About

    The Sustainable Destinations Top 100 was unveiled 27 September 2017 on World Tourism Day and Green Destinations Day. The awards celebrate the efforts of tourism destinations‘ responsible and sustainable tourism initiatives.

    The list is the result of open calls in newswires, social and business media. Destinations could be nominated by any interested party through a form that was available online.

    Nominators had to provide extensive information on the destination and on its efforts to make itself and its stakeholders more sustainable for the benefit of visitors, its local communities and the world. Information had to be provided about the extent the destination complies with the 15 core criteria of the Green Destinations Standard. Over 150 nominations were received. All nominations were evaluated by experts of the Green Destinations Top 100 Team and by members of the special Top 100 Selection Panel, that included 60 tourism sustainability experts.

    Sustainable Destinations Top 100 - full list and download

    Download the complete list here

    ARGENTINA Jūrmala
    Bariloche NETHERLANDS
    Tigre Ameland
    AUSTRIA Noordwijk
    Werfenweng Katwijk – Wassenaar
    BHUTAN Westvoorne – Hoek v Holland
    Kingdom of Bhutan Goeree-Overflakkee
    BOLIVIA Schouwen-Duiveland
    Madidi National Park Veere
    BOTSWANA Zuid-Limburg
    Chobe, Makgadikgadi & Okavango Delta NETHERLANDS – CARIBBEAN
    Selinda Reserve Bonaire
    BRAZIL Saba – St. Eustatius
    Ponta de Nossa Senhora MALTA
    Fernando de Noronha Gozo – Comino
    CANADA MEXICO
    Niagara River, Falls and Parkway Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve
    Great Bear Rainforest NIGERIA
    Dehcho-Akaitcho regions, Mackenzie Valley Cross River State
    Okanagan Valley, BC NORWAY
    Mackenzie Delta – Beaufort Sea, NWT/YT Svalbard
    COSTA RICA Geilo
    Costa Rica, special: Osa Peninsula Sognefjord
    CHILE REPUBLIC OF PALAU
    Isla Grande de Chiloe Republic of Palau
    Curacavi PHILIPPINES
    Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve Lake Holon
    Huilo Huilo Lake Sebu, South Cotabato
    CHINA Bojo, Aloguinsan, Cebu
    Yi Xian (Yi County), Anhui Province PORTUGAL
    Mt. Huangshan Oeste (West region)
    Jiuzhaigoiu Scenic Area Azores
    Sanqingshan World Heritage Site Peneda-Gerês National Park
    COLOMBIA Lagos
    Otun Quimbaya Fauna and Flora Sanctuary Cascais
    CROATIA Sintra
    Delnice RWANDA
    Town of Drniš Volcanoes National Park
    Town of Mali Lošinj SLOVENIA
    Gorski kotar Ljubljana
    Island Krk Slovenia Green Destinations
    Pula SOUTH AFRICA
    CYPRUS Cape Town
    Paphos district Grootbos Private Nature Reserve
    FRANCE SPAIN
    Bretagne (Britanny) Atlantic Islands of Galicia NP
    GERMANY Terres de l’Ebre
    Norderney & Juist Baiona, Galicia
    Bliesgau Biosphere Reserve Noja
    Uckermark SWEDEN
    GREECE Sigtuna
    Alonnisos, Northern Sporades Åre
    INDIA TAIJIKISTAN
    Khangchendzonga National Park Pamir Mountains
    Parambikulam Tiger Reserve TAIWAN
    INDONESIA Northeast and Yilan Coast
    Misool, Raja Ampat Cihalaay Cultural Landscape Area
    Plataran L’Harmonie, West Bali Barat NP TANZANIA
    IRELAND Chumbe Island (Zanzibar)
    Clonakilty THAILAND
    ITALY Tung Dap Village
    Best of Romagna TIMOR LESTE
    Montepisano in Toscana Atauro Island
    Cogne (Valle d’Aosta) UNITED KINGDOM
    JORDAN The Broads National Park, England
    Sharhabil Bin Hassneh Comrie, Scotland
    KENYA County Down, Northern Ireland
    Loisaba Conservancy Lough Neagh, Northern Ireland
    Mara Naboisho Conservancy UNITED STATES
    KOREA Jackson Hole & Yellowstone
    Dongbaekdongsan Desert View Grand Canyon NP
    Suncheon Bay Wetland URUGUAY
    LATVIA  Punta del Este

    Please note
    The Top 100 initiative aims to recognise tourism destinations that have worked hard to make a difference and take sustainability seriously. Nevertheless, no destination is sustainable for the full 100%. Also in the selected destinations important issues remain to be solved.

    Due to a lack of data, carbon emission of travellers is not currently taken into account in this competition. However, Green Destinations recommends travellers to avoid long haul travels and to compensate their carbon emissions.

