"Miosótis Azores" programme recognised by Global Sustainable Tourism Council criteria - Communication

Secretaria Regional do Turismo, Mobilidade e Infraestruturas

The Regional Government has been formally informed that the "Miosótis Azores" programme has been internationally recognised according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) criteria, thus achieving the GSTC-Recognised status.

"Miosótis Azores" aims to reward good sustainability practices of tourist accommodation establishments in the Azores by assessing three environmental performance categories: Energy Management, Waste Management and Water Management.

The Azores are the first archipelago in the world to have achieved the international certification of "Sustainable Destination," according to the GSTC standards. This new recognition by one of the most prestigious institutions in the field demonstrates the safe and committed path that the Region has been following in raising its sustainability standards and projecting itself as one of the major references in terms of sustainable tourism.

The recognition granted to "Miosótis Azores" follows a technical restructuring of the programme undertaken by the Regional Secretariat for the Environment and Climate Change and the Regional Secretariat for Tourism, Mobility and Infrastructures, so as to adapt it to the GSTC standards and align it with the sustainable tourism strategy outlined for the Region, ensuring the sustainability standards of the entities operating in the tourism sector in the Azores.

This new version of the regulations is based on the four pillars of the GSTC criteria - Sustainable Management, Socioeconomic, Cultural and Environmental Principles - and the GSTC-Recognised status indicates that "Miosótis Azores" has been reviewed by the technical experts of this international entity and by the GSTC Assurance Panel. It has been considered equivalent to the GSTC criteria for sustainable tourism.

As part of this evolution of "Miosótis Azores," the official platform for the certification and management process of the Miosótis Certification will also be launched as an evaluation and performance system.

This new tool will be used for the analysis, ongoing monitoring and management of data, allowing certified entities to improve their social, economic, environmental and cultural impacts, always in compliance with the sustainability criteria recognised by the GSTC.

The application period for the Miosótis Certification will open in the last quarter of the year via the official project website: https://turismo.azores.gov.pt/miosotis/.