BHUTAN: Becoming the Greenest Country in the World

The SUSTOUR project is an innovative and practical approach to improving Sustainable Consumption and Production in Bhutan’s tourism sector. Including all of the tourism value chain: tour operators, hotels, restaurants, guides and transportation, the project has introduced international standards of awards and certification as well as developed low carbon and carbon neutral tourism packages with strong international market appeal. By combining international and local expertise with an extensive stakeholder engagement process, the SUSTOUR project ensures broad support for three world-class initiatives:
Tour Operator Awards!
Since 2021, more than 90 tour operators have participated in SUSTOUR Travelife workshops to prepare their sustainability reports, strengthening their business operations and become better travel businesses. We are proud to announce that the first 16 companies have successfully been awarded Travelife PARTNER status! 
Bhutan Green Hotels Standard
An amazing World First, the SUSTOUR project has developed Bhutan Green Hotel standard, which will be applied to every accommodation in Bhutan! Aligned with international standards and developed since 2017 through extensive stakeholder engagement and testing, this will make Bhutan the first country in the world to have a country-wide sustainability assessment system for hotels.
  Low Carbon and Carbon Neutral Tourism Packages
In recognition of Bhutan’s unique and extensive approach to sustainability, the SUSTOUR project is piloting a Greenhouse Gas calculation system that can be applied to business operations and tourism packages. The first output is the assessment of 16 tourism products, for example, Taktsang, Punakha Tshechu, Haa homestays and the Paro International Airport. These products, as well as the Bhutan Green Hotel standard and the Travelife PARTNERs will be promoted to 500 international tourism companies at ITB Berlin in March 2024!
 
Sustainability and Net Zero Carbon tourism products are the hottest topic in international tourism, the SUSTOUR project has introduced world-class practices and tools to Bhutan. The launch of these initiatives is expected to generate strong interest in Bhutan’s tourism products by travel media, online travel agents and traditional operators.