by Ecotourism Australia | Jun 23, 2023 | Article
Ecotourism Australia, the nation’s peak body for sustainable and ecotourism, has entered a groundbreaking industry partnership with Destination NSW to support sustainable products and experiences within the NSW visitor economy.
The partnership will provide complimentary access to the pre-certification Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard benchmarking tool for eligible NSW visitor economy businesses to begin their sustainability journey. The collaboration will increase awareness of sustainability best practices across the entire NSW visitor economy, turning commitments into actions and positioning NSW at the forefront of sustainability across the sector nationally.
Chief Executive of Ecotourism Australia, Ms Elissa Keenan, said, “To see Destination NSW take momentous action towards a more sustainable visitor economy is incredible and to be highly commended.
“New South Wales is the first to launch a state-wide program to provide to provide direct support to their tourism operators through the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard program.
“Sustainability is no longer a wish for the future or an intangible ideal, it is an essential for all businesses. Increasingly, visitors are demanding genuinely sustainable and responsible travel experiences that enable them to have a positive impact on the environment and local communities.
“Destination NSW’s leadership and support for business to take the important first step on their sustainability journey is a significant commitment and places New South Wales on both a national and international stage as a rising leader in sustainable tourism,” Ms Keenan said.
The Scorecard, which will be fully funded for participants through the Ecotourism Australia and Destination NSW partnership, is available to eligible businesses across the visitor economy including attractions, tours, accommodations, wineries, restaurants, visitor centres and more. It will assess their current performance across the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable business management and positive environmental, socio-economic, and cultural impacts. This first-of-its-kind partnership forms part of Destination NSW’s NSW First Program, which assists businesses across the state to develop, promote and sell world-class visitor experiences.
“Support for our stakeholders to undertake credible sustainability programs, like the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard, is essential to give them the confidence to begin their sustainability journey,” said Destination NSW Chief Executive, Steve Cox.
“We are committed to developing and promoting high-quality, genuinely sustainable visitor experiences offerings that align with consumer expectations. Our partnership with Ecotourism Australia will ensure visitor economy businesses in NSW are on the path to meeting those expectations,” he said.
Ecotourism Australia launched the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard in late 2022 with founding partner Tourism Australia. Its aim is to enable any visitor economy business to embark on their sustainability journey in a simple and affordable way. ATDW (Distribution partner) and Big Red Group (Key Enablement partner) are additional partners in the program nationally.
Expressions of interest are being accepted for eligible businesses to participate in the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard funded by Destination NSW in partnership with Ecotourism Australia.
More information is available at: https://www.ecotourism.org.au/strive-4-sustainability/nsw
Destination NSW
Images courtesy of Destination NSW.
by Ecotourism Australia | May 25, 2023 | Article, Media Release
The East Gippsland is the first destination in Victoria to meet global best practice sustainability standards to achieve ECO Destination Certification, with Ecotourism Australia.
As the first destination to be certified in the state, the East Gippsland Shire Council is a leader for the broader Gippsland region and is committed to inspiring sustainability outside of its borders. Nationally, East Gippsland is part of a select few, with only seven regions across Australia having achieved ECO Destination Certification.
Nestled within the lands of Gunaikurnai, Bidawel and Monero, East Gippsland has long been a draw for nature enthusiasts. The region boasts a treasure trove of world-renowned natural wonders, including the UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve of Croajingolong National Park, the culturally significant Buchan Caves, the Alpine High Country, the expansive Gippsland Lakes, and the picturesque Ninety Mile Beach, offering endless stretches of golden sand.
In 2020 after devastating bushfires in the region; East Gippsland was the first of 10 destinations to be supported by the World Wide Fund for Nature–Australia (WWF-Australia) bushfire recovery fund to join the ECO Destination Certification program. With its adherence to sustainability principles, the ECO Destination Certification continues to help the region build back better.
“Maximising positive benefits for the community and the environment through sustainable tourism experiences is a core objective of the ECO Destination Certification. Through our partnership with WWF-Australia, we are proud to support East Gippsland’s ongoing recovery after the devastating bushfires in 2019-2020,” said Ecotourism Australia CEO, Ms Elissa Keenan.
“Sustainable and ecotourism helps to protect the natural environment, support the local community and build resilience within the visitor economy through the sustainable management, and positive environmental, socio-economic, and cultural impacts.”
