Commitment for sustainable tourism Girona Biosphere

In mid-2023, the Chamber of Commerce of Palamós took the initiative to encourage tourism companies and entities in the province of Girona to work and develop their operations and economic activities under the standards and criteria of Biosphere sustainability certification. This procedure replicates the example of the Chamber of Commerce of Barcelona and the Diputació de Barcelona, who have been implementing the Commitment to tourism sustainability Barcelona Biosphere since 2017 to companies and entities in the province of Barcelona and consists of promoting individualized technical assistance through advice and support from an expert advisor in sustainability during the process.

The types of companies that can participate in this certification are mainly touristic and range from hotels, tourist apartments, guides, rural houses, campsites, tourist transportation, beaches, tourist offices, restaurants, travel agencies, active tourism companies, museums, interpretation centers and nautical bases, among others.

Individualized technical assistance, although to a lesser extent, is repeated year after year to ensure that the volume of companies and entities that obtain certification can renew their commitment annually. For this reason, the Chamber of Commerce of Palamós makes public the tender to allow the participation of tourism consulting companies in the implementation of certification (both new membership and renewal of the same) through appropriate advice from 2023. And, in this scenario, the Pax team is proud to be able to advise tourism organizations in Girona since its inception in November 2023, given the extensive experience of the team in advising on tourism sustainability.

The first consultancies for the Girona Biosphere Tourism Sustainability Commitment started in November 2023. Thanks to Pax#’s previous experience advising companies in Barcelona on the Biosphere Commitment of this destination, the consulting team already had the training and skills to execute the object of the contract.

The process followed consists of, after the initial introductory training issued by the Chamber of Commerce, the people responsible for each organization are contacted by the assigned consultants to close a calendar of assistance that will best suit both the needs of the project, the entity’s own activity, and the people involved. The meetings are held electronically and in person and begin with knowledge of the entire procedure to obtain the certification, the best practices manuals, the characteristics of each requirement, the provision of evidence and the management of the online platform. Each Manual consists of 5 groups of questions or compliance requirements that are classified as: Climate change, Environment, Social, Economy and Culture.

An important point of the procedure is the preparation of the Annual Improvement Plan, where this set of concrete actions is defined as being implemented within the organization in future planning of its operations, to achieve new standards of services, environmental respect and empathy with the local community. Sustainability training is also a relevant aspect within the membership and renewal process, as well as ensuring the availability of indicators that allow the correct monitoring of sustainability goals, to hold an annual collective session together with other companies that are part of the certification, expand communication tools and raise awareness on sustainability for both workers and tourists, among others.

At the end of the period to work on compliance with the necessary requirements to obtain or renew the certification, companies go through two external audit processes (one by the Sustainability Table made up of public administration profiles, and another by part of the Responsible Tourism Institute), and if favorable, they obtain the certificate and are invited to a diploma ceremony.

Sustainability is a path, a process that leads to better results for organizations, and that goes far beyond being a short-term objective. Sustainability is fed and nourished by the efforts of all the agents involved in the provision of the tourism service, be they workers, suppliers, associated companies and even the users themselves. True sustainability requires perseverance, determination and a healthy conviction of wanting to move forward positively, contemplating the benefit of all the actors in the territory.

We hope that this project will have a lot of success in the regions of Girona, and that Pax# will be able to continue advising the tourist companies of this destination that we know so well, thus having the opportunity to generate lasting and genuine long-term links and relationships.