WWF NaTuRe in compliance with the UN supported Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria
MILAN – At BOCCONI University Mr Mauro Marrocu, CEO of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) awarded the first Italian travel company with the international Travelife Certificate for Tour operators & Travel agents.
During an event on environmental sustainability and corporate social responsibility, the Travelife Certificate was handed to Ricerche e Progetti Srl – WWF NaTuRe. WWF’s travel department promotes and develops tourism activities to raise awareness on nature and the environment among children, teens, families and adults.
The Travelife award is recognition of the long-term efforts and frontrunner position of WWF NaTuRe regarding sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility. Mr Roberto Furlani, director WWF NaTuRe: “How can we state that a holiday is really valuable? We asked ourselves this question in 2002 when we started a project to define, codify and monitor all the basic elements which can identify responsible tourism proposals: our Charter of Quality for Responsible Tourism. Now we are very proud of this prestigious award, which crowns our ten years commitment”.
Travelife’s criteria contain all relevant Corporate Social Responsibility themes as defined in ISO 26000. They regard a travel companies’ internal environmental and social management, its product range, its (international) business partners and customer information. Mr Mauro Marrocu said: “The Global Sustainable Tourism Council is delighted to acknowledge the outstanding achievements obtained by WWF NaTuRe as officially and internationally certified by our partner Travelife. It is a milestone for all of us, in particularly in the Italian market. Sustainable Tourism is not a niche, nor a segment of the Travel and Tourism Industry: it is the future of our Industry, and today marks a new, momentous step forward in this path.”
In Italy FIAVET (Italian Association of Travel and Tourism companies) also collaborates with Travelife on the promotion of sustainable management among its members. Mr Antonio Scipioni, FIAVET responsible for international relations and sustainability commented: “This certification will inspire all Italian tourism businesses to work more sustainable and fully value our countries’ cultural, natural and social treasures”.
Sustainable tourism is nothing other than enjoying a good holiday with respect for the environment, people, nature and culture. Travelife has become a sector wide and internationally supported system, used throughout the industry. Mr Naut Kusters, director Travelife in The Netherlands remarked: “With EU support, trade associations all over Europe have committed themselves to Travelife, which will give a big push towards sustainability in tourism.”
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
