The 'Sustainability Movement' is underway, aiming to raise awareness and support all stakeholders in the tourism sector to undertake a change of attitude in the environmental, social, cultural, and economic domains.

Porto & North Tourism Board is strongly committed to seeing the destination certified as a 'Sustainable Destination'. The road to sustainability is unavoidable and a goal embraced by the entire sector, increasingly aware that this is the path that will ensure the prosperous future of the tourism industry.

To achieve this goal in the region's tourism, the 'Sustainability Movement' was created, which is working to qualify and promote the destination's private sector in the environmental, social, cultural, and economic fields.

Luís Pedro Martins, the President of Porto & North Tourism Board, is an enthusiast of this cause and believes that 'in the near future, the destinations that will stand out the most will be those that are socially responsible, prioritise the preservation of their natural resources, value their heritage identity, and adopt irreproachable behaviours.'

He was particularly pleased to announce that Porto & North Tourism Board is a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (CGCT), the world's leading organisation in this field, which will support the region in the certification process.

He also noted 'a growing concern among sector stakeholders to embrace this issue, minimising the tourist footprint and its environmental, economic, and social impacts, and restructuring their offer to address these concerns, which are increasingly taken into account by tourists when deciding on a destination to visit. And we want to do this work by fighting any attempt at greenwashing. The worst thing we can do in this regard is to sell a false promise, so the Movement is also a moment of accountability, it's a first step towards real and serious Certification.'

A change in mindset throughout the value chain, which can also be seen in issues such as 'the energy transition, the circular economy agenda, digitalisation, and workforce training.'

This change in behaviour is already visible in the way many tourism companies prioritise sustainability issues, particularly in low-density areas, knowing how important the sector is for the economic and social development of the regions.

The development of the 'Sustainability Movement'

The 'Sustainability Movement' is a wide-ranging initiative that involves all partners in the tourism sector to follow a strategic sustainable path through the 'Being Sustainable Tourism' programme, which resulted from careful consultation with a number of players who, despite being aware of and willing to join this commitment, had a series of difficulties in taking this step. Companies that want to commit to this initiative with the destination should express their interest through the micro-site https://sustentabilidade.onortelaemcima.pt/.