Tuesday, May 2, 2023
In order to establish common standards and communicate about sustainable tourism, the general director of the Spanish Tourist Office has urged global tourism organisations to improve collaboration.
Miguel Sanz told TTG on Wednesday (26 April) during Spain’s inaugural Sustainability Day that governments must be consistent on sustainable tourism standards for “everyone’s benefit.”
“Tourism happens internationally, across borders, from country-to-country, continent-to-continent, and I think this an area where we have to collaborate in a way where maybe we haven’t collaborated before in the international sphere,” he said.
“It’s like when the pandemic restrictions came, and every country had its own set of rules, which complicated the return to normality and the possibility of travel during the pandemic because of a lack of harmonisation and coordination.”
Sanz stated that European countries are collaborating to establish uniform sustainability criteria through the European Travel Commission (ETC) to assist customers make educated vacation selections.
As the “world’s favourite destination,” Spain should “lead the way” in the decarbonization of tourism, he said.
In 2019, Spain received 83 million international tourists, and Sanz predicts that figure will be achieved, if not surpassed, by the end of 2023.
He noted that UK visitors spent 4% more in Spain in the first two months of 2023 than they did in 2019.
“There is a market for sustainable products. Local produce and gastronomy have a value in themselves, and tourists are starting to see that worth more often.”
Sanz noted that Spain now wants to assess the value of tourism and the amount of jobs they create rather than the number of tourists.
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
Sunday, April 28, 2024
