The mayor signed last Monday 19 the letter of Commitment to sustainable tourism. The ultimate goal is to obtain the Biosphere Destination certificate, only reached by 21 tourist destinations worldwide.
Tossa de Mar, June 19, 2017.- For turning around tourism management and maintain the leadership of the municipality, the Mayor of Tossa, Gisela Saladich, signed a letter of commitment with the Responsible Tourism Institute (RTI) , another step on the road to obtain the Biosphere Destination Certificate, which would make the municipality one of the 21 destinations in the world to reach this category.
The Biosphere seal, which currently has destinations such as Barcelona and Thompson Okanagan in British Columbia (whose process has just started abroad) or Yuriria in Mexico, is a voluntary, independent methodology based on sustainability criteria set out in the 17 Goals for Sustainable Development. Awarded by the Responsible Tourism Institute (an institution with special relation with UNESCO through a Memorandum of Understanding and an affiliate member of UNWTO), destinations that are part of the Biosphere Community welcome more than 30 million tourists a year.
Some of the benefits of sustainable tourism are: minimum environmental impact; encourages the responsible consumption; generates economic benefits from the flora and fauna resources; contributes to intercultural tolerance; promotes restoration, conservation and use of archaeological sites and monuments; improves the local’s life quality; promotes the improvement of infrastructures; generates local employment and stimulates the development of tourism companies, among many other things.
Tomás Azcárate, president of the RTI, reminded that "nowadays, tourist is more demanding. The Biosphere seal is a prestigious distinction that proves the compliance with the standards of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), integrated in Agenda 2030, and that applies the guidelines and recommendations of the World Charter for Sustainable Tourism +20".
On the other hand, the Councillor of Tourism, Mª Àngela Pujals, has rated “positively" to be able to start working on this certification "because it is a methodology that will serve to position Tossa as a sustainable tourist destination, for international recognition and presence, aligning us with the policy of the Generalitat de Catalunya".
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