Agoda has officially joined as a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
The GSTC engages with a worldwide network of members, who represent a wide range of tourism stakeholders. Being a GSTC member means actively participating in GSTC’s global network, contributing to the important work of the GSTC in promoting the widespread adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles. GSTC Members are active drivers for sustainability in travel and tourism.
Agoda is one of the world’s fastest growing online travel booking platforms, headquartered in Singapore, and offering a global network of more than two million properties. The company, which employs more than 5,000 staff across 30 countries, provides travelers with easy access to a wide choice of luxury and budget hotels, apartments, homes and villas, via Agoda.com and the Agoda app.
“Agoda’s moonshot goal is to mainstream sustainable travel. We have doubled our investments in sustainability and are testing tools to help travelers make more sustainable choices.” Greg Wong, Managing Director, Agoda.
“GSTC warmly welcomes Agoda as a GSTC member,'' says Randy Durband, GSTC CEO. “We are very pleased to learn of their plans to collaborate with us to provide travelers with useful and high-quality information on how to choose hotels that make strong efforts to operate more sustainably.”
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council was created jointly by UN agencies and prominent international conservation NGOs to develop global baseline standards for sustainability in travel and tourism – the GSTC Criteria. The Criteria are used for education and awareness-raising, policy-making for businesses and government agencies and other organization types, measurement and evaluation, and as a basis for certifications. They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism. They are arranged in four pillars: (A) Sustainable management; (B) Socioeconomic impacts; (C) Cultural impacts; and (D) Environmental impacts (including consumption of resources, reducing pollution, and conserving biodiversity and landscapes). Since tourism destinations each have their own culture, environment, customs, and laws, the Criteria are designed to be adapted to local conditions and supplemented by additional criteria for the specific
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
