Sustainability Goes Hand in Hand With Experience, Authenticity, Local Gastronomy and Cultural Connection

Tourism is entering a period in which travellers increasingly want more than a flight, a hotel room and a conventional sightseeing itinerary. Experiences, authenticity, local gastronomy, cultural interaction and responsible tourism are becoming increasingly important considerations, according to Luigi Cabrini, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).

Speaking exclusively with me at Istanbul Tourism Fair 2026, Cabrini discussed the rapid progress of Turkey’s national hotel sustainability certification programme, the changing expectations of travellers and the growing importance of sustainability across the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE) sector.

Cabrini said the GSTC is working closely with the Turkey Ministry of Tourism on an ambitious programme designed to certify hotels across the country against sustainability standards. The initiative, which began three years ago, has already recorded significant progress, with more than 2,500 hotels achieving full certification and more than 17,000 hotels meeting 70 per cent of the standards, according to Cabrini.

For the GSTC chairman, the development represents not only a major step for Turkey but potentially an example that could be followed by other destinations seeking to embed sustainability into their tourism industries.

Why Is Turkey’s Hotel Sustainability Programme Gaining Momentum?

Turkey has been advancing a nationwide approach to hotel sustainability through its cooperation with the GSTC, with the programme now moving rapidly towards broader implementation.

Cabrini explained that the initiative began three years ago and has progressed quickly. More than 2,500 hotels have already achieved full certification, while more than 17,000 have reached 70 per cent compliance with the required sustainability standards.

The scale of the programme demonstrates how sustainability is moving beyond individual hotels and becoming part of a wider destination strategy.

Cabrini described the programme as an ambitious collaboration between the GSTC and Turkey’s tourism authorities, adding that he was optimistic about its future progress.

He also suggested that the Turkish model could become an important example for other countries. The significance extends beyond hotel operations because destination-wide sustainability requires tourism businesses, hospitality providers and public authorities to work towards common standards.

The programme therefore reflects a broader transformation in the tourism industry, where sustainability is increasingly being treated as a strategic requirement rather than simply an optional initiative.

How Is Sustainability Becoming Part of the Modern Travel Experience?

According to Cabrini, sustainability and traveller experience should not be viewed as separate concepts. Instead, they increasingly work together as tourists search for meaningful and distinctive experiences when visiting destinations.

He pointed to a shift away from the traditional model of simply travelling by plane, staying in a hotel and visiting attractions. Modern travellers, he argued, are looking for something different from the places they visit.

This could include closer interaction with local communities, authentic food experiences, cultural encounters and activities that provide a deeper connection with a destination.

Cabrini stressed that sustainability is not limited to conventional environmental measures such as saving energy and water. Those measures remain important, but sustainable tourism can also promote authenticity and cultural understanding.

The approach places greater emphasis on experiencing destinations as they genuinely are, rather than presenting highly commercialised or artificially constructed versions of local culture.

That creates a direct connection between sustainable tourism and experiential travel. A destination can reduce its environmental impact while simultaneously strengthening local gastronomy, cultural identity and community-based experiences.

Why Are Authenticity and Local Gastronomy Becoming More Important?

Authenticity is emerging as a central element of the modern tourism experience, particularly as travellers seek experiences that feel connected to the destinations they visit.

Cabrini highlighted local gastronomy as one of the areas where sustainability and authenticity intersect. Food is not simply a tourism product; it can provide a direct connection between visitors and the communities, traditions and cultures of a destination.

Promoting local gastronomy can also help tourism move away from standardised experiences that look similar across different destinations.

For travellers, discovering local cuisine can become an important part of understanding a place. For destinations, meanwhile, it provides an opportunity to showcase local identity while creating tourism value around regional products and traditions.

Cabrini also emphasised contact with cultures without what he described as mystification. This suggests a tourism model based on genuine cultural interaction rather than heavily staged representations designed solely for visitors.

Such experiences can become an important part of the future tourism proposition, particularly as travellers increasingly look for memorable experiences rather than simply ticking destinations off a list.

What Does the Rise of Experiential Travel Mean for Tourism Businesses?

The shift towards experience-led travel could require tourism businesses to rethink how they design and market their products.

Hotels, destinations and tour operators may increasingly need to demonstrate how their services connect travellers with local communities, food, culture and authentic experiences.

For Cabrini, GSTC standards are aligned with these changes because sustainability encompasses more than environmental efficiency. The standards can support a broader tourism philosophy in which responsible resource use is connected with cultural authenticity and local engagement.

This is particularly relevant as destinations compete for travellers who are increasingly selective about how and where they spend their travel time and money.

A hotel that saves energy and water contributes to environmental sustainability. But a hotel that also supports local gastronomy, encourages meaningful cultural interaction and helps visitors discover the destination authentically can potentially offer a more complete sustainable tourism experience.

The combination of environmental responsibility and experiential value could therefore become an increasingly important competitive factor for tourism businesses.

