By
Rebecca Gibson |
Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd (RCL) has joined the new Sustainable Destinations Alliance for the Americas (SDAA), which was developed to increase the sustainability of popular tourist destinations in the Caribbean and Latin America.
Launched on 27 March at an event in Barbados, the SDAA consists of public and private entities including the Organization of American States (OAS), the Caribbean Tourism Organization, global non-governmental organisation Sustainable Travel International and the US Government through the United States Permanent Mission.
The initiative aims to help popular destinations address challenges such as climate change and safeguarding their natural and cultural assets, while developing a vibrant regional economy.
Currently, the SDAA is helping seven Caribbean and Latin American destinations to improve their sustainability efforts, three of which will be financed by RCL, while the OAS will fund the remaining four through the US Permanent Mission.
“It’s critical that companies look at ways they can have a positive impact in the places where they do business,” said Rich Pruitt, vice president, safety and environmental stewardship, RCL. “We want to see the uniquely beautiful destinations of the Caribbean and Latin American region thrive and we are committed to collaborating with the organisations that can work to move these destinations toward greater sustainability.”
Sustainable Travel International will conduct assessments in each of the seven destinations using its Rapid Destination Diagnostic tool, which provides data about the destination's sustainability status, a summary of destination management priorities, and valuable tool to help develop regional policies.
Destinations will also have access to the online Sustainable Tourism Professionals course, which is designed to facilitate implementation of sustainability practices and the SMART sustainability monitoring framework to track key performance metrics.
The aim is for these seven destinations to follow the successful implementation of similar pilot programmes in Cozumel, Mexico and Roatan, Honduras.
In addition, they can now complete sustainability self-assessments and learn how to prioritise sustainability practices by using the online Destinations for Tomorrow toolkit. By visiting a newly launched destinations website they can also become one of the 75 cruise destinations that Royal Caribbean plans to sponsor to complete a destination self-assessment.
The SDAA initiative will become a critical component of the OAS Sustainable Tourism Program over the next two years. It underscores the close inter-agency cooperation among the OAS and its regional partners, as well as the strong involvement of key stakeholders and the private sector.
“With the focus of this initiative on destination sustainability and management, we are strengthening our ability to assess issues that are critical to the competitiveness and destination product and to make targeted recommendations that, among other things, will help to ensure the maximization of benefits for local communities,” said Sherry Tross, OAS executive secretary for integral development. “For the OAS, it is important that these issues remain as an integral part of the sustainable tourism policy dialogue so we can respond effectively to the needs of our member states.”
The SDAA alliance aims to expand to more than 30 destinations over the next few years.