Global Leaders Network. The professionals network shaping a sustainable future for tourism destinations and businesses

Transcription

1 Global Leaders Network The professionals network shaping a sustainable future for tourism destinations and businesses Version , May

2 Introduction Through the Global Leaders initiative, Green Destinations is creating a partnership network connecting globally leading tourism destinations and businesses. Partners benefit from effective incubator programs aimed to improve the quality and sustainability of their tourism offer, monitor their progress, and share good practices and experiences. The Network enables destination and business leaders to be at the forefront of innovation in developing tourism, while advancing the Sustainable Development Goals. The Global Leaders Initiative has been registered as a Voluntary Partnership for the Sustainable Development Goals. Global Leaders can refer to this Voluntary Commitment and to the SDG-logo. Goals Learn: develop a strategic network of prominent destination and business leaders, to learn from each other and to exchange success stories and good practice; Improve: support destination and business partners in developing their tourism potential whilst becoming more sustainable; Gain Recognition: receive recognition as a sustainable region, destination or business at global platforms; Gain visibility in the market place: promote responsible and sustainable businesses, products and services and make them better visible in the global market place. The Network The Global Leaders Network consists of people: political, management, business, academic, media, and civil society leaders, who are actively connecting and representing the Partners to the network: Partner destinations: countries, regions, tourism hotspots and protected areas; Partner companies dedicated to supporting sustainable tourism; Associate Partner organizations working with Partner destinations and companies. Every Network Partner can delegate several representatives to the Global Leaders conference. Why get involved? Participation in the Network will enable you: to share and learn from successful approaches of other members with similar ambitions; to openly but safely discuss solutions to emerging problems with trusted colleagues; 2

3 to strengthen leadership in the tourism marketplace and advance sustainability, attractiveness and competitiveness; to receive independent recognition of progress toward the Global Goals, through tourism development. The network is a place for destination leaders to connect, discuss challenges, and learn how to embed best practices into their policies, strategies, marketing, and day-to-day management activities. Incubator programs The following programs are offered exclusively to the Partners: 1. Sustainability & Quality: Help improve destinations by working on the Green Destinations online platform. Make a Baseline Assessment and meet the global sustainability criteria. Follow the example of Slovenia and build your own country framework program for sustainable tourism. 2. Global Recognition: Fast-track towards the Top 100, Green Destinations Awards and the ITB Awards podium. Let your destination s progress to the Global Goals be independently validated and be recognized as a Top-quality sustainable destination. 3. Learning & Capacity Building: Strengthen your skills and capacity and get priority access to training courses. Learn from the success stories from other Global Leaders, Top 100 destinations and Green Destinations Ambassadors. 4. Viami, Promotion and Marketing: promote destination or business services as responsible and sustainable, and start a pilot in Viami, aimed at enhancing visibility and marketing of green quality and responsible products and services to travelers, businesses and governments. As Global Leader Partners you will be completely free to decide in which program you will participate. We can help you in estimating the resources required to work effectively in a program. Benefits of participation Destination and Business Partners to the network will benefit from: Participation in any of the Incubator programs. No activity is mandatory, there is no top-down requirement. Incubator programs are meant to explore how we can facilitate your interests and needs together with others. Connecting with other Global Leaders with the aim of presenting and exchanging success stories, lessons learned, and best practices through professionally facilitated forums and events; Independent recognition as in sustainable tourism. Support in the assessment, monitoring and independent validation of sustainable tourism practices (e.g. local economic benefits, job creation, habitat protection) and biannual progress assessment validated by independent experts. Free participation of your representatives in the Global Leaders events at Global Green Destinations Days and at ITB Berlin. 3

4 In addition, Partner destinations receive access to an online platform for action planning, self-assessment, training, monitoring, and reporting (for countries, regions, destinations and companies involved in destination management). This platform offers possibilities: to participate in the Green Destinations Certification & Awards Program (for regions and countries this is also possible for pilot destinations); to monitor progress towards the Global Goals, and to receive independent validation of progress. The First Network Conference The founding conference will be hosted by the Dutch Province of Gelderland and will take place September 2018 in the Seat of the Province in Arnhem. Participation to this conference is restricted to destination and business leaders who are interested to join the Network. The Global Leaders conference will be the opening event of Global Green Destinations Days (25-28 Sept. 2018), which also includes a conference, working sessions and field trips focusing on good practice exchange between destination and business representatives. The Global Green Destinations Days (GGDD) provide a unique opportunity to learn from the success stories and good practices of Global Leaders, Top 100 destinations and Green Destinations Ambassadors. The Global Leaders Conference will be restricted to Network Members and invited professionals. This is the place to discuss solutions to emerging problems openly but safely with colleagues whom you trust and with whom you can develop cooperation after the meetings. The 2018 Conference will serve as a catalyst to: Review members interest in taking advantage from the suggested Incubator Programs. Conclude on a Founding Declaration Identify priority challenges in sustainable destination management and development. The conference will be connected to of a larger GGDD-conference with workshop sessions on success stories as well as on challenges for sustainable destination management and development. Incubator Programs and Activities Scoping and activity planning Before and during the founding conference, you will be consulted re: Your strategic priorities for sustainable tourism in the next 2-3 years. Your learning and capacity building objectives. 4