How Is the MICE Industry Responding to Sustainability?

Cabrini also addressed sustainability within the MICE industry, which includes meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions.

He noted that the GSTC issued specific sustainability standards for the MICE sector less than two years before the interview. The development reflects the growing importance of MICE tourism following the disruption caused by COVID-19.

According to Cabrini, the sector experienced a strong resurgence after the pandemic and has become an important segment of the global tourism industry.

The introduction of dedicated standards is intended to provide the MICE sector with a framework for adopting sustainability principles across events and related tourism activity.

Cabrini said the GSTC is already seeing examples of countries applying these standards and expressed the organisation’s hope that the MICE sector will continue adopting sustainability standards.

The development is particularly significant because business events can generate substantial travel, accommodation, food, transportation and venue activity. Embedding sustainability across these components can therefore influence the wider tourism ecosystem.

What Sustainability Parameters Should the MICE Sector Follow?

For the MICE sector, sustainability needs to become part of the planning and delivery of events rather than being treated as an additional feature.

The GSTC’s development of dedicated MICE standards reflects an effort to establish a structured approach for the sector.

While Cabrini did not list individual parameters during the interview, his broader comments indicate that sustainability should be connected to the environmental, cultural and experiential dimensions of tourism.

The same principles discussed for leisure travel — responsible resource use, authenticity, local gastronomy and meaningful interaction with local cultures — can also influence business events.

The post-COVID recovery of the MICE industry makes this particularly relevant. As conferences, exhibitions and incentive programmes return to destinations around the world, organisers and tourism stakeholders have an opportunity to integrate sustainability into the foundations of the sector’s growth.

For destinations, sustainable MICE tourism can also become part of a broader strategy to attract international events while strengthening local tourism economies.

Why Could Turkey Become a Model for Sustainable Tourism?

Turkey’s progress under the GSTC-linked hotel sustainability programme could provide an important case study for other tourism markets.

Cabrini described the programme as moving quickly and expressed optimism that it would remain on track. The number of hotels involved indicates the scale at which sustainability standards can potentially be implemented when government authorities and an international sustainability organisation work together.

The initiative also demonstrates the importance of establishing measurable standards for the hospitality sector.

Rather than relying solely on broad commitments to sustainability, certification provides a framework through which hotels can work towards defined requirements and demonstrate progress.

With more than 2,500 hotels already achieving full certification and more than 17,000 meeting 70 per cent of the standards, Turkey is positioning sustainability as a significant part of its hospitality strategy, according to Cabrini.

The model could attract attention from other countries looking to develop national or destination-wide sustainability programmes.

How Could Sustainable Tourism Shape the Next Generation of Travel?

The tourism industry is increasingly moving towards a model in which sustainability and experience are closely connected.

Cabrini’s comments suggest that future travellers may increasingly value destinations where environmental responsibility is combined with genuine cultural experiences, local food and meaningful connections with communities.

This could change the way destinations define tourism success. Traditional indicators such as visitor arrivals and hotel occupancy may increasingly be accompanied by questions about environmental impact, local economic participation, cultural preservation and the quality of visitor experiences.

The shift could also create new opportunities for destinations that can offer distinctive cultural and gastronomic experiences while demonstrating credible sustainability practices.

For hotels, the message is similarly significant. Sustainability is no longer only about reducing energy consumption or water use. It can also involve how a property connects with its surrounding community and how it contributes to an authentic visitor experience.

What Does Luigi Cabrini’s Message Mean for the Global Tourism Industry?

Cabrini’s central message is that sustainability and experience are not competing priorities. They can reinforce one another.

Travellers are looking for something different, while destinations and tourism businesses are under increasing pressure to operate more responsibly. The intersection of those two developments could shape the next stage of tourism growth.

Turkey’s nationwide hotel certification programme demonstrates the potential scale of sustainability initiatives when they are supported by government and industry partnerships. Meanwhile, the GSTC’s dedicated MICE standards indicate that sustainability is expanding into sectors that generate significant international travel and tourism activity.

The focus on authenticity, local gastronomy and genuine cultural contact adds another dimension to the discussion. Sustainable tourism can help protect resources while also encouraging visitors to engage more deeply with the destinations they choose.

As Cabrini explained during his conversation with Travel And Tour World at Istanbul Tourism Fair 2026, the future of travel is increasingly about more than getting somewhere and staying somewhere. It is about what travellers experience when they arrive — and how those experiences can benefit both people and the planet.

The global tourism industry is undergoing a shift towards experiences that combine sustainability with authenticity, local culture and responsible resource use. Luigi Cabrini’s comments highlight Turkey’s rapid progress in hotel sustainability certification and the growing importance of dedicated standards for the MICE sector.

With thousands of Turkish hotels already progressing through the certification programme, and sustainability increasingly linked with authentic travel experiences, the country could offer a significant example of how national tourism strategies can integrate responsible practices with the changing expectations of travellers.