Great jubilation in Karlsruhe: The fan-shaped city receives certification as a sustainable travel destination at the Tourism Day
A pleasant surprise at the 15th Karlsruhe Tourism Day: On behalf of the entire city, First Mayor and Chairwoman of the Supervisory Board of KTG Karlsruhe Tourismus GmbH Gabriele Luczak-Schwarz received the "Sustainable Destination" certificate from the TourCert certification agency on October 19, 2023.
"I am delighted to receive this award, which was only possible thanks to the joint efforts of all of Karlsruhe's stakeholders," says Luczak-Schwarz. "The certification process has initiated so many ideas and measures that will make our tourism location even more future-proof, sustainable and interesting for our guests and citizens."
Enjoying and motivated by the certification process
"Happiness, pride and gratitude, these three words probably best describe how we all feel," says Pascal Rastetter, Managing Director of KTG Karlsruhe Tourismus GmbH, summarizing the mood of the KTG team and the tourism partners. "In July 2021, we set out to work together to make Karlsruhe a more sustainable destination. It was clear to us right from the start that this could only happen "from the head to the heart": We have to bring the topic of sustainability to life and start the certification process with a lot of joy and motivation."
This was confirmed by Marco Giraldo, Managing Director of TourCert gGmbH: "KTG was enthusiastic about the project right from the start. The employees have worked intensively on sustainable procurement, reducing the CO2 footprint and the company's social responsibility. As early as the development of the new KTG mission statement, which is an important step towards becoming a sustainable destination, we realized that this was not just a list of necessary certifications: Here, we don't just tick off lists of necessary certification measures, we live sustainability."
Award for strong sustainable partners
Together with KTG, 13 partners receive the "Sustainable Destination Partner" seal from Marco Giraldo at the Tourism Day. The award is valid for three years, during which the partner companies are involved in KTG's communication and marketing measures. In return, they undertake to comply with guidelines such as fair working conditions, the promotion of human rights and the protection of the environment and biodiversity.
"Without our tourism service providers, we cannot create sustainable products for our guests, which is why they are so important to us," explains Jana Kolodzie, Head of Tourism Development. Together with Head of Marketing Karén Weber, she acts as KTG's sustainability officer.
"Behind this certificate are many hours of intensive examination of their own business, online training and an external audit with expert interviews. We would therefore like to thank our certified partners for their commitment and are delighted that, thanks to their example, another 12 partners have opted for the certification process," says Kolodzie.
The first milestone for a sustainable future together
"The certification is a great success for all of us, but for KTG it is also an incentive not to let up in our efforts," adds Karén Weber. "We still have many plans for the future with our Sustainability Council or our cooperation partner Klimapaten, be it guest surveys on the topic of mobility, campaigns on healthy eating or motivational seminars for partners. In another exciting project, we want to create new sustainability criteria for cultural institutions with TourCert, because cultural institutions and creative artists are important role models and drivers for spreading sustainability to the general public."
Karlsruhe Tourism Day draws a successful conclusion to the 2023 Year of Indulgence
For the 15th time, KTG hosted the major networking event Karlsruhe Tourism Day on October 19, 2023 and welcomed more than 100 partners from the hotel and catering industry, representatives from politics and cultural institutions, tourism service providers and representatives from tourism associations to the new hospitality worlds at BBBank-Wildpark.
The new catering brand WildparkTaste made by Traube Tonbach shows guests how culinary delights can be raised to a new "sustainability level" and thus combines the two important annual themes in tourism 2023: Sustainability and enjoyment. As Karlsruhe was the official host city of the "Michelin Guide Ceremony" on April 4, the whole year revolves around indulgence under the motto "Karlsruhe. Have you tried it yet?"
The extensive annual program with numerous culinary events and activities proves to be a great success and ensures that Karlsruhe becomes a real insider tip for gourmet travelers. In addition to culinary city tours and group offers, wine seminars and mindful pleasure walks, the YummyTours gourmet tour can also be held in Karlsruhe for the first time and the "Dîner en Blanc" returns to its former glory. The positioning of Karlsruhe as a surprising and multifaceted city of pleasure is to be continued in 2024 under the motto: "City of joie de vivre."
Further information about the 15th Karlsruhe Tourism Day, the sustainable destination of Karlsruhe and the certification process can be found here: www.karlsruhe-erleben.de/partner
Further information about the internationally recognized certification body for sustainable tourism, TourCert, can be found here: https://tourcert.org/