5 Your objectives re: recognition and promotion. Your interest to participate in Viami (B2G, B2B, B2C). Your interest to participate in overall Network management. For Destinations: your interest in a Baseline Sustainability Assessment of your destination as a whole, and of pilot destinations in particular. Short discussion papers can be submitted by Members for discussion at conferences. By involving Members in a Global Leaders Committee supervising the Network, we hope to ensure that Members interests and feedback will be taken into account, and that member expectations are met as much as possible. Program 1. Sustainability & Quality Program activities are aimed at enhancing sustainability and quality. Countries, regions and pilot destinations can work on the Green Destinations online platform, and start a Baseline Assessment as a first step in the Green Destinations Awards & Certification program. Baseline Sustainability Assessment The first step in the Awards & Certification program (and the most important activity in the first six months of destination participation) is to undertake a baseline sustainability assessment of your destination. This is an interactive, third-party validated self-assessment of adherence with the GSTC-Recognized Green Destinations Standard. Relevant aspects include: Baseline Assessment can be made at any geographical level (country, region, province, city or island destination). Baseline Assessment is facilitated through complimentary access to the Green Destinations online platform for assessment, monitoring and reporting, and by an interactive webinar on baseline assessment. As a Partner Member region or country, you will receive additional platform logins for up to two pilot destinations (within your region or country), also allowing them to strengthen their destination management through action planning, self-assessment, training, monitoring, and reporting. Depending upon the assessment results, this may lead to Green Destinations or QualityCoast Awards and to selection into the Sustainable Destinations Global Top 100. Technical coaching will be provided by a Green Destinations expert. Once the assessment is completed, Green Destinations will provide an independent expert to validate the results, and to provide recommendations for improvements and progress towards the Green Destinations Standard and towards the Global Goals. The validated assessment results are considered the baseline in the monitoring of progress in advancing the Sustainable Development Goals, with a two-year frequency. 5

6 Country framework program Countries and regions are encouraged to consider the example of Slovenia, and to build a framework program for sustainable destinations and businesses. The Slovenian Tourism Board and the Slovenian Institute for Sustainable Tourism (GoodPlace) will present the Slovenia Green Scheme and analyze the potential benefits of such an approach in relation to your ambitions. Program 2. Global Recognition This incubator program aims to support you in: following a fast-track towards the Top 100, the Green Destinations Awards and the ITB Awards podium global recognition as a QualityCoast or a Green Destination (Accredited by GSTC) independent validation of your contributions to the Global Goals destination promotion. After the evaluation of the Baseline Assessment, Partner destinations are encouraged to prepare and implement a work program aimed at making progress towards the Green Destination Standard and the Sustainable Development Goals (specific goals to be selected by each Partner). Monitoring progress will be a key activity in Year 3 (2020), also making use of the indicators and criteria of the online platform. Progress towards the Global Goals will be validated by an independent expert. The Sustainable Top 100 and the Green Destinations Awards Destinations and small regions will be encouraged to start with a focus on the criteria of the Sustainable Destinations Global Top 100, as from July 2018, and to benefit from fast-track technical support. Pilot destinations and Regions completing a Baseline Assessment in December 2018 will be eligible for awards to be presented at ITB Berlin on March 6, 2019: a Green Destinations or QualityCoast Award inclusion in the 2019 Sustainable Destinations Global Top 100 a 2019 Best of Top 100 Award (see here the 2018 Edition). Excellent communication opportunities exist for Partners throughout the year connected to milestones in their performance and in particular during ITB Berlin. 6

