Tourism

Global Tourism Report Recognizes Top Social Sustainability Destinations

A new report from the Sustainable Tourism Global Center (STGC) has identified 12 leading tourism destinations excelling in social sustainability. The assessment evaluated their impact on visitors and local communities, highlighting exemplary models within the industry.

The STGC emphasized that these destinations set a benchmark in the field by performing exceptionally across the five Social Sustainability Tourism Framework (SSTF) criteria: well-being, economic development, infrastructure and services, resilience, and governance and strategic planning.

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STGC

Founded by Saudi Arabia in 2021, the STGC seeks to drive sustainable transformation in tourism and track its progress. The report categorizes the top destinations as follows:

  • General category: Paris (France), Bucharest (Romania)
  • Well-being: Zurich (Switzerland), Taipei (Taiwan)
  • Economic development: London (United Kingdom), Sofia (Bulgaria)
  • Infrastructure and services: Copenhagen (Denmark), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
  • Resilience: Amsterdam (Netherlands), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
  • Governance and strategic planning: Queenstown (New Zealand), Santiago (Chile)

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In the report’s foreword, Minister of Tourism Ahmed Al Khateeb praised these destinations, stating that their success reflects innovation and collaboration—values he has witnessed firsthand. He underscored the importance of public-private partnerships in advancing social sustainability, highlighting Saudi Arabia’s commitment, through the STGC, to integrating expertise from academia, government, and the private sector to foster global tourism sustainability.

As the first report dedicated to measuring social sustainability in tourism, it assessed 121 destinations across 101 countries using the SSTF criteria. Paris emerged as the highest-ranking destination with a score of 402.22 out of 500, followed by Dublin, New York City, Berlin, and London.

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Paris was commended for its holistic tourism strategy, emphasizing community engagement, cultural preservation, and social inclusion. Bucharest was acknowledged as a “Leading Destination” for its multifaceted approach, despite not ranking among the highest scorers.

Individual Category Rankings:

  • Zurich led in well-being,
  • London topped economic development,
  • Copenhagen ranked first in infrastructure and services,
  • Singapore was recognized for resilience,
  • Queenstown excelled in governance and strategic planning.

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The report classified 32% of evaluated destinations as “Best Practices Destinations,” demonstrating high performance across all SSTF indicators. Another 27% were designated “Good Practices Destinations,” while the remaining locations were categorized as “Developing Destinations.”

The findings highlight tourism’s vital role in global economic development, contributing roughly 10% of the world’s GDP and acting as a catalyst for local growth. The report also aims to address the absence of benchmarking tools for measuring social sustainability in tourism, encouraging the adoption of best practices worldwide.

The STGC emphasized that this study serves as a global reference for best practices, fostering collaboration and knowledge exchange to accelerate sustainability efforts in the tourism sector.

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Best Practices Destinations

Among the “Best Practices Destinations” recognized in the report are Abu Dhabi, Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Berlin, Brussels, Bucharest, Budapest, Copenhagen, Dubai, Dublin, Hawaii, Helsinki, Istanbul, Lima, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Melbourne, Miami, New York City, Oslo, Paris, Prague, Quebec City, Riyadh, Rome, San Francisco, Stockholm, Sydney, Tallinn, Tokyo, Toronto, Vancouver, Vienna, Vilnius, Warsaw, and Zurich.

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