On 19-22 June 2018, Green Destinations implemented a Sustainable Destinations Training Course under the theme "Tourism for Peace and Prosperity" in connection to the 3rd International Water Safety Symposium in Incheon, Korea.

Catherine GERMIER-HAMEL, Founder & CEO of Millennium Destinations, partner of Green Destinations for France and French overseas territories, attended the training course together with 20  tourism professionals from the public and private sectors in various Asian countries 

The course was organized in cooperation with Asian Ecotourism Network, Sustainable Travel Taiwan, the Foundation for Environmental Education Korea, and PlayForest. 

The course was presented by an international team of five trainers, with strong expertise in destination sustainability:

• Drs. Albert Salman (Netherlands), Founder and President, Green Destinations. Founder of the QualityCoast Awards Program and of the Sustainable Destinations Top 100.
• Dr. Mihee Kang (Korea), President, PlayForest Cooperative. Program Director for Asia-Pacific, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), Member, Korean UNESCO MAB Committee. Member, Jeju UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
• Mr. Masaru Takayama (Japan), Founder and Chair, Asian Ecotourism Network (AEN). President, Spirit of Japan Travel.
• Mrs. Monique Chen (Taiwan), Director, Sustainable Travel Taiwan. Green Destinations Representative in Taiwan.
• Dr. Alan Wong (Hong Kong), Lecturer, China MSc Program Leader, School of Hotel and Tourism Management, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong.

​The contents of the course included: 

• The global framework: the Global Sustainable Tourism Council and its Destination Standard (GSTCD), and the Green Destinations Program and Standard.
• How to become qualified as Destination Coordinator, Destination Advisor or Destination Auditor.
• Marketing benefits of destination sustainability.
• Green Destinations Approach: focus on the 30 Core Criteria of the Top 100; how to make progress.
• Sustainable Destinations Top 100: Introduction to the program, how to make a self-assessment, how to make an eligible nomination; how to win a special Award at ITB Berlin 2019.
• The role of the business sector in developing a sustainable destination. 

On July 5, 2018, the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) announced that Green Destinations had achieved the ‘GSTC-Accredited’ status. The awarded status affirms Green Destinations’ commitment to promoting sustainable destinations.
Read GSTC's release here. 

About Green Destinations
Green Destinations has developed a GSTC-Recognised destination standard and a GSTC-Accredited certification scheme. Green Destinations works with 250 destinations in various programs and  in partnership with National Tourism Board Slovenia, QualityCoast, the Sustainable Top 100, and ITB Top 100 Awards, a.o.
​In all its work, Green Destinations support places, regions and countries in adopting its so-called G.R.E.E.N. values:

• Genuine and authentic: supporting the celebration of local culture and tradition;
• Responsible: defending people against exploitation, human rights violation, and disruptive mass tourism (over-tourism);
• Economically sustainable: involving the local business community and enhancing local community employment during and beyond the holiday season;
• Environment & climate-friendly: combating climate change and environmental degradation whilst ensuring public health and safety;
• Nature, scenery & animal-friendly: protecting scenic views, habitats and wildlife, and respecting animals that are used in tourism.​

On June 16, 2018, the French-Korean expert group "Ensemble" organized its first Eco-Quartier Seminar in Suwon city, Korea.
Titled "Urban Agriculture and Carbon Negative", this seminar inaugurated a series of monthly mini-conferences in Suwon under the theme "Future cities and ecology", with a variety of topics such as eco-design and architecture, sustainable & smart urban tourism & hospitality, citizen sciences, biophilic cities etc.  
The members of "Ensemble" ("together" in English) are: Catherine GERMIER-HAMEL, Founder & CEO of Millennium Destinations, Hortense SERRET, Doctor in Ecology and Post-doctoral Researcher at Ewha Womans' University in Seoul, KIM Tae-Hyun, Founder & CEO of In Vitro Plant, specialist in Urban Agriculture, and KIM Seong-hun, Eco-Architect, Co-Director of Geeum Plus.  

The 2018 Korea World Travel Fair - KOTFA - took place in Seoul in June 14 to 17.
At the initiative of Michalis TOANOGLOU, Head of Department of​ Global Hotel Management Department of Woosong University, Catherine GERMIER-HAMEL, Founder & CEO had a meeting  with members of the Greek delegation to discuss future collaboration for the promotion of Greece to the Korean tourism market. 
The delegation was led by Mr. Michael MICHAILIDIS, Head of the Market Research Department at the Greek National Tourism Organization, Ministry of Tourism.