Boulder, CO (September 29, 2005) - Sustainable Travel International (STI), the Colorado-based non-profit dedicated to providing travelers and travel-related companies with the tools they need to protect the places they visit, announced today that it has released a newly revised version of its popular Guide to Sustainable Tourism. The improved and updated Guide is better designed to provide step-by-step guidance to travel-related companies that wish to establish systems for managing their impacts.
Traditionally, a company's success has been measured in terms of its financial bottom line. Operating in a sustainable manner requires companies to consider their influence in not one but three areas: the environment, the socio-cultural needs of the people in the places they visit, and their economic impacts. This 'triple bottom line' approach supports the notion that the private sector should play a key role in environmental protection, social responsibility, and economic health. But how can companies manage let alone measure their contribution to sustainability? STI answers this important question in its Guide to Sustainable Tourism.
"With the ever-increasing interest in eco- and sustainable tourism within the mainstream travel industry, we hope that our newly updated Guide to Sustainable Tourism will help simplify the concept," explained Brian T. Mullis, President of Sustainable Travel International.
The Guide provides practical tips on how to design a sustainability policy and how to measure and manage 11 categories of travel-related impacts. It also includes a glossary of terms to help tourism industry professionals gain a better understanding of related terminology.
"We're hoping that in using the Guide if travel-related companies keep a broad perspective in managing their impacts and stay focused on high priority areas, they'll quickly discover that sustainability equates to profitability," concludes Mullis.
The Guide to Sustainable Tourism is available on-line and hard copies are available for $15 plus shipping and handling. For more information, email info@sustainabletravel.com or call Sustainable Travel International at 800-276-7764.
