Saturday, January 7, 2023
STB will execute its sustainability strategy to differentiate Singapore from other urban destinations and enhance its appeal to environmentally conscious visitors.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Global Conference 2024 will be held in Singapore from 13 to 15 November 2024, marking the first time Singapore will host the flagship global conference on its shores.
While the announcement is a welcome one, it shouldn’t come as any surprise following the sustainable initiatives of the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), especially over the last couple of years.
Notable sustainability initiatives by STB include the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap, MICE Sustainability Roadmap, Global MICE Sustainability Alliance, and Tourism Sustainability Programme (TSP).
Singapore is no stranger to sustainability-focused events, either. In 2022, the country hosted at least six such events, including CleanEnviro Summit Singapore (17-21 Apr 2022), World Cities Summit (31 Jul – 3 Aug 2022), International Solid Waste Association World Congress 2022 (21 – 23 Sep 2022), and most recently the Greentech Festival Singapore (17 – 18 Nov 2022).
With the GSTC Global Conference 2024 now confirmed, Singapore now has more than five sustainability-focused events in the pipeline, including Asia Climate Forum (Apr 2023), Ecosperity Week (Jun 2023), and Singapore Carbon Market & Investor Forum (Jul 2023).
It’s also interesting to note that the bid to host these events is a part of Singapore’s strategy to enhance tourism and cater to new demographics in the travel space. In the coming year, STB plans to further execute its sustainability strategy to differentiate Singapore from other urban destinations and enhance its appeal to environmentally conscious visitors.
Part of the strategy includes ongoing efforts to attract and nurture events that cultivate global thought leadership and gather influential stakeholders to address critical issues around sustainable tourism.
The fact that Singapore’s tourism board is placing an emphasis on sustainability should bode well with the current trends surrounding conscious travel and hospitality.
But, trends aside, one hopes that providing a platform for events like the GSTC Global Conference displays long-term plans and progress in terms of shaping a more eco-friendly tourism sector in the country and the region.
To get an idea of what the conference entails, GSTC has just released their post-conference press release here.
The press release includes the key themes that were discussed at the recent GSTC2022 Global Conference in Seville, Andalusia, Spain, as well as the countries that will be hosting the upcoming conferences, including Singapore.
Dr Edward Koh, Executive Director, Conventions, Meetings & Incentive Travel, Singapore Tourism Board, said that Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s decision to hold their 2024 Global Conference in Singapore reflects our growing appeal as a Global-Asia node for quality events with sustainability as a focus.
Sustainability is a national priority for Singapore and our tourism sector. They are excited to see influential tourism stakeholders globally and in Singapore forge new partnerships and address critical issues in sustainable tourism at the event.
Thursday, April 25, 2024
Wednesday, April 24, 2024