    Methodology

    A global selection panel agreed on the final Top100 selection after a review process. The selection panel leaders are:

    Nomination of destinations

    Since March 2017 open calls for nominations were made through international networks and in various social networks.
    Nomination forms were sent to , providing the information to support the nomination:

    • a sustainability pitch
    • 5 pictures illustrating the sustainability pitch
    • clarification how the destination complies with the 15 Core criteria of the Green Destinations Standard

    15 Core Criteria from the Green Destinations Standard

    Sustainability coordinator
    Sustainable tourism policy
    Nature protection
    Respect for animals
    Protection of landscape & scenery
    Waste water treatment
    Solid waste reduction
    Reduction of fossil fuel dependency
    Cultural heritage conservation
    Protection of intangible heritage
    Protection of people
    Inhabitants involved in tourism
    Promoting local products
    Health & safety prevention
    Accessibility for disabled

    Find below the Eligibility criteria for admission to the nomination process.

    Eligibility criteria

    Countries, states, regions, cities, towns, or protected areas were eligible if the following conditions were met:
    1. An administrative organisation, governance structure, or a destination management organisation (DMO or DMC) is responsible for tourism destination management and sustainability;
    2. A destination would usually not be smaller than 50-100 sq km, and not larger than 40,000 sq km.
    3. Accommodations, single buildings, attractions and theme parks are considered not eligible: eco-lodges may be eligible if they have a recognised and strong stewardship for a large area that is otherwise not managed.

    Selection of destinations

    The 2017 edition of the Sustainable Destinations Top 100 is the result of a colaborative effort of over 30 evaluators, lead by the Selection panel.

    Selection took place on the basis of information provided by nominating experts and destinations, and has taken into accountt.

    The selection process was informed and supported by  the Sustainable Destinations Top 100 Selection Panel, consisting of ca. 40 international top experts on tourism and sustainability:

    2017 Selection panel

    Amy McLoughlin Wild Asia
    Anna Carolina Lobo, Fabricio Scarpeta WWF Brazil
    Andrea Nicholas Green Tourism
    Andres Fellenberg van der Molen Green Partner
    Anne-Kathrin Zschiegner The Long Run
    Antonio Pezzano Destination Management Insiders (DMI), Italy
    Aysegul Cil QualityDestination (Ambassador SE Europe and Turkey)
    Brian Mullis Sustainable Travel International (STI)
    Cristina Nunez NECSTouR
    Fabián Román Fundación Plan21, Argentina
    Florian Kaefer Place Brand Observer
    Hamira Zamani-Farahani Astiaj Tourism Research and Consultancy Center, Iran
    Heidi van der Watt Better Tourism Africa
    Herbert Hamele ECOTRANS; DestiNet, Germany
    Hugo de Jong Green Destinations
    Jana Apih Institute Factory for Sustainable Tourism – Goodplace
    Jim Sano WWF USA
    José Maria de Juan Alonso European Alliance for Responsible Tourism and Hospitality (EARTH)
    Julie Middleton The Travel Foundation
    Karmen Mentil Alpine Pearls, Austria
    Leana Paula Bernardi Blue Flag, Brazil
    Lida Pet PT Hatfield Indonesia
    Lonneke de Kort HIBS; BookDifferent
    Magdalena Muir IEELS; University of Calgary, Canada
    Mario Hardy Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)
    Marion Hammerl Global Nature Fund, International Living Lakes Network
    Marloes Van de Goor Earth Travel / IIAE, Canada / NL
    Martha Honey Center for Responsible Travel (CREST)
    Mihee Kang [Korea]
    Muhammed Nahar Minla Strategy, India
    Natalia Ferrer Sustainability Leaders
    Natalia Naranjo University of Bogota, Colombia
    Natasha Ilijeva Acevska NALAS – Network of Associations of Local authorities of South East Europe
    Naut Kusters ECEAT; Travelife
    Niek Beunders Development Institute Ghana; consultant on sustainable tourism dev.
    Patricio Azcárate Díaz de Losada Biosphere Responsible Tourism, ITR
    Patrizia Modica European Tourism Indicator System (ETIS)
    Peter Prokosch Linking Tourism & Conservation
    Peter Richards [Thailand]
    Prof. Ramunas Povilanskas Dep. of Recreation and Tourism, Klaipeda University, Lithuania
    Rachel Feng University of Shanghai, China
    Siegfried Manzel Green Guides; Mantour, Germany
    Susan Santos de Cardenas Society for Sustainable Tourism & Development Inc. (SSTDI)
    Susana Inés Sandoval Viajero Responsible, Argentina
    Uwe Sturmann  [Southern Africa]
    Prof. Xu Honggang Sun Yat-Sen University, China
    Pekka Alhojarvi [Finland]
    Arild Molstad [Norway]
    Bel Kambach St. Cloud State University, USA
    Glenn Jampol Global Ecotourism Network (GEN)
    Todd Comen Johnson State College, Vermont, USA
    Download 2016 Top100 list

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