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Destination Stewardship Projects
Project Examples
Africa
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Project Partner(s): Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance
Project Description: The Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance (GSTA) is a USAID-funded entity that utilizes sustainable tourism development as an effective tool for stimulating economic growth, alleviating poverty, conserving biodiversity and environmental resources, and creating employment opportunities for local communities. Among other initiatives, the GSTA is focused on developing turn-key travel philanthropy initiatives in GSTA destinations. STI has been contracted to work in collaboration with Solimar International to leverage support from the travel and tourism industry, as well as their employees and partners, to maximize contributions to Travelers Donation Funds, which are separate programs that are set up in each individual destination and are based on local capacity. This process involves connecting travelers, travel companies and other businesses with local NGOs, developing a system for sustained giving that addresses local needs and rewards self-reliance, mobilizes the travel industry’s investment in local projects, motivates travelers to become stewards of the destination, creates a positive policy climate for philanthropy, and enhances the capacity of local NGOs and other philanthropic organizations.
Description of Services: STI is responsible for developing a workplan for each destination, creating a Travelers Donation Fund in each region in collaboration with local stakeholders and project partners, vetting local NGOs and projects, educating local NGOs and the travel trade about how to implement and maintain successful programs, developing and implementing Fund development mechanisms through travel trade and travelers to GSTA project locations, helping local stakeholders implement collection strategies, and then marketing the programs through its global marketing outlets.
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Project Partner(s): WWF — Namibia
Project Description: STI is developing and working with the WWF team to implement a Communal Conservancy Tourism Sector website that features an interactive, database fed online map guide, and a print-ready version of the Communal Conservancy Tourism Sector map guide.
Description of Services: STI is responsible for developing the website and printed map noted above. These two projects will accomplish the following objectives: 1) The website will be an engaging, online story of Namibia’s Communal Conservancies and related organizations and demonstrate how it is a unique and integral part of Namibia’s tourism industry. The primary goal of the project is to tell the story and tell it in such a way that potential visitors are inspired to include the Communal Conservancies as part of their Namibia itinerary. While the website is not going to be an end-source for travel bookings, it will provide all the necessary information and resources so that planning travel to any of the Communal Conservancies is effortless and therefore easily realized. The story will use photos, graphics and well-written text that details the culture, wildlife, people, arts, geography, joint-venture partners and activities to create a rich and compelling understanding of all that the Conservancies have to offer. 2) The Interactive Map Guide will allow users to easily access the information through a simple yet content-rich, easily understood interface. The key here is simplicity, not only for user experience but in how it is designed on the back-end so that the map guide will be easy for the website’s administrators to edit and expand upon. 3) Data content in the Interactive Map Guide will also be available and accessible on the website via text-based navigation and in text-based form. This is important because if users have modified browser settings to exclude certain programming language (i.e. sometimes users block Flash) or if for whatever reason they are unable to access the Map Guide, they should still be able to get to the information provided in the site. The project will also consider users with disabilities that require them to use screen readers and other modalities that may or may not be compatible with the Map Guide to access content. 4) The website and Interactive Map Guide will be built upon a content management system (CMS) platform that allows administrators to have full control of content through a robust and user-friendly interface. 5) The website will be optimized for search-engines where social media tools can be easily integrated for cross-channel communications. 6) The website will scale easily and economically to accommodate increasing or changing content and adapt to various needs over the coming years. 7) The print version of the map guide will be a composite of information from the website and Interactive Map Guide and will be attractively designed to promote longevity as a keepsake and handy reference tool.
Asia
Coming soon
Europe
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Project Partner(s): Greenbox Ireland
Project Description: STI evaluated and assessed the Client’s Greenbox Ecolabel Standard in order to compare with the Client’s Ecolabel Course to ensure consistency and compatibility between Course and Ecotourism Label.
Description of Services: Evaluated and assessed Ecolabel course; participated in current course and provided feedback; determined goals and objectives of course; assisted client with education and outreach; determined baseline standards comparable to STI’s Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program, an industry Gold Standard.
Latin America / Caribbean
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Project Partner(s): Cruise Lines International Association
Project Description: The Cruise Lines International Association (CLIA) is enhancing its sustainability initiatives and developing environmental standards and a reporting process for marine shore operators in conjunction with the Ocean Conservation and Tourism Alliance (OCTA). A draft of the environmental standards has been created, and has been distributed to a pilot group of marine shore operators throughout the Caribbean. STI is assessing the effectiveness of the standard with the pilot group of marine shore operators, and is verifying compliance of the pilot companies with the standard.
