On 16 December 2021, the signing of the Letter of Commitment between the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and Gran Canaria Tourism and the Responsible Tourism Institute (ITR) took place at the Hotel Santa Catalina.

The formalisation of the signing of this document highlights the commitment of Gran Canaria's society to environmental, socio-cultural and territorial management values, starting the process of alignment with the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs, with which it can achieve the Biosphere Certified Destination certification as international recognition of the efforts implemented in the process.

Gran Canaria is an island committed to environmental values and the concept of eco-island. It now also has a leading tourist destination that is firmly and decisively committed to continuous improvement on the road to sustainability and the fight against climate change, through its alignment with the sustainable development goals set by the UN and the guidelines established at the Paris Climate Summit in 2021.

In this sense, the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and Turismo de Gran Canaria, the new nomenclature of the Tourism Board, have convened the various social and business organisations, together with the mayors of the 21 municipalities and representatives of the tourism sector to witness this act of formalisation of the signing of a letter of commitment with the President of the ITR, Tomás Azcárate de Losada Bang, the President of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria, Antonio Morales and the Councillor for Tourism, Carlos Álamo.

Thus, in this face-to-face event in which the sanitary measures and safety distance established given the recent situation of COVID19 have been respected, the representatives of the destination have unveiled the details of an agreement and a project that involves the collaboration of society and the tourism business sector in the promotion of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Councillor for Tourism, Carlos Álamo, explained that "the paradigms of tourism are changing as a result of the international health situation and it has brought about new preferences in the tastes of travellers, for whom sustainability is now a key element when managing their trip and choosing a destination".

The councillor indicated that more and more travellers are looking for a destination with a varied natural offer, and highlighted the great potential that Gran Canaria has in this regard. "Sustainability, like digitalisation, will be a priority in the promotion of tourism on the island, and we have established this as an important part of the Gran Canaria Tourism strategy for the coming years. But we need the involvement of Gran Canarian society as a whole and the leadership of the business sector to plan and build projects that will make us more competitive as a sustainable destination, which is why we aspire to achieve and maintain the main environmental certificates, such as Biophere and the Responsible Tourism Institute".

From Biosphere we applaud this path undertaken and led by the Cabildo de Gran Canaria and Turismo de Gran Canaria and we invite all island companies to participate in this incredible initiative. For more details about this project, please visit the Gran Canaria website.