The development of sustainable and responsible tourism is the only viable way to address the challenges posed by climate change. “We live in a complex time,” says Jana Apih, Executive Director of the Green Destinations Foundation.
Dedicated to promoting sustainable tourism, this international non-profit organization held its Green Destinations Conference in Montpellier. The annual event brings together experts, engaged stakeholders, and innovators from around the world to share concrete solutions and best practices.
This year, the event was held in France for the first time. The foundation’s annual conference was held at the Corum Conference Center in Montpellier on September 29 and 30. The international sustainable tourism event brought together more than 400 specialists from 44 countries.
“We are in the right place here,” highlighted D’Arcy Dornan, Chair of the Green Destinations Foundation. The geographical area was selected largely because of local initiatives promoting sustainable tourism, such as “Vignobles & Découvertes” (Vineyards & Discoveries). “More than half of the destinations we select are in wine regions,” observed Jana Apih during the plenary session at the start of the conference. The Green Destinations Foundation organizes the Top 100 Stories competition, for which this year’s winners were announced at a gala ceremony on September 29 in the assembly room of the City Hall.
“In Occitanie, one of the regions most exposed to climate change, the tourism sector alone accounts for nearly 11% of greenhouse gas emissions, and tourism represents more than 120,000 jobs. Tourists these days are increasingly looking for green destinations. This means we need to adapt our offerings,” pointed out Céline Vachey, Regional Director of ADEME Occitanie at the beginning of the conference.
“Innovation in tourism consists of anticipating transitions by providing concrete responses to the challenges ahead,” added Emmanuel Bobin, director of Open Tourisme Lab, one of the four co-sponsors and co-organizers of the 2025 edition of the Green Destinations Conference, along with the Occitanie Regional Tourism and Leisure Committee, Ademe, and Montpellier’s local authorities.
To be sustainable, inclusive, and have positive impact, sustainable tourism must not produce unequal relationships between those who design systems and those who embody them, warned Saskia Cousin, sociology professor at Paris Nanterre University.
In her opinion, “hospitality is a major issue.” “Tourism is founded on local communities,” she explained. This is exemplified by the participatory initiatives undertaken in the Montpellier area, including the Sustainable Tourism Roadmap, which was developed in collaboration with residents and economic stakeholders.
Conferences
Nearly 400 professionals and stakeholders in sustainable tourism from 44 countries got together at the Corum Conference Center, with 108 speakers participating in plenary conferences and approximately twenty thematic workshops.
©K. Rueda
Top 100 Stories
The objective of this program is to share and promote exemplary destinations and businesses as a way to encourage and inspire destination management organizations, socio-economic professionals, and visitors to join the path of sustainable tourism.
©Olivier Octobre
Les Destinations Awards
The Green Destinations label is a responsible tourism certification created in 2014 by the Dutch foundation to reward commitments to sustainable tourism. 360 participants attended the gala evening at Montpellier’s City Hall, during which 50 tourism destinations received their certification during the awards ceremony, joining the ranks of 160 destinations worldwide already certified as Green Destinations, including 10 in Occitanie:
- La Grande Motte Tourist Office (Hérault): Gold
- Destination Pays d’Uzès Pont du Gard: Silver
- Tarn Attractivité: Silver
- Destination Tourmalet Pic du Midi (Hautes-Pyrénées): Silver
- Le Grau du Roi Port-Camargue (Gard): Silver
- Archipel de Thau Destination Méditerranée (Hérault): Silver
- OTI Pyrénées Méditerranée (Pyrénées-Orientales): Bronze
- La Domitienne Tourist Office (Hérault): Bronze
- Cap Sud 66 Attractiveness Agency (Pyrénées-Orientales): Bronze
- Armagnac and D’Artagnan Tourist Office (Gers): Bronze
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©Olivier Octobre
Eductour: “From Montpellier to the Sea”
Around 50 conference participants took part in the four “eductour” educational tours organized during the event. The “From Montpellier to the Sea” eductour attracted some fifteen participants of seven different nationalities (India, Slovenia, United States, Portugal, Belgium, Germany, and Italy).
©K. Rueda and Pia Penzo (OT)
A big thank you to the partners of the educational tours: Maison de la Nature, VNF, Montpellier Tourist Office, City of Montpellier, EPTB Lez, Les Compagnons de Maguelone, Montpellier Métropole’s Aquatic Environments and Flood Prevention Management Department, and Rêve de Vélo.