The application for certification was led by the East Gippsland Shire Council with support from a variety of stakeholders. The East Gippsland Shire Council collaborated with vital partners at the Department of Energy, Environment and Climate Action (DEECA), Parks Victoria, Gunaikurnai Land and Waters Aboriginal Corporation (GLaWAC), and Destination Gippsland. Destination Certification like this cannot be achieved without collaboration and region wide input into the application process.
Mayor Mark Reeves, East Gippsland Shire Council expressed pride in the recognition; “Our region has achieved a monumental success with ECO Destination Certification placing us among the select few regions in the country.”
Meeting over 90 criteria to achieve ECO Destination Certification at the level of Ecotourism, it assures travellers that the destination is genuinely committed to holistic sustainability and providing high-quality nature-based and sustainable experiences within the region. ECO Destination Certification confirms that the East Gippsland region has a strong commitment to ecotourism practices including cultural and environmental interpretation and education for visitors, contribution to environmental conservation and support for local business’s sustainability.
Darren Grover, Head of Healthy Land and Seascapes at WWF-Australia commented on the region’s recognition; “Ecotourism can be a great way for fire-affected communities to build strong, local economies while protecting and celebrating their cultural and natural heritage.”
“The growing demand for high-integrity ecotourism shows that we don’t have to choose between a healthy environment or a strong economy. We’re proud to have supported the East Gippsland community on its ECO Destination journey.”
A portion of the WWF-Australia funding has also been attributed to supporting eight additional businesses in East Gippsland to join the ECO Certification program. These businesses will join two existing ECO certified businesses who have contributed to the legacy of ecotourism in the region, including Gippsland High Country Tours which, also has ROC Certification, and was among the first operators in Australia to be certified in 1997.
Ecotourism Australia CEO Elissa Keenan attended the official launch and industry event in the Gippsland region today to present the region’s Certification certificate. Elissa spoke about Ecotourism Australia’s programs for businesses, including the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard, recently launched with founding partner Tourism Australia. The Scorecard is designed for any tourism business wanting to begin their sustainability journey and measures how they are performing across the four pillars of sustainability based on our globally recognised criteria for sustainable tourism.
The ECO Destination Certification was developed by Ecotourism Australia using the international Green Destinations standard, which is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. The Certification assesses a region across the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, environmental impact, socio-economic impact, and cultural impact. Each destination must pass an on-site audit conducted by a third-party auditor before Certification can be awarded.
Discover our latest ECO Destination: https://greentravelguide.org/destination/east-gippsland
by Ecotourism Australia | Apr 26, 2023 | Article, Media Release
The peak body of eco and sustainable tourism, Ecotourism Australia, and Australia and New Zealand’s largest experience network, Big Red Group, have entered a strategic partnership to amplify and support a pathway to sustainability for experience operators.
Big Red Group, which includes experience platforms Adrenaline, Experience Oz, and RedBalloon, is committed to promoting sustainable and responsible tourism operators across their 14,000+ experiences to help travellers choose authentic operators with a commitment to sustainability.
Operators on the platforms will be able to showcase their sustainable approach by starting their journey with their Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard result as well as their ECO or Sustainable Tourism Certification.
Chief Sustainability Officer at Big Red Group, Ms Jemma Fastnedge, said, “We are moving toward a travel industry where sustainable tourism is no longer a nice-to-have but an essential component of running a successful operation.
“As the largest marketplace of experiences across Australia and New Zealand, we recognise our responsibility to incorporate sustainability into our ethos and encourage tourism experience providers to do the same.
“Our partnership with Ecotourism Australia will help make sustainability information more accessible so businesses can responsibly share their sustainability achievements and travellers can book and spend according to their values,” she said.
Ecotourism Australia Chief Executive, Ms Elissa Keenan said, “To see industry leader Big Red Group seek opportunities to build sustainability capacity through our program is incredible. Their support to showcase operators who are making a difference and ensuring their customers can see those sustainability credentials, is a significant commitment and a true demonstration of one of Australia’s largest tourism organisations to ‘walk the talk’ on sustainability.
“Sustainability is no longer a theme or a trend, it is a critical part of any business. The expectations of travellers are rapidly changing – they want to choose an experience committed to minimising environmental impact, supporting culture and community, and that they may even spend more to ensure an authentic, sustainable and responsible travel experience.
