Gijón/Xixón has renewed the Biosphere Certified Gold Destination certification it has held since 2013, after passing the annual audit where it demonstrates that it maintains its commitment to sustainability and improving destination management. This way, the actions taken to meet the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and aimed at improving the sustainability of Gijón/Xixón as a tourist destination are verified and validated.

During the renewal year, the work demonstrated and planned by Gijón/Xixón through its Action Plan as a Biosphere Destination stands out, bringing together all actions within the Tourism Sustainability Plan in Destination "Gijón/Xixón, identity, sustainability and digitization", the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan (PRTR) called "Shopping in Gijón: Improving commercial activity in tourist areas", the Circular Economy Action Plan of Gijón/Xixón, the Intelligent Tourist Destination Action Plan, the Tourist Accessibility Plan of Gijón, as well as the work developed by Visit Gijón/Xixón Professional to improve business competitiveness, among other actions.

The Deputy Mayor and Councilor for Economy, Employment, Tourism, and Innovation, Ángela Pumariega, congratulated the destination for this achievement once again and highlighted that: since 2013, when Gijón began to be part of the Biosphere Destination Community, it has been demonstrating year after year its efforts and progress on the path to continuous improvement, considering the principles of sustainable management in the environmental, economic, cultural, and social fields to make more responsible decisions regarding its environment. For all these reasons, we continue to be at the forefront of Spanish cities for our level of quality and sustainable tourism, something that many of our visitors appreciate.

This certification is based on the city's experienced evolution and considers its level of competitiveness, quality, differentiation, authenticity, satisfaction, and the commitment of all key tourism stakeholders: the public sector, companies and services, citizens, and tourists. All this in line with the compliance with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and with a 2030 horizon.

The Biosphere system not only works with destinations but also, with its methodology, helps tourism companies and services to define, organize, improve, and make their sustainability goals visible. Gijón/Xixón includes its business fabric in the process and already has 27 entities with the Biosphere certification and 14 that have started their commitment to sustainability. Thanks to this tool, companies can create a fully personalized sustainability plan, as well as have the opportunity to share and discuss best practices among them.