7 Program 3. Learning & Capacity Building This incubator program aims to support you in strengthening your sustainability and your attractiveness to the green traveler, by learning from other leaders and by priority access to training courses. Exchanging good practices and success stories The most important element of this program is to learn from others, by exchanging good practices and success stories. You will meet other Global Leaders, Top 100 destinations and Green Destinations Ambassadors at the annual Global Green Destinations Days, and you will no doubt engage in a continued exchange in thematic groups around topical issues. The priority topics for networking will be decided by the Global Leaders at the annual conferences. Training Courses for Destinations Green Destinations and an international team of trainers in the field of tourism sustainability invite destination managers and professionals, participants from the tourism business sector, and destination management experts to participate in live and online training courses for destinations and businesses. The Training course prepares participants for the essential function of destination sustainability coordinator or advisor. In GSTC-Accredited certification programs destination management bodies must have a trained Destination Sustainability Coordinator in their team. General Topics of the Training include: The global picture. The relationship between the GSTC and Green Destinations. How to make progress, and how to become a Sustainable Destination. How to become a qualified Destination Sustainability Coordinator. The role of the business sector in developing sustainable tourism. Marketing benefits of destination sustainability. Sustainable Destinations Top 100 and the Best of Top 100 Awards at ITB Berlin. The first new-style Sustainable Destinations Training Course is held in Korea (19-22 June 2018), hosted and sponsored by the city of Incheon and FEE-Korea. Global Leaders are encouraged to host similar 3-day live training courses. An Online-Only Training Course will start in October Training Courses for Businesses Green Destinations will advise Global Leader Business partners re: sustainability trainings on relevant subjects. Business partners are encouraged to host live training courses. 7

8 Program 4. Viami, Promotion and Marketing Green Destinations can support your promotion and marketing objectives this through a dedicated webpage and a social media strategy, positioning Member destinations as the sustainable or responsible option in relevant market segments. Obviously, this should be supported with clear evidence. At the Global Leaders conference (25 Sept), a common publicity strategy will be developed including an event at ITB Berlin in connection with the Top 100 Awards. It is considered to stage an ITB-Top 100 presentations event allowing Global Leaders to share their success stories with the destinations community. Viami Starting from July 2018, Global Leader Partners are offered priority in developing pilot applications in Viami. Viami is an initiative of Green Destinations and the International Institute for Animal Ethics (IIAE) aimed at creating a global portal for destinations and businesses to help visualize and market their green quality and sustainability to travelers (B2C), businesses (B2B) and governments (B2G). Viami will create maps for different target audiences: In Government maps for municipalities, regions, countries or protected areas, our data will work for you. Our map will show you where to improve, what to develop, and how satisfied your residents and holidaymakers are. Information services can be delivered at any possible timescale, from (near) real-time to annual. You can use this to strengthen your economy, storytelling and branding. On the Business platform, companies and organizations will be able to tell their story, offer, sell, learn, share, compare, and make deals with like-minded businesses (globally). In Open data maps, national and international travelers will discover the information and stories of destinations and businesses. Everybody will be able to follow your progress in quality and sustainability. On the Booking platform, consumers can get informed, and directly buy products and services with you. More information on Viami can be found here. Background and management of the initiative The Global Leaders Network is a program of Green Destinations. It is the result of the Global Destination Leaders initiative that was taken in the context of the Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development 2017 by three co-founders: Albert Salman, founder of Green Destinations and Sustainable Destinations Top 100 Awards. Brian T. Mullis, founder of Sustainable Travel International (STI); Director, Guyana Tourism Authority. Costas D. Christ, Editor of National Geographic, Founder of the National Geographic World Legacy Awards, and Beyond Green Travel. 8

9 The program is managed by Albert Salman and Marloes Van de Goor on behalf of Green Destinations. The development of the program will be supervised by a Global Leaders Committee consisting of the Program managers and Members Representatives. The first Partnership Representative who has agreed to join the GL Committee is: Mr. Carlos Bernardes, Mayor of Torres Vedras, West Portugal. Partnership and fees Global Leaders Partnership will be subject to an annual fee. For benefits see page 3 and the table below. Partnership can start any time and can be renewed annually. The fee will depend on the size of destination or business, and on the support package you prefer (e.g. number of pilot destinations; monitoring and validation of progress towards Global Goals; onsite support for Baseline Assessment or capacity building). Table: Overview of Global Leaders Partnership Options. Global Leader professionals can be invited to the Network. Standard Partnership is for businesses or for destinations without any local pilot destinations. Premium Partnership is especially for regional or country destinations with active pilot destinations. Overview of Partnership Options Login to Platform, Self-assessment and Reporting Partnership fees will not cover the cost to prepare and implement work programs by the members themselves, nor travel and subsistence cost to attend the annual Global Leaders Conference or ITB. Participation in all Network meetings, GGDD and GD training courses will be free of any registration fees. More information Global Leader Network Member for training purposes Green Destinations Albert Salman, Green Destinations, albert@greendestinations.org Global Leaders Standard Partner Global Leaders Premium Partner multiple: also for 2 pilot destinations Indicators Assessment (desk audit) multiple GD Standard Assessment (desk audit) multiple QualityCoast and GD Awards included multiple Eligibility for Sustainable Top 100 multiple Visibility for consumers Free priority access to training course max 2 max 5 Focus on regional / country program development Fast-track technical support for Top 100 multiple Validation of progress to UN SDGs Priority access to Viami Participation in Global Leader meetings max 2 max 5 Fees waived for GGDD and GL meetings max 2 max 5 Participation costs per year *

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