At Agoda, we are committed to transforming travel into a force for good and making sustainable travel options more accessible to everyone. Our employees engage in skill-based volunteering to support local tourism communities, sharing their expertise to help these communities thrive. We also invite travelers to contribute to the preservation of the destinations they visit, ensuring their travels have a positive and lasting impact.
In 2022, we became the first global online travel agency to offer sustainability training programs to our partner hotels, in collaboration with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). Subsequently, we expanded our efforts by partnering with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to enhance access to sustainability education for hoteliers across Asia.
Presently, we have empowered hundreds of hoteliers to adopt sustainable practices and set meaningful sustainability goals, benefiting both the environment and the local communities that rely on tourism.
How It All Started: Partnering with GSTC
We continually seek opportunities to collaborate with public and private organizations. For instance, the partnership between Agoda and GSTC was born out of a shared vision for promoting sustainable travel. Recognizing GSTC’s global role in setting sustainability standards that underpin the work of certification bodies in certifying hotels, we began working with them in 2022 to provide in-person sustainability training programs to hoteliers from our partner hotels. The goal was clear: to support hoteliers on their sustainability journey, helping them achieve global standards and attain certification for their hotels.
“Our responsibility is to raise awareness about sustainability among both our consumers and accommodation partners. We are thrilled to support the industry in developing the knowledge and working towards third-party certifications,” shares Omri Morgenshtern, Agoda’s CEO.
The in-person training programs offered by GSTC and Agoda equip hoteliers with the skills and knowledge necessary to implement more sustainable tourism practices and adopt policies that meet the GSTC Criteria, the global standards for sustainability in travel and tourism. Upon successful completion of the training, participants receive a certificate of attendance and fulfill the training requirement for earning the GSTC Professional Certificate in Sustainable Tourism.
Broadening Horizons: Collaborating with USAID
The initial partnership between Agoda and GSTC was designed to bring small groups of hoteliers together in select countries. Then, in 2024, we partnered with USAID to launch the Sustainable Tourism Development Initiative, which helped us expand the scope and reach of our training offerings across Southeast Asia and beyond, reflecting the growing awareness and urgent need for a shift towards more sustainable travel.
As a result of this initiative, we embarked on a substantial expansion of our in-person sustainability training programs and began developing a self-paced digital sustainability training platform, as well as establishing a sustainability scholarship fund.
Program Highlights: Sustainable Travel Success in Numbers
2022: The Singapore Tourism Board (STB) and the Singapore Hotel Association (SHA) jointly launched the Hotel Sustainability Roadmap as part of Singapore’s ambition to become a top sustainable urban destination. In support of this roadmap, we hosted our first training program with GSTC in Singapore, welcoming 50 hotel professionals. Following that, we collaborated with the Tainan City Government to bring the training to another 30 hoteliers in Tainan, Taiwan.
2023: We partnered with the Ministry of Tourism and Sports (MOTS) and the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) to conduct our third training session in Bangkok, Thailand. Next, we hosted a training session in Goa, India, in line with the ‘Travel for LiFE’ initiative, which expanded our reach to over 200 hoteliers in total.
2024: In partnership with USAID, we expanded our in-person training sessions to five locations over seven months, reaching Jaipur, India; Kathmandu, Nepal; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Cebu, the Philippines, and Bali, Indonesia. We conducted these sessions in collaboration with local hotel associations and tourism boards in each country to ensure wider access to our trainings. With the conclusion of the year’s training sessions in Bali in October, we’ve reached nearly 500 hoteliers to date.
“From our initial partnership with GSTC to our expanded collaboration with USAID, our journey has focused on equipping hoteliers with the skills and knowledge to champion sustainable travel. It’s very rewarding to build a network of responsible tourism leaders from our partner hotels,” shares Boratay Uysal, Agoda’s Senior Sustainability Manager.
What’s Next: A Focus on the Future of Sustainable Travel
Our digital sustainability training platform, the Sustainable Tourism Academy, co-developed with GSTC and USAID, is launching soon. It offers localized, interactive learning modules, supplementary study materials, and quizzes. All materials will be available in English and regional languages, tailored to address the unique sustainability challenges in the region. This will enable us to deliver sustainability training to a broader audience.
By working together with partners like USAID and GSTC, we hope to create a more sustainable future for travel—one that benefits both travelers and the local communities they visit.
