Singapore achieves global destination sustainability award

STB said it will continue to engage its partners, build on the destination’s existing strengths and ramp up efforts in areas of improvement. The following are highlights of Singapore’s sustainability performance across the four pillars:

Sustainable management: Singapore is implementing multi-year strategies and action plans on sustainable management, such as the Singapore Green Plan 2030. Announced in 2021, the Green Plan charts Singapore’s ambitions and targets over the next 10 years, strengthens its commitments under the UN’s 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda and Paris Agreement, and positions the country to achieve net zero emissions by 2050.

Socio-economic sustainability: Singapore also demonstrated efforts to maximise the social and economic benefits of tourism for locals. These include supporting and spotlighting local entrepreneurs, providing a safe and secure working environment, a user-friendly built environment, as well as supporting career opportunities and training in tourism.

Cultural sustainability: Singapore has various initiatives to conserve and enhance its tangible and intangible heritage. For example, there are legislation and conservation guidelines to protect more than 7,200 conserved buildings, entire historical districts, and national monuments. The Singapore Botanic Gardens was named a Unesco World Heritage Site in 2015, making it the first and only tropical botanic gardens in Asia on Unesco’s World Heritage List.

Environmental sustainability: Singapore has implemented a range of measures to enhance greenery, strengthen ecological connectivity between green spaces, and conserve its biodiversity. For example, the OneMillionTrees movement, launched in 2020, aims to plant one million additional trees across Singapore by 2030 with the help of the community, and the target is on its way to being met. The country is also charting concrete targets and demonstrating real-world sustainability applications to manage its scarce resources.

“The commitment from Singapore’s tourism sector to support their national Singapore Green Plan 2030 is based on their holistic approach to sustainable tourism,” added Randy Durband, chief executive officer, GSTC.

“We see first-hand some of their efforts to engage key subsectors of tourism in meaningful ways. Gaining destination certification requires that level of commitment and holistic approach. We commend them and are pleased to support their efforts for continuous improvement.”