Madeira launches certification process as a sustainable tourist destination

Madeira began the certification process as a sustainable tourist destination with a workshop for representatives of the various working groups and the DMO (Destination Management Organization) Advisory Board.

The next steps involve the definition of the Sustainability Policy of the destination, as well as the realization of a benchmarking that involves the collection of several qualitative and quantitative Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), a Risk Assessment Plan and an Action Plan for Sustainability.

This process, which began to take its first steps in 2021, under the responsibility of the Regional Tourism Board, with the creation of the DMO the entity responsible for planning, coordinating and supervising the certification process of Madeira as a Sustainable Tourist Destination, aims to support the development of the region, in a sustainable way, in the environmental, economic, social and cultural aspects.

The project has the support and advice of IPDT – Tourism and Consulting. EarthCheck, on the other hand, is the GSTC accredited entity that will certify the destination.

It should be said that Madeira proposed to accomplish the objectives by the end of this year, and at that time an audit will be carried out by external and independent auditors, to review the data collected during the Benchmark and all documentation.

For the Regional Secretary for Tourism and Culture and President of the Madeira Promotion Bureau, Eduardo Jesus, who chaired the opening session of the workshop, it is “a natural and fundamental step in the affirmation of Madeira as a ‘must-visit’ at a global level, a destination that is safe and that is attractive to all, but which, at the same time, is capable of generating a differentiated demand, focusing on the promotion of the sustainable development of the territory in its various aspects: environmental, economic, social and cultural”.

The regional government also highlighted that this is another way to affirm the differentiation of Madeira for those who visit it and for residents, hence the goal is the involvement of the entire local community because “we believe that an excellent territory for tourists should simultaneously generate well-being for the locals”.

Sustainable Madeira will have a visual identity resulting from the new image of the destination, that will be digitally monitored through a website to be presented during the first half of 2022, in Portuguese and English, and on social networks, as well as a promotional film that will be recorded from April to June and which will consist of interviews with the main agents of the sector and images of the main tourist attractions.

Source: Publituris