VisitScotland, Atout France and Consell de Formentera have signed up to Unesco’s Sustainability Pledge.
The Unesco Sustainable Travel Pledge, launched in 2019 by the Tourism Authority of Thailand, Unesco and Expedia Group, promotes responsible practices, community resilience and heritage conservation.
The pledge has expanded since launch with major hotel chains such as Accor and Iberostar signing up and now includes 4,200 hotels committed to taking action.
A global website has also now been launched for hotels to sign up to the pledge at unescosustainable.travel.
New member VisitScotland aims to deliver sustainable and inclusive economic growth throughout Scotland and has responsible tourism as a key focus, with a commitment to protect the country’s natural assets through marketing, advice, partnerships and other activity. Scotland’s Unesco Trail was launched in October.
The French Tourism Development Agency Atout France has joined to demonstrate its commitment to protecting the environment, local cultures and communities that depend on travel to thrive.
Consell de Formentera, the local government of the island of Formentera in the Balearics, plans to focus on attracting visitors who respect the environment and will focus on promoting sustainability with new and positive experiences in destination such as the protection of marine plants, promotion of sustainable mobility and reducing the negative impact of travel and tourism, by, for example, eliminating plastic bags.
The Tourism Authority of Thailand and Expedia Group have also agreed to extend their strategic partnership to a third year. Nearly 600 hotels in Thailand are currently signed up to the pledge.
Aditi Mohapatra, vice president, global social impact and sustainability, Expedia Group, said: “We are committed to giving travellers clear information on sustainable travel options and working with our partners across the travel industry to promote sustainability in the areas where it will really make a difference.
“It’s really exciting to see The Unesco Pledge gather pace with hotel groups, destination marketing organisations and governments alike who all want to be involved in this important mission. Today, we make it easier for hotels to join The Unesco Pledge through the launch of the Expedia Group and Unesco global site.”
Partners in the pledge participate in direct reporting to Unesco and work together to share efforts and plans to support ongoing improvement in their local communities. Online education and training is being offered with the support of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Unesco assistant director-general Ernesto Ottone R. said: “The success of the Unesco Sustainable Travel Pledge underscores the need to provide incentives to rebalance the relationship between tourism and our environment while strengthening the resiliency of our communities by promoting culture and creativity.”