Better Victoria Turns into First Canadian City Vacation spot To Earn Biosphere Certification

Globally Revered Sustainability Certification A Main Step Ahead For Customer Financial system

VICTORIA – Vacation spot Better Victoria (DGV) and its members celebrated receiving the Accountable Tourism Institute’s (RTI) prestigious Biosphere Certification, making Better Victoria the primary city vacation spot in Canada or the US to hitch an elite group of tourism locations worldwide acknowledged for his or her dedication to rules of environmental sustainability, cultural range, fairness and social accountability.

Biosphere certification marks the most recent milestone in DGV’s ongoing journey as a worldwide chief in sustainable tourism amongst Vacation spot Administration Organizations. In 2021, DGV was licensed by Ostrom Local weather as the primary main vacation spot group in North America to be Carbon Impartial, and in 2022, the primary to be Local weather Constructive. DGV continues to cut back its carbon footprint and implement sustainability finest practices via its collaboration with Synergy Enterprises, a famous company sustainability administration agency.

Whereas different tourism sustainability certification applications exist, RTI’s Biosphere certification is probably the most extremely sought as a result of its credibility, its recognition worldwide and its alignment with the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Improvement Targets, the World Constitution for Sustainable Tourism +20 and the COP21 Paris Settlement to fight local weather change. The worth of certification is large as travellers and assembly planners are more and more contemplating elements like native high quality of life, environmental impacts, and the way a vacation spot, its DMO and its tourism sector impacts and serves native communities, when making choices about the place to journey or find a convention.

Better Victoria’s certification is predicated on a rigorous and collaborative evaluation of Vacation spot Better Victoria and the area in relation to the United Nations’ SDGs and the event and exterior audit of an motion plan outlining how sustainability finest practices can proceed to be fostered, applied, monitored and improved inside DGV and amongst its membership. The achievement was marked immediately with a celebration at The Parkside Lodge and Spa, one in all 4 Better Victoria inns with its personal particular person Biosphere certification.

“The connection between tourism, guests and native residents is a vital one,” stated Paul Nursey, CEO, DGV. “The tourism sector is an enormous financial driver which straight or not directly helps two out of each 5 working households in Better Victoria, in addition to the various year-round high quality of life facilities that make residing right here so enticing. Given the tourism’s sector’s measurement and potential affect, it’s necessary to acknowledge we’ve an obligation to function in a manner that respects the atmosphere in addition to the social and cultural material of our communities. That’s why DGV has at all times been dedicated to ongoing innovation in vacation spot advertising and marketing and administration, and authentically aligning the operations of Better Victoria’s tourism sector with area people values and desires.

“As a company that represents Better Victoria on the world stage and has a mandate to assist and develop its customer financial system, the final word objective of all the pieces we do is to serve native residents and contribute positively to their high quality of life. Whereas Biosphere certification will present long-term financial advantages to Better Victoria, simply as importantly it supplies a platform and motion plan for us and our members to proceed enhancing our sustainability practices and maximizing the optimistic contributions we make daily as neighborhood companions.”

Amongst DGV’s different notable commitments and achievements associated to social and environmental sustainability (See backgrounder beneath) is co-founding the IMPACT Sustainability Journey & Tourism Convention, which yearly attracts some 300 delegates from North America and around the globe to discover progressive and collaborative sustainable options for optimistic tourism growth throughout Canada. Delegates embody personal enterprise operators, DMOs, authorities officers, clear tech options suppliers, Indigenous tourism leaders and analysis and academia. The occasion is held within the Metropolis of Victoria-owned Victoria Convention Centre, which is licensed Carbon Impartial and marketed worldwide
by DGV.

Throughout Better Victoria, at the least 12 DGV member companies are taking part within the Biosphere program at this preliminary stage. Because the unique vacation spot associate for Biosphere all through Better Victoria and its 13 municipalities, Vacation spot Better Victoria is working with its members to have as much as 60 companies Biosphere dedicated or licensed by the tip of 2023.

DGV members are in a position to take part within the Biosphere program for no value for one yr from the date of linking to DGV. Member participation will assist the overarching destination-level certification and likewise present members with recognition and promotional advantages for the sustainability work they already do as a enterprise. Members are inspired to go to the DGV web site and attain out to DGV’s sustainability group for extra Biosphere data, together with member-only entry to on-line instruments and assets to develop and promote their sustainability commitments and practices.

Worldwide, solely 45 locations and their DMOs have earned Biosphere certification, together with, in Canada, DGV for Better Victoria, the Northern BC Tourism Affiliation, Kootenay Rockies Tourism Affiliation, Cariboo Chilcotin Coast Tourism Affiliation, Thompson Okanagan Tourism Affiliation and Tourism Vancouver Island.

“Immediately’s celebration marks the start of an thrilling new chapter on our sustainability journey,” stated Nursey. “Our group at DGV seems ahead to working with and studying from our members in addition to our municipal, neighborhood and Indigenous companions, to maximise the advantages our native tourism sector generates for all residents of Better Victoria.”

“We’re witnessing sustainability on the forefront for assembly and occasion planners who’re on the lookout for stronger initiatives than typical recycling applications, diving deeper into who our partnerships and certifications are with. Our focus has been on sustainability from day one and we encourage different companies to do the identical. Biosphere certification is a superb place to start out as a trusted program, making it simpler to achieve a sustainable benchmark to share with planners, offering helpful verification when selecting an organization to do enterprise with,” stated Trina White, Common Supervisor of The Parkside Lodge & Spa and Vice-Chair, DGV Sustainability Committee.

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