The issue of sustainability plays an increasingly important role in the tourism and meetings industry.
With its successful participation in a certification concept, the tourist destination of Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg in Germany acknowledged this trend. Together with local service providers, it sets itself ambitious goals for a sustainable future for the city of Stuttgart.
Sustainability in tourism is gaining in relevance all the time. It is an important locational advantage for tourist destinations and ensures their competitiveness on a national and international level. Recognizing the significance of this issue, the tourist destination of Stuttgart took part as a pre-tester in developing a unique, nationwide certification concept for tourist destinations.
It underwent the entire sustainability check and completed it successfully: On Oct. 22, Stuttgart became the first city to receive the official “Sustainable Destination” signet from Alexander Bonde, the Minister of Tourism of Baden-Württemberg.
Initiator of the innovative certification concept for tourist destinations was Baden-Württemberg’s Ministry of Rural Affairs and Consumer Protection (MLR). The purpose of the certification is to assess popular travel destinations in the state according to ecological, economic and social sustainability criteria and thus assist their sustainable future development.
By initiating sustainability certification for tourist destinations, Baden-Württemberg takes the lead on both a national and international level. Stuttgart is one of the four pilot destinations whose sustainability was examined during this process. As the lead organization, the Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH has committed itself to increasing the destination’s sustainability on a continuous basis.
For the Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH, participation in the sustainability check is the logical continuation of its previous achievements in the area of sustainability. For the Stuttgart-Marketing GmbH’s Stuttgart Convention Bureau (SCB) in particular, the issue of sustainability has long been at the focus of its activities.
Not only is the SCB committed to the “Right and Fair” codex, it also has at its disposal an attractive portfolio for so-called “green meetings,” with some 50 sustainably oriented congress centers, conference hotels and locations in the Stuttgart Region.
Sustainable services of the SCB:
- Advice as to the general sustainability commitment of tourism service providers and services
- Procuring Deutsche Bahn (German Rail) event tickets
- Free travel on the ÖPNV transport network for hotel reservations made through Stuttgart-Marketing
- Paperless offer presentation and booking facilities (data bank)
- Data bank facilitates the selection of providers geared to “green meetings”