Description of Services: STI developed a verification tool, ratings and indicators for the environmental standard; provided on-site verification in three marine shore destinations, which included Cozumel, St. Thomas, and St. Maarten; and completed twelve two-day on-site verifications, which included four operators as pilot launch participants in each location related to the Project. STI also consulted with pilot participants, helping them improve their rating by drafting sustainability plans and policies that were aligned with existing operational procedures.
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Project Partner(s): Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance
Project Description: The Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance (GSTA) is a USAID-funded entity that utilizes sustainable tourism development as an effective tool for stimulating economic growth, alleviating poverty, conserving biodiversity and environmental resources, and creating employment opportunities for local communities. Among other initiatives, the GSTA is focused on developing turn-key travel philanthropy initiatives in GSTA destinations. STI has been contracted to work in collaboration with Solimar International to leverage support from the travel and tourism industry, as well as their employees and partners, to maximize contributions to Travelers Donation Funds, which are separate programs that are set up in each individual destination and are based on local capacity. This process involves connecting travelers, travel companies and other businesses with local NGOs, developing a system for sustained giving that addresses local needs and rewards self-reliance, mobilizes the travel industry’s investment in local projects, motivates travelers to become stewards of the destination, creates a positive policy climate for philanthropy, and enhances the capacity of local NGOs and other philanthropic organizations.
Description of Services: STI is responsible for developing a workplan for each destination, creating a Travelers Donation Fund in each region in collaboration with local stakeholders and project partners, vetting local NGOs and projects, educating local NGOs and the travel trade about how to implement and maintain successful programs, developing and implementing Fund development mechanisms through travel trade and travelers to GSTA project locations, helping local stakeholders implement collection strategies, and then marketing the programs through its global marketing outlets.
North America
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Project Partner(s): National Geographic
Project Description: The Central Cascades Geotourism Project is a multi-stakeholder destination stewardship initiative that results in a printed MapGuide and an interactive website, both of which are designed to be trip planning tools that promote a region’s natural, cultural, and historic attractions as well as encouragea sense of pride in local communities. The project addresses the need to preserve a region’s shrinking cultural and environmental assets and to revitalize small, rural communities through a diverse economic development strategy through sustainable tourism development.
Description of Services: STI led a dynamic, interactive, outreach process for the Central Cascades Geotourism MapGuide in connection with the National Geographic Society, the Central Cascades Advisory Committee, local communities, and key stakeholders. Additionally, STI acted as the Project Coordinator and liaison with National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations, ensuring that deliverables are met for all parties involved. STI was responsible for coordinating the administrative functions related to the project, the work of the partners and Geotourism Map Guide submissions in connection with the Central Cascades Advisory Committee, local communities, and key stakeholders.
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Project Partner(s): National Geographic, USDA Forest Service, USDI BLM, National Park Service, Bureau of Indian Affairs, US Fish & Wildlife Service
Project Description: STI, National Geographic, and the Federal Tourism Team are producing a high-quality National Online Geotourism Atlas (NOGA), an interactive website that functions as a consumer-centric trip planning tool, featuring a mapping platform and an API feed from other Geotourism websites around the U.S. Building upon existing local geotourism prototype projects across the USA, NOGA will define what makes the U.S. a special place to visit, surfacing attractions and points of interest sourced from grassroots efforts. NOGA will also: promote the concept and practice of geotourism throughout the United States as a model that combines sustainability with responsible economic growth; serve the traveling public by providing rich information on thousands of geotourism destinations across the nation; promote sustainable practices that protect and respect natural habitats, heritage sites, scenic appeal, and local culture; enhance local communities’ social, environmental, and economic quality of life, while producing economic and social incentives for conservation, protection, and restoration; increase appreciation and understanding of the tourism value of public and tribal lands, particularly in gateway communities economically linked to those lands; promote sustainable travel as an educational experience for all visitors; and encourage the involvement of youth by developing age-appropriate geotourism programs that encourage active outdoor experiences.
Description of Services: STI is administering the National Online Geotourism Atlas project in collaboration with the National Geographic Society. Additionally, STI is acting as the Project Coordinator and liaison with National Geographic Center for Sustainable Destinations and the Federal Tourism Team outlined above, ensuring that deliverables are met for all parties involved and managing this process, including but not limited to developing the business plan, legal frameworks, marketing and communications plans and strategy, and managing the stakeholder feedback process regarding the enterprise level application and consumer facing messaging that’s being developed.
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