Barcelona is the first city in the world that has been awarded "Biosphere World Class Destination" certification by the Institute of Responsible Tourism (ITR), an entity associated with UNESCO’s World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and a member of GSTC (Global Sustainable Tourism Council), sponsored by the United Nations Foundation.
The Catalan capital is now the first city in the world to obtain Biosphere certification, reflecting its responsible tourism management and backing up its claim to be a sustainable tourism destination, thanks to a previous commitment made by the City of Barcelona and Barcelona’s Tourism Consortium (Barcelona Convention Bureau).
The city received the certification from the President of the Institute of Responsible Tourism, Tomas Azcarate, and the President of UNESCO in Spain, Luis Ramallo, during the annual GSTC meeting held in Barcelona.
Recognising the Catalan capital as a quality tourist destination-validated by an external audit-, is one of the goals outlined in the city’s Strategic Tourism Plan 2010-2015, which aims to ensure responsible and sustainable economic, socio cultural and environmental tourism development.
With this "Biosphere World Class Destination" certification and the implementation of the so-called System of Responsible Tourism, Barcelona now becomes a watershed for a tourism model that promotes a balance between residents and visitors in order to ensure sustainability and the continued future success of this phenomenon.
According to this vision, tourism is not seen as just as a closed off and independent economic sector, but rather something clearly related to the city and its economic, territorial, social and cultural aspects.
Among other things, it takes into account the conservation and protection of the destination’s natural and cultural heritage and the preservation of local traditions.
The application of a Responsible Tourism System in Barcelona means that the city is positioned as a quality tourist destination, a leader that is innovative, accountable and sustainable, and this has taken the form of concrete measures like corporate social responsibility, a service quality that provides for the management of environmental effects.
This city’s strengths include a commitment to public transport, energy saving (efficient lighting) and water saving measures and these are specific examples of the policies applied by Barcelona, in a similar line to IRT.
Barcelona's commitment to sustainable tourism
Barcelona's commitment to sustainable tourism will move it forward to a new model of tourism development based on the principles of sustainability, cultural diversity and social responsibility and this translates into the following action lines:
1. Promoting an international debate on issues relating to cultural diversity and sustainability and its link to tourism development in social, professional or scientific forums.
2. Developing media awareness and forms of cooperation between all those involved with the target of safeguarding and highlight the value of cultural diversity and a better understanding of tangible and intangible heritage assets.
3. Promoting and facilitate the exchange of knowledge and best practices designed to promote responsible tourism through cultural diversity and sustainable development.
4. Promoting and showcase projects to serve as benchmarks for sustainable tourism development and highlight the cultural diversity of destinations.
5. Incorporating cultural diversity as core drivers in research programs, specialized training and education in tourism.
6. To promoting the application of new information technologies and communication as a tool to value the cultural diversity of destinations and thus improve for tourists’ understanding of this resource.
7. Incorporating policies and strategies for the preservation and enhancement of cultural and natural heritage in the process of tourism planning, paying special attention to intangible heritage, given the fragility of this resource.
8. Contributing to the creation, development and implementation of new products and activities that facilitate a respectful use of cultural and natural heritage assets.