“We also know that more and more visitors are actively looking for authentic experiences backed by credible brands, particularly those holding a valid, credible and current certification or can clearly demonstrate the actions they are taking to improve in this space. Travellers want to be able to easily identify operators who will deliver the experience they are expecting.
“As Big Red Group’s supply chain makes strides to incorporate sustainability practices based on their comprehensive Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard report, we look forward to seeing them progress toward achieving global best practice sustainability certification through our ECO and Sustainable Tourism Certification programs,” Ms Keenan said.
The Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard, launched in late 2022, is a pre-certification tool allowing businesses to see where they are at on their sustainability journey by measuring their practices against the four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, environmental impacts, socio-economic impacts, and cultural impacts.
Businesses on the Big Red Group’s platforms that have completed the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard will have the option to display an icon on their listing indicating they have a score of 50% or more.
For businesses that progress to achieving global best practice sustainability standards through Ecotourism Australia’s ECO and Sustainable Tourism Certification programs, they will soon have the opportunity to display their certification on their listing.
The Sustainable Tourism Certification program, launched in late 2022, meets international best practice for sustainability, and the standard is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). This new certification is for non-nature-based businesses to be recognised at global standard as ECO Certified operators (for nature-based operators) are and is part of Ecotourism Australia’s priority to make starting a journey to sustainability more accessible across the entire industry.
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Media Contacts:
Big Red Group: brg@wearedifferendpr.com.au
Ecotourism Australia: Chief Executive Officer Elissa Keenan on 07 3256 6777 or 0448 866 049
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About Big Red Group
Big Red Group is the largest marketplace of experiences in Australia and New Zealand, and home to leading brands including Adrenaline, Experience Oz, Experience Oz Local Agent, and RedBalloon. Australian owned and operated, Big Red Group leads and grows the experience economy through its scale, expert marketing, state-of-the-art tech platforms, industry alliances and partnerships. Offering 14,000+ experiences across its brands, Big Red Group remains steadfast on its mission to shift the way people experience life, having served more than 5 million experiences to date.
Read more about Big Red Group: https://www.thebigredgroup.com.au/
Read about sustainability at Big Red Group: https://www.thebigredgroup.com.au/sustainability/
About Ecotourism Australia
Ecotourism Australia is a non-government, not-for-profit organisation, established in 1991, that promotes and supports the ecotourism industry in Australia through building capacity and actively promoting sustainable tourism operations and systems. Our key legacy program – ECO Certification – was the world’s first national ecotourism certification program and most recently Ecotourism Australia introduced a new Sustainable Tourism Certification (for non-nature based businesses) and a pre-certification support tool, the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard to help operators start their sustainability pathway. Ecotourism Australia’s certification standard is recognised by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
We are the credible, national peak body for sustainable and nature-based tourism and our programs are acknowledged globally for meeting best practice standards.
Read more about Ecotourism Australia: https://www.ecotourism.org.au/
by Ecotourism Australia | Mar 31, 2023 | Article, Media Release
The Australian Tourism Data Warehouse (ATDW) has partnered with Ecotourism Australia to showcase sustainable tourism experiences through the ATDW online platform.
From the 30 March, tourism businesses that have completed their Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard will have their sustainability score displayed on their ATDW profile to highlight their commitment to responsible and sustainable tourism.
ATDW is the key distribution partner of the new Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard, launched by Ecotourism Australia in late 2022 with founding partner Tourism Australia who are helping market the program.
The Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard is a business support tool designed to give any tourism business a snapshot of where they are at in their sustainability journey. It assesses their operations against the four pillars of sustainability: Sustainable management, Environmental impacts, Socio-economic impacts, and Cultural impacts.
Scores of Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard holders Australian Age of Dinosaurs, Wild Adventures Melbourne and Salt & Bush Eco Tours are already displayed on their respective ATDW profiles.
Senior Manager, Industry Nadia Feeney attended Ecotourism Australia’s second ECO Think Destination Forum held on Taribelang Bunda, Gooreng Gooreng, Gurang and Bailai Country in the Bundaberg Region as one of the Forum’s keynote speakers.
