Newsletter, July 2023

The Sustainable Tourism 2030 Pledge is a commitment to improve the sustainability performance of your tourism business or destination between now and 2030, in an effort to create a more sustainable future for the tourism industry!

[ TAKE THE PLEDGE ]

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THIS MONTH’S CERTIFIED SUSTAINABLE TOURISM MEMBERS

40 Knots Winery — Platinum
The Wickaninnish Inn — Gold
West Coast Expeditions — Platinum
Haute Goat Farms Inc. — Bronze
Fort Tree House — Bronze

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MEMBER SPOTLIGHT — INNHotels

INNHotels is a Canadian, family-owned, business with ten unique properties all situated within hours of the Rocky Mountains. All ten hotels have been certified through GreenStep.

The team at INNHotels is dedicated to making a positive impact — continue reading to learn more about their journey towards sustainability:

[ Read more about their story ]

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ONTARIO’S SOUTHWEST AWARDED GREENSTEP’S SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DESTINATION CERTIFICATION

In July, after a nine month process, Ontario’s Southwest Region Tourism Organization (RTO1) was awarded GreenStep’s Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification. Following a destination assessment review, and through the submission of extensive evidence, Ontario’s Southwest achieved a bronze level grading.

[ See the full press release ]

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MAKING A SPLASH — TOURISM’S ROLE IN WATER CONSERVATION

It’s that time of year again, where drought conditions worsen across the country, while floods threaten and devastate others. Based on where you are located and how strongly those conditions are present in your community, response to drought from municipalities varies from recommendations to improve water conservation, to legal restrictions and outright banning on certain usage.

For a country that boasts 20% of the world’s fresh water, we have a lot to learn as “massive data deficiencies for basic freshwater health indicators means we don’t have an informed understanding of the total impact of human activities on our watersheds” (WWF).

[ Learn how to take action ]

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TACKLING THE PLASTIC PROBLEM IN TOURISM

Inside and outside of the tourism industry, single-use plastic has been a regular talk of the town over the past few years, and even more so with the discovery of the Giant Plastic Patch in the Pacific Ocean, microplastics being found in fish, and plastic straws found stuck in the noses of turtles.

As we close out July, which has been coined as Plastic Free July across the globe, now is a great time to get a handle on the enormity of the pervasiveness of plastic in our tourism businesses, destinations, and lives.

[ Continue reading ]

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One way tourism businesses and destinations can take action is by acquiring GreenStep’s Single-Use Plastic Free Certification. The certification helps organizations to identify single-use plastics within their operations, and offers support and resources to implement change, review policies and practices, and swap single-use plastics with sustainable alternatives.

[ Learn more about certification ]