Germany's Federal Competition for Sustainable Tourism Destinations
The Federal Competition for Sustainable Tourism Destinations strengthens the commitment of destination managers and businesses at the local level to a sustainable pathway and provides substantial publicity for the best initiatives currently in existence.
The Sustainable Development Criteria for German Tourism Destinations, published ahead of the competition in March 2016, provided practical guidance and recommendations for the development of sustainable tourism destinations. The Federal Competition is responsive to the content of this publication and the criteria were the basis for assessment by the jury.
The competition followed on from the first Federal Competition on Sustainable Tourism Regions in 2012/13. The aim was to raise the industry’s awareness of sustainability in the context of tourism, to encourage it to put the criteria into practice, and to support the development and diffusion of viable sustainable processes at the destination level. The competition was based on the 40 criteria defined in the DTV’s Sustainable Development Criteria for German Tourism Destinations and assessed performance in the following areas:
(1) Management
(2) Economic criteria
(3) Environmental criteria
(4) Social criteria
(5) Categories and lighthouse projects
27 applications for the award have been received in 2016 that were undergoing the examination toward selection of winners.
