by Lacey Pfalz
Last updated: 11:03 AM ET, Tue August 17, 2021
Iberostar has joined Expedia Group and UNESCO to expand the UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge, which aims to promote responsible practices, community resilience and heritage conservation within the tourism industry.
More than 80 percent of Iberostar's properties are located along a coastline. The hotel company has committed to sustainability and conservation efforts in the past, with its most recent efforts including the Wave of Change initiative, which expanded its coral nurseries through its Protecting and Restoring the Mesoamerican Reef Project and works to promote sustainability initiatives throughout the resorts. Iberostar has also implemented strategies to become waste free, carbon neutral and grow its sustainably caught seafood initiative within certain time frames.
The UNESCO Sustainable Travel Pledge was created in 2019 as a partnership between UNESCO and Expedia Group to promote sustainable travel and heritage conservation. Iberostar's partnership means that it will promote the sustainable practices outlined on the pledge's website, which include things like sourcing resort essentials through local businesses and reducing plastic waste.
Ernesto Ottone R., Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, said, "An industry-wide approach is key to ensuring a resilient recovery for tourism that contributes to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. By joining the Pledge, Iberostar Group has made a firm commitment towards supporting our efforts to achieve truly sustainable tourism."
"As tourism returns, Iberostar's commitment to leading a responsible tourism model has only grown," said Dr. Megan Morikawa, Global Sustainability Director for Iberostar Group. "The UNESCO Pledge allows us to share not only our journey in our 2030 Agenda, but to share and learn from the network of tourism providers in the community of others who have taken the Pledge. We see this as a critical way for tourism to catalyze solutions in the face of current and future crises."
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