Partnership to strengthen relationships between residents, communities and the tourism industry.
The Sustainable Hospitality Alliance announces its partnership with Planet Happiness, a tourism initiative focused on measuring and strengthening the happiness and wellbeing of host communities in World Heritage sites and beyond.
Planet Happiness enables destinations to advance their competitive edge through more inclusive, responsible, and purposeful tourism planning, using an internationally recognised Happiness Index survey. Survey data directly measures how individual residents and destination communities view their wellbeing and satisfaction with the way tourism is developing. The findings are used to produce one-page destination scorecards and data-rich reports that focus the development agenda on strengthening relationships between tourism, hospitality and resident wellbeing.
The Alliance brings together hospitality industry leaders and strategic partners, such as Planet Happiness, to address tourism challenges affecting the planet and its people. The Alliance, local destinations and communities will work with the non-profit to bring awareness and action within destinations to improve host community-wellbeing.
Measuring and strengthening host community wellbeing within tourist hot spots is one part of the Alliance’s Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality programme which sets ambitious targets to create a prosperous and responsible global hospitality sector that gives back to the destination more than it takes. For example, the programme’s framework outlines how organisations can measure and embed diversity and inclusivity within its value chain, with the aim to go beyond this and advocate for inclusivity beyond the value chain.
Paul Rogers, Co-Founder of Planet Happiness comments; “This agreement is perhaps our most important partnership to date. The Alliance’s recent work with Net Positive Hospitality is truly inspiring. Our team is excited by the opportunity to work with the Alliance and its members to apply our collective approach in new projects in new destinations.”
Glenn Mandziuk, Chief Executive Officer, Sustainable Hospitality Alliance, said: “Community and people is a major part of our Pathway to Net Positive Hospitality, which sets out frameworks to create a sector that gives back more than it takes. This announcement is an important and unique step forward in promoting happiness and wellbeing for residents in visitor destinations and I am looking forward to collaborating over the coming years.”
The Alliance has 14 affiliate donor members and 28 hotel donor members which have a reach of 7 million rooms and include world-leading hotel companies including Choice Hotels, Marriott International, Hilton, IHG, Hyatt and Radisson Hotel Group as well as regional brands and other stakeholders in the hospitality value chain.
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