The Seychelles Sustainable Tourism Label (SSTL) has partnered with TourismTattler.com in supporting Africa’s contribution to the aims and aspirations of the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development (#IY2017).
Launched on World Tourism Day on 27 September 2011, the SSTL is an international concept that establishes a set of standards to encourage and guide Seychellois tourism operators to play a vital role in adopting best practices in the operation of their businesses in order to ensure the sustainability of the Seychelles tourism industry.
The development of the Sustainability Label for Seychelles is in line with a recommendation made in the Seychelles Government’s Vision 21: Tourism Development in Seychelles 2001-2010. A study on certification for tourism operators, in consultation with the industry, recommended the development of such a Sustainability Label on the basis of strict, transparent, fair and externally checked criteria.
The label is in line with the UNWTO’s call to use the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism to guide tourism development so that they become “sustainable, ethical and responsible”.
The SSTL is a sustainable tourism management and certification programme designed specifically for use in Seychelles. It is voluntary, user-friendly, and designed to inspire more efficient and sustainable ways of doing business.
SSTL Vision
Every hotel enterprise in Seychelles integrates sustainability practices in their business operations.
SSTL Mission
To encourage hotels in Seychelles to mainstream sustainability practices into their business operations to safeguard the biodiversity and culture of Seychelles, by:
- Assisting operators in improving the sustainability of their operations with useful tips and advice.
- Motivating operators to improve the sustainability of their operations by providing them tangible incentives.
- Rewarding through the award of the Label, those operations that have successfully improved the sustainability of their operations.
The SSTL seeks to encourage and guide improvements in sustainability outcomes. As such the project is as much an educational process as it is an examination process.
What is a Sustainable Business?
A sustainable business is one that uses its resources today in such a way that the business can continue to be productive in the future. Sustainability is about the natural environment but also includes consideration to the human and economic resources on which future success depends.
SSTL certified members
The SSTL is presently applicable to hotels of all sizes. To date, seventeen hotels and tourism businesses have been certified as being compliant with SSTL criteria, which is a third-party assessed, points-based certification scheme that encompasses management, waste, water, energy, staff, conservation, community, and guests.
Commenting on the partnership, Tourism Tattler’s publisher, Des Langkilde said “We look forward to featuring each of these worthy SSTL certified properties in future editions of our ‘Africa’s Sustainable Tourism Gems’ series, and to highlight the role that the Seychelles, as an eco-friendly African destination, contributes to the United Nations SDGs.”
For more information visit www.sstl.sc or Africa’s Sustainable Tourism Gems
