TOKYO, 13 March 2019: JTB Global Marketing & Travel received the Travelife Partner status recently in recognition of the group’s efforts to establish sustainability.
JTBGMT complied with over 100 criteria related to operators’ office management, product range, international business partners and customer information.
The Travelife standard covers the ISO 26000 Corporate Social Responsibility themes, including environment, biodiversity, human rights and labour relations.
It is formally recognised as in full compliance with the UN supported Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC).
JTBGMT is the first company in Japan to achieve the status Travelife Partner, which gives the DMC the opportunity to be awarded with full Travelife Certification, confirming that the tour operator meets the GSTC standard.
Travelife manager for tour operators, Naut Kusters said: “I am delighted to see that sustainability in the tour operator sector is obtaining momentum.
“The award of the front runner JTB Global Marketing & Travel Inc. will inspire other companies in Japan to follow the same path”.
JTB Global Marketing & Travel president and CEO, Shinya ‘Billy’ Kurosawa added: “I am honoured to be certified a Travelife Partner as the first Japanese company. It is essential to promote sustainable tourism as one of the leading tourism industry players, because of the impact of tourism on the environment, culture and socio-economic factors.”
Travelife – established with the support of the European Commission – is the leading international sustainability certification for the travel sector.
More than 35 national travel associations are promoting the scheme to their members including ABTA, The British Travel Association, PATA and the Pacific Asian Travel Association. Since 2012, over 600 Asian companies have been trained in CSR with the support of the Dutch government’s CBI program.
