Following long-term efforts to steer operations along a more sustainable path and improve social and environmental impacts, Destination Asia Thailand has been awarded Partner status by Travelife. The official award ceremony took place at WTM 2017, when Destination Asia Thailand Managing Director Addie Hirunkate was presented with the Travelife Partnership Certificate by Naut Kusters, General Manager of Travelife for Tour Operators.
Travelife, which was originally established with the support of European travel associations, is the leading international sustainability certification in the travel sector. To achieve partner level, Destination Asia Thailand had to comply with more than 200 criteria, related to operators’ office management, product range, supply chain and customer information. The Travelife standard covers ISO 26000 Corporate Social Responsibility themes, including environment, biodiversity, human rights, and labor relations, and is formally recognized as in full compliance with the UN-supported Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria.
Since becoming a Travelife member, Destination Asia has joined with other DMCs as members of the ‘Elephant Camp Welfare and Sustainability Standard and Assessment Initiative’. At present, no widely accepted set of criteria and evaluation system is available for Elephant Camps in Asia. As a key member of the group, Destination Asia will help develop common standards and tools in order to jointly evaluate suppliers and, ultimately, motivate camps towards improved animal welfare and sustainability standards.
