101 destinations win global sustainability competition

See sneak preview prior to formal unveiling – Los Angeles gets prize for effort

The Sustainable Destinations Top 100 is to be formally unveiled for the third time on World Tourism Day 2017. The awards celebrate the efforts of tourism destinations’ responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives.

This year the top 100 sustainable destinations were assessed with one extra destination – Los Angeles given a special award for making a determined effort  while not yet at the level of the top100.

The list is the result of open calls in newswires, social and business media. Destinations could be nominated by any interested party through a form that was available online.

Nominators had to provide extensive information on the destination and on its efforts to make itself and its stakeholders more sustainable for the benefit of visitors, its local communities and the world. Information had to be provided about the extent the destination complies with the 15 core criteria of the Green Destinations Standard. 155 nominations were received from 57 countries. All nominations were evaluated by experts of the Green Destinations Top 100 Team and by members of the special Top 100 Selection Panel, that included over 60 tourism sustainability experts.

The Top 100 initiative aims to recognise tourism destinations that have worked hard to make a difference and take sustainability seriously. Nevertheless, no destination is fully sustainable. In all selected destinations important issues remain to be solved.

Due to a lack of data, travellers carbon emission data are not currently taken into account in this competition. However, Green Destinations recommend travellers to avoid long haul travels and to compensate their carbon emission in a proper way.

The Award winners are to be presented to the participants of the Global Green Destinations Gala Dinner, 28 September 2017 in the Museum of the Presidency of the Republic, in Cascais (Palacio da Cidadela de Cascais).

The 2017 Top 100 selection will be available in: http://greendestinations.org/2017-top-100/

More info: http://greendestinations.org/

15 Core criteria of the GSTC-Recognised Green Destinations Standard were used in the selection process. The Top 100 is an initiative of Green Destinations and six other leaders in sustainable tourism: TravelMole’s Vision for Sustainable Tourism, Destination Stewardship Center, Asian Ecotourism Network, Sustainable Travel International, QualityCoast, and Linking Tourism & Conservation (LT&C).

Sustainable Destinations Top 100 Competition Directors are

• Albert Salman, president, Green Destinations foundation
• Valere Tjolle, TravelMole’s Vision for Sustainable Tourism
• Jonathan Tourtellot, Destination Stewardship Center
• Brian Mullis, founder, Sustainable Travel International
• Geoff Bolan, CEO, Sustainable Travel International (STI)
• Peter Prokosch, president, Linking Tourism & Conservation (LT&C).

Valere Tjolle

@ValereTjolle