“Sustainable tourism is the tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment, and host communities.”
World Tourism Organization – UNWTO
Sustainable tourism does not have to be complicated: above all, it is about maximizing the positive impacts and minimizing the negative impacts of the travel activities.
Most importantly, sustainable tourism should place local communities and their well-being at the center of its concerns. Indeed, “their” environment should come first, rather that just “the” environment.
Sustainable travel experiences are co-created: on the one hand, a growing number of travelers want to make more responsible choices. On the other hand, tourism professionals committed to sustainability have a vested interest in attracting these travelers.
For this reason, Herost intends to connect conscious travelers with responsible hosts.
Committed to Sustainability
Herost supports the Sustainable Development Goals, with a particular focus on SDGs 8, 10, 11 and 12.
Herost is a project of the One Planet Sustainable Tourism Programme, a multi-stakeholder partnership that promotes knowledge sharing and networking opportunities to better implement sustainable consumption and production in the tourism sector.
Herost model
Herost drives social innovation in the travel and tourism sector through:
- Online travel platform highlighting eco-friendly travel experiences and matching hosts and travelers who share the same visions and values.
- 10-commitment Charter (see below) and a Scoring System featuring 20 criteria aligned with the standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in order to prevent greenwashing and give our Hosts a unique access to a growing market.
- Consulting and training services provided by a global network of professionals actively involved in the co-creation and promotion of sustainable tourism destinations, practices and experiences.
- Selection of off-the-beaten-path destinations and attractions in order to disperse and balance the flows of tourists.
Herost Charter
Please check the 10 commitments below to become a Member of our Herost Community:
- Quality of Hospitality – The Host commits to offer high quality hospitality, based on the standards, rules and regulations applicable in the destination.
- Sustainability Engagement – The Host commits to adopt sustainability practices and to encourage responsible behaviors from the staff and guests.
- Cultural Authenticity – The Host commits to incorporate elements of the local culture and traditions into the architecture, furniture and decoration related to the accommodation / activities.
- Responsible Purchasing – The Host commits to purchase fair, local and/or domestic products and services in priority.
- Support to Local Community- The Host commits to offer job and income opportunities to local community members in priority.
- Water and Energy Saving – The Host commits to monitor and control the consumption of water and energy resources and to keep them accessible to the local community.
- Biodiversity & Wildlife Preservation and Restoration – The Host commits to support global, regional and local efforts towards preserving and restoring the biodiversity and wildlife.
- Waste Management and Reduction – the Host commits to implement a variety of measures to sort out, reduce, reuse, recycle and/or up cycle waste, in collaboration with the local community.
- Pollution Minimization – The Host commits to identify and minimize (reduce, eliminate) the existing and potential sources of pollution related to the accommodation / activities.
- Climate Change Mitigation – The Host commits to contribute to climate change mitigation through reducing the direct Greenhouse Gas Emissions of the accommodation / activities.