Chief Executive of Ecotourism Australia, Ms Elissa Keenan, said, “Ms Feeney’s presentation at ECO Think Destination Forum 2023 highlighted ATDW’s amplified commitment to represent and support businesses in regional destinations such as those in our destination certification programs.
“The Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard is a credible solution for businesses wanting to start their sustainability journey and promote their sustainability initiatives.”
ATDW Chief Executive, Ms Jan Hutton, stated, “ATDW has a core value of “Advocating for tomorrow’s sustainable future through innovation” and is very committed to building awareness of the critical importance of sustainability for all Australian tourism operators.
“Promoting the value of completing the Ecotourism Australia ‘ECO and Sustainable Tourism Certification’ programs will be achieved by clearly badging the ATDW profiles of all certified operators, promoting their progressive tourism experiences for distribution partners to publish.”
Sign up to become a distribution partner with ATDW and help travellers discover sustainable and accredited experiences by visiting ATDWs website or by contacting distribution@atdw.com.au.
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by Ecotourism Australia | Mar 8, 2023 | Article, Media Release
Two Australian destinations have been recognised at the prestigious Global Green Destinations Story Awards, presented in Berlin overnight at ITB, the world’s leading travel trade show.
Coffs Coast was awarded third place in the Culture and Tradition Category, and both Coffs Coast and Central Coast were nominated in the People’s Choice Category in the global competition run by Green Destinations, Ecotourism Australia’s global partner.
Ecotourism Australia CEO, Ms Elissa Keenan commended the two regions for this outstanding achievement.
“Coffs Coast and Central Coast are two of our six ECO Certified Destinations in Australia, and we are immensely proud to see them recognised on the global stage.
“Being ECO Destination Certified recognises a regions’ commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism. Our program covers the four pillars of sustainability of environmental, socio-economic, cultural and sustainable management.
“It is particularly powerful to see Coffs Coast recognised for their commitment to culture and tradition in their region and the wonderful story celebrating Indigenous tourism in the region,” she said.
Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation (BMNAC) CEO Mr Clark Webb said, “we are over the moon that our story was celebrated in Coffs Coast’s winning entry of this prestigious global award.
“We couldn’t quite believe that we were even nominated in the first place, so for the Coffs Coast to be finalist in this elite group of culture and tradition tourism stories from around the world is simply mind blowing.
“We’re honoured and proud that the story of our Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School and our cultural tourism businesses on the Coffs Coast can be told far and wide,” said Webb, who is also the owner-operator of Wajaana Yaam Gumbaynggirr Adventure Tours, an ECO Certified business in the Coffs Coast region.
Both the Coffs Coast and Central Coast are committed to working with their operators and their community to increase sustainability initiatives, including promoting ECO Certification and Sustainable Tourism Certification, across their entire region.
The Coffs Coast’s winning entry is Two Path Strong which celebrates Aboriginal tourism on the Coffs Coast and the rich culture that has supported the establishment of the first bilingual school of an Aboriginal language in NSW – the Gumbaynggirr Giingana Freedom School (GGFS).
Coffs Coast was awarded ECO Destination certification in 2021, and Central Coast closely followed in 2022. Both destinations continue to demonstrate an ongoing commitment to sustainable tourism practises across four pillars of sustainability.
Siobhan Shaw (Regional Manager, Destination NSW) received the award on behalf of Coffs Coast, awarded by Albert Salman (President, Green Destinations).
Siobhan Shaw (Regional Manager, Destination NSW) received the award on behalf of Coffs Coast, awarded by Albert Salman (President, Green Destinations). Image credit: Destination NSW.
About the Green Destinations Top 100 Stories
The Green Destinations Top 100 Stories is an annual competition that collects and celebrates initiatives from Destinations globally, inspiring responsible tourism leadership.
The Green Destinations Top 100 Stories has run annually since 2014, celebrating and promoting 100 destinations as inspiring examples for other destinations, tour operators and visitors.
Now more than ever, the tourism industry needs good practices and case studies. Good Practice Stories selected to the annual Top 100 list combines good practice elements with the power of storytelling.
Participating destinations also have to self-report on the Green Destinations Core Criteria, showing their compliance with the basics of sustainability performance, which provides a unique opportunity for a first step towards sustainability recognition.
Every year, Green Destinations’ jury of experts selects the most excellent stories from the Top 100 list to be nominated for the Green Destinations Story Awards, celebrated at ITB Berlin.
