The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has declared 2017 the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development.
What does this mean?
By the UNWTO’s definition, sustainable tourism should:
1) Make optimal use of environmental resources that constitute a key element in tourism development, maintaining essential ecological processes and helping to conserve natural heritage and biodiversity.
2) Respect the socio-cultural authenticity of host communities, conserve their built and living cultural heritage and traditional values, and contribute to inter-cultural understanding and tolerance.
3) Ensure viable, long-term economic operations, providing socio-economic benefits to all stakeholders that are fairly distributed, including stable employment and income-earning opportunities and social services to host communities, and contributing to poverty alleviation.
Sustainable tourism development requires the informed participation of all relevant stakeholders, as well as strong political leadership to ensure wide participation and consensus building. Achieving sustainable tourism is a continuous process and it requires constant monitoring of impacts, introducing the necessary preventive and/or corrective measures whenever necessary.
Sustainable tourism should also maintain a high level of tourist satisfaction and ensure a meaningful experience to the tourists, raising their awareness about sustainability issues and promoting sustainable tourism practices among them.
How does Spain Savvy weave this purpose in to our company belief system?
We are a small organization whose main goal is to bridge gaps between cultures and provide travelers with an authentic and meaningful experience in Spain, Portugal and Morocco. We work with like-minded individuals and companies when organizing programs and activities for our clients.
*We support the local economy by sending our clients to local vendors and artisans
*We hire local guides with in-depth knowledge of the area
*We aim to educate our travelers before, during and after their trip on the history of the region they will be visiting as well as cultural issues, norms, habits and laws
*We urge our clients to learn a little bit of the local language before they travel, and even provide helpful vocabulary lists
Most of all, we truly believe that “respecting our world and all that makes us different and unique will only enhance your travel experience.”
Become an agent of positive change and join the Sustainable Tourism Movement today! For more tips on being a responsible traveller, check out this link and contact Spain Savvy to plan your sustainable tourist experience today!
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