WTTC sustainability program verifies more than 1,300 hotels

The World Travel & Tourism Council’s (WTTC) Hotel Sustainability Basics is set to end if first year on a high note, with more than 1,300 hotels verified, across more than 30 countries from around the world.

The Hotel Sustainability Basics is an independent global sustainability verification programme, overseen by internationally recognised verifiers, Green Key and SGS.

The aim is for hotels around the world, regardless of their size, to follow a 12-step programme to reduce carbon emissions, protect and promote nature, and ensure local communities benefit from the hotel.

A stepping-stone to sustainability

It is achievable for all hotels to implement as a bare minimum, and crucially, they serve as a stepping-stone to more complex sustainability schemes.

In its first year, Hotel Sustainability Basics has been endorsed by destinations around the world such as the Caribbean, Mauritius, Colombia, Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan, Mexico, and Ecuador.

The ‘Basics’ has also been adopted by a number of major hotel brands around the world such as Jin Jiang, the world’s second biggest hotel group with more than 10,000 hotels, European hotel giant Louvre Hotel Group, and Radisson Hotel Group.

Support from major tour operators

Other major brands which have signed up Hotel Sustainability Basics include adventure travel specialist Intrepid, British Airways Holidays, HotelBeds, WebBeds, and Abercrombie & Kent.

Together, this underscores a global commitment to sustainable Travel & Tourism from across the hospitality industry, and the global tourism body expects thousands more hotels from all four corners of the globe will adopt Hotel Sustainability Basics next year.

Significantly, the recently announced partnership between WTTC and the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has cemented a clear pathway in the hospitality sustainability journey. This collaboration will establish a structured framework from the Basics towards advanced global standards for hotel sustainability.

“Basics is a global programme to support hotels to cut emissions, support local communities and protect nature. Launched last year, it is the only independent scheme that gives hotels a helping hand to look at their environmental impact,” said Julia Simpson, WTTC president and CEO. “The take up of Basics is going from strength to strength with whole countries committed to make real, lasting change.”