At a time when tourism organisations in South Korea are emptying their event calendars, one tourism board has taken the bold step of restarting its workshops in preparation for the returning demand post-Covid.
Switzerland Tourism’s office in Seoul is the first to try to blow life into the current lacklustre industry by lining up a series of workshops for travel agents and those in travel-related industries.
Its first hybrid workshop, held on July 15, was themed around Schilthorn, a summit in the Bernese Alps of Switzerland. The session was conducted as a webinar by a local tourism agency official in Switzerland. Participants were also taught how to take and compile pictures.
For now, the tourism board has a total of 10 workshops scheduled from July through September, which will be filled with programmes for Swiss travel information, its culture and architecture as well as its brunch culture. The tourism board said that this movement is in line with Switzerland reopening to tourists from 30 countries since June 15.
Switzerland Tourism marketing manager, Janice Cho, said: “The domestic and overseas travel industry is currently in a slump and it’s very difficult to predict even one step ahead. It has particularly been hard for those in the travel industry to meet in person and share ideas. We are holding these workshops to provide a means of encouragement for those both in Switzerland and South Korea to look forward to the time when tourism can resume again.”
With safety being paramount, especially since the country is battling a second wave of coronavirus, strict precautions have been put in place by the tourism board for its workshops. For one, each session is limited to 20 participants, and conducted in a space designed to accommodate over 200 people to maintain safe distancing.
All participants are also required to complete a health questionnaire and temperature check, and use hand sanitiser before the workshop.
Meanwhile, other tourism boards in South Korea like the Tourism Bureau of the Republic of China and Marianas Visitors Authority said that they have cancelled or postponed all their events and workshops, with no plans for any events in the pipeline as yet.
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has awarded Greenview Portal for the Hospitality Industry the GSTC-Recognized System status, making it the first sustainable tourism management system to achieve the accreditation.
This marks GSTC’s formal expansion of its recognition programme to apply to not only standards but also management systems. Last year, the council awarded Hilton LightStay the GSTC-Recognized status for its own portfolio, helping pave the way for expanded use of GSTC.
GSTC CEO Randy Durband said: “By using GSTC-Recognized systems, hotel and tourism companies will now be able to embed the GSTC Criteria, which includes the full range of environmental and social considerations specifically developed for the tourism sector, throughout their management processes and set them on the path of continuous improvement and towards certification.”
The Greenview Portal is an industry-specific system developed by Singapore-based consultancy Greenview that allows hotel companies to track, measure and improve in areas of environmental sustainability and social responsibility at property or multi-site level. The online platform allows hotel owners, operators, and affiliations to track, benchmark, report and improve on various aspects of environmental and social performance.
Greenview founder and CEO, Eric Ricaurte, said: “The investor community’s interest in environmental, social and governance performance is growing and we are seeing governments proactively pursue solutions to destination management across the value chain. In addition, consumer demand for clearly identifiable sustainable products is increasing, and as a result so is OTA interest in providing relevant content.
“The GSTC provides the consistent framework under which results can be achieved. This recognition will enable our hotel and hotel company clients to ensure their sustainability programmes are fully aligned with the GSTC Criteria and address this stakeholder interest, while delivering tangible value with a practical system.”
Users of the Greenview Portal that have made significant progress in their adherence to the GSTC Criteria, will be able to achieve certification following an external audit by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body.