Tourisme Charlevoix and the Charlevoix Biosphere Region are proud to jointly announce the start of efforts aimed at obtaining Biosphere certification for the destination and its tourism businesses.
Consistent with the 2023-2027 strategic planning of Tourisme Charlevoix, the certification of the tourist region will require at least a year of work to obtain, with the creation and implementation of a sustainable development plan. The Charlevoix certification will also be a natural alignment with the neighboring regional tourism association, Destination Quebec City, which is also committed to this process.
In this pilot phase of Charlevoix, four companies have begun the process to obtain Biosphere certification: the Grillade La Bohème restaurant in La Malbaie, the Hôtel Cap-aux-Pierres in Isle-aux-Coudres, La Traversée de Charlevoix and Repère Boréal in Les Éboulements. Starting in 2025, cohorts (working groups) will be launched to support other companies in the certification process.
"We are very excited to embark on this particularly tangible project in terms of sustainable development. Achieving Biosphere certification for the Charlevoix destination is certainly a motivating goal, but the process to achieve it is especially stimulating. In fact, by committing to these efforts, we will structure sustainable development and transform the destination with tools and a model recognized worldwide, all with the support of the experts from the Charlevoix Biosphere Region," says Mitchell Dion, General Director of Tourisme Charlevoix.
"Engaging in a certification process allows a company to access a concrete and applied methodology to implement various actions based on sustainable development principles. Furthermore, the Destination component involves the community in the process, thus sharing the responsibility to ensure the sustainable use of our territory's resources. We commit to continuously evaluating the relevance of this certification to ensure the achievement of tangible results and the implementation of collective solutions to the challenges we face. We thank Tourisme Charlevoix for trusting our organization to support the companies," adds Julie Campeau, Director of the Charlevoix Biosphere Region.
Patricio Azcárate, Secretary General of the Responsible Tourism Institute, stated, “It is a great pleasure to welcome Charlevoix to the Biosphere Destinations Community, where more than 4,500 destinations and companies align their efforts through the 2030 Agenda, the 169 goals, and all the indicators that help them become more sustainable and align all good practices in actions and activities within the areas of environment, climate change, sociocultural, governance, and economy. From the Responsible Tourism Institute, we trust in the positive projection of this project and the global vision adopted with the participation of the business fabric in Charlevoix's commitment.”
The Biosphere certification represents an exceptional opportunity for Charlevoix to strengthen its position as a destination committed to sustainable development, a criterion increasingly important in the travel decisions of today’s and future tourists.
Tourisme Charlevoix is a regional tourism association that brings together over 450 members. As a non-profit organization and privileged partner of the Ministry of Tourism for the region, its mission is to promote the Charlevoix destination while influencing and supporting its development in respect of the common good and its sustainable transition.
Designated in 1988, the Charlevoix Biosphere Region (CBR) is managed by a legally established non-profit organization under the name of the Charlevoix Biosphere Reserve Corporation. The mission of the CBR is to raise awareness, mobilize, and support the local community in adopting practices based on the principles of sustainable development, contributing to the conservation of the territory's biodiversity.
Biosphere Regions (BR) are territories recognized under the UNESCO Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Program. The World Network of Biosphere Regions includes 738 BRs, 19 of which are in Canada, grouped in the Canadian Biosphere Reserves Association (CBRA), and 4 in Quebec.
