- BMOTA invested time in a series of capacity building and destination stewardship programs with GSTC.
- Participants in a GSTC Sustainable Tourism Training Program represented a cross-section of public and private sector organizations from various Bahamas destinations.
- GSTC has been working with several of The Bahamas Family Islands on workshops and programming.
During the COVID-19 global travel interruption in 2020, BMOTA invested time in a series of capacity building and destination stewardship programs with GSTC. Setting sustainable tourism development and management as a priority for recovery and resilience building, BMOTA arranged for staff and tourism industry stakeholders to participate in an online session of GSTC’s Sustainable Tourism Training Program (STTP). Participants represented a cross-section of public and private sector organizations from various Bahamas destinations, including New Providence, Andros, Harbour Island, Abaco, Eleuthera, San Salvador, Exuma, Long Island, Bimini, Cat Island and Grand Bahama Island.
In the months following, GSTC has been working with several of The Bahamas Family Islands on workshops and programming to support the establishment of Destination Stewardship Councils which will implement the GSTC Destination Criteria. Council members have expressed excitement about the opportunity to shape more sustainable development of their local communities. Both GSTC and The Bahamas look forward to sharing the results of this work in the coming months.
“The compelling physical beauty and geographic diversity of the Islands of The Bahamas make them a top destination for travelers from all ends of the earth year-over-year,” said the Hon. Dionisio D’Aguilar, Bahamas Minister of Tourism & Aviation. “We see it as our duty to ensure that we are doing all that we can to maintain the health our country’s environmental ecosystems and protection of its biodiversity for the future generations, and our alignment with GSTC is an essential step in that journey.”
“We are grateful to be a partner in GSTC’s global efforts and look forward to enhancing our commitment to sustainable tourism in The Bahamas, using their destination criteria as a critical guide to success,” remarked Kristal Bethel, Senior Director, Sustainable Tourism, the Bahamas Ministry of Tourism & Aviation.