1,300 hotels verified in WTTC’s Hotel...

Participants span more than 30 countries

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

WTTC's 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.

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

The 'Basics’ has also been adopted by a number of major hotel brands, including Radisson Hotel Group and other prominent travel brands such as British Airways Holidays, HotelBeds, WebBeds and Abercrombie & Kent.

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

“As we look to the future, our focus remains on strengthening these efforts, ensuring that every step we take brings us closer to a unified vision of sustainability in hospitality. Hotel Sustainability Basics has gone from strength to strength in its first year and we’re expecting thousands more properties to adopt the initiative throughout 2024.”

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Satu Rouhiainen, a sustainability manager for British Airways Holidays, is finding the programme very helpful.

Rouhiainen said: "Working closely together with our industry and value chain partners is paramount to British Airways Holidays. We are delighted to be supporting the Hotel Sustainability Basics, offering our hotel partners a fair and industry-recognised criteria to start their sustainability journey.

“Not only does it give us visibility of the hotels’ progress, but it also provides our customers a way to search for hotels that are committed to progressing in sustainability."

For more information, visit www.wttc.org