From the Director

Seasons greetings, everyone. My apologies for the long lag in posting. There has been a lot going on! Here’s what’s been happening at the Destination Stewardship Center and our allied organizations.

• The Autumn 2022  issue of the Destination Stewardship Report was mailed in November. Since the Report launched in mid-2020, we have accumulated more than 60 feature articles, all archived for easy reference at https://destinationcenter.org/dsr-introduction/ .
• We also have a new Index to content in all issues of the Destination Stewardship Report, as well as DSC blog posts and essays.
• Architecture & Placemaking is a fascinating new category under “Destination Appeal,” presented by Clara Copiglia and demonstrating examples of interaction between architecture, spaces, tourism, and destination quality.
• The Future of Tourism Coalition  held its first summit on 30 Sept., in Athens, Greece (the Destination Stewardship Center is one of six founding members). The main focus was on tourism and climate. Read more about it here.
• The Athens meeting was held in conjunction with our colleagues at Green Destinations. GD has been sponsoring the “Top 100” sustainability competition among destinations. The competition has evolved to focus now on the best stories of success, an improvement in my opinion. I serve as one of the Top 100 hundred judges – thankfully not for all the entries! It is a privilege, and I’m pleased to see the quality of submissions improving over time. Every one of recent issues of the Destination Stewardship Report have included a pair of informative Top 100 entries, most recently from Zambia and Greece. Check them out.
• Nice to receive this December geotourism newsletter from North America’s “Crown of the Continent” Geotourism Council, still going strong well into its second decade, with news on enlightened projects from one state and two provinces.
• My thanks and deep appreciation to the board of CREST for naming me this year’s winner of the Martha Honey Legacy in Responsible Travel Award at their World Tourism Day Forum on 27 Sept. Given CREST’s distinguished history and broad scope of work, it is quite an honor. I’ll try to live up to it.
• My thanks, too, to our volunteers who have helped so much with the content of this website and with the Destination Stewardship Report along with our colleagues at CREST and GSTC. The DSC is a collaborative undertaking. We invite all to help develop and spread the word about this knowledge center for sustaining and enhancing the places we love.

Best wishes to all for 2023!

— Jonathan B. Tourtellot, Director