: Conference badges made with recyclable TESLIN material instead of traditional plastic coverings. No single-use plastic was used during the event, and eco-friendly, biodegradable bamboo lanyards were introduced, offering the same durability as conventional materials.
– Upcycling and recycling programmes: Attendees were encouraged to place used lanyards and badges in designated recycling boxes. These items were later upcycled through a collaboration with Cloop, a circular fashion textile enterprise. Lobster clasps were repurposed for T-shirt Yarn Wristlet Workshops, and fabric scraps were used as stuffing in their Fabric Ornament Workshops. At the Welcome Dinner at ONE15 Marina, reusable food tag labels were creatively hand-drawn to eliminate the need for printed menu placards.
– Sustainable backdrop materials: Registration areas utilized durable cardboard furniture that is foldable and compact, ensuring reusability across multiple events. The event backdrop was fabricated using sustainable materials such as honeycomb cardboard and PVC-free banner prints. After the event, materials were sorted and sent for recycling.
– Digitization to replace physical materials: Multiple elements of the event were digitized, including registration processes, LED walls, and digital signages, reducing reliance on foam boards and printed materials.
Image supplied by GSTC Singapore