Manic Monday | New Measures for Success

By now many of you will have seen the Press Release that formally announced the Thompson Okanagan as the newest Observatory selected by the United Nations World Tourism Organization, for participation in their INSTO program. But I am sure that most of you are scratching your head and saying what does that mean?

The acronym itself "INSTO" means the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories, but that again that really clears up nothing.

INSTO was initiated by the UNWTO to help assess if work being undertaken to ensure the long term sustainability of tourism, is in fact, moving the needle.  It monitors the actions and initiatives by organizations, such as ourselves,  worldwide to determine if there is a measurable impact.

In the longer term, it has and will provide factual and relevant information, measured over time,  that can assist in implementing sustainable practices, policies, strategies, and management. It works to ensure that tourism is not only playing a role in the protection of the Earth but most importantly that what we are doing is working. The insights are further shared among the participating observatories.

Locations are selected based on a lengthy application process that TOTA undertook this spring and summer, the outcome of which was the acceptance of the Thompson Okanagan Region in this world-leading initiative.

We would love to talk to you more about what this means and how you can get involved in this as a stakeholder in this region.  Please don't hesitate to contact our office and set up a time to meet with our team.

Glenn Mandziuk, TOTA President & CEO