We’re proud to announce we have signed up to the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, an initiative of the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), as the reference framework for responsible, sustainable tourism. The signing ceremony took place on 17 January at the UNWTO stand at Fitur, with Vincci Hoteles’ general manager Carlos Calero in attendance. He explained how at Vincci Hoteles, since our creation, one of our hallmarks has been our commitment to social and environmental causes and he stressed the importance of initiatives such as this within the company.
The route to responsible, sustainable tourism
Carlos Calero said that the way to carrying out sustainable tourism is through the implantation of measures aimed at sustainability and the restructuring of internal programmes, among other items, but also in establishing action protocols. “Often it is these small actions, in the day to day activity of the company, which produce major overall results”, said our general manager. “That’s why we need to form habits and be relentless in the pursuit of certain actions which, at first glance, don’t appear to be individually so important, but which, however, taken together, result in a significant improvement in our surroundings”.
Meanwhile, the secretary-general of the UNWTO, Zurab Pololikashvili, highlighted the importance of the ethical code which aims to maximise the benefits of the sector, while at the same time minimising the negative consequences for the environment, cultural heritage and societies around the world. Adopted in 1999 by the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organisation, its recognition two years later by the United Nations explicitly encouraged the UNWTO to promote the substantive fulfilment of its provisions.
Vincci Hoteles and Corporate Social Responsibility
Since 2001, at Vincci Hoteles we are committed to various courses of action that are currently set out in our Corporate Social Responsibility Master Plan 2016-2018, which covers the entire company, and also takes stock of the objectives achieved so far, in turn setting out new challenges for the coming years. On the basis of this commitment, we have published an Annual Sustainability Report for the last five years.
The current plan ties together our mission and vision, based on three pillars: society, the environment and health, with the priorities being continuous improvement, optimisation of resources, control of consumption, reduction and management of waste, as well as respect for and protection of the cultural and social environment at all of our properties. For us it is vital to integrate quality and environmental management at each of its hotels; identify and comply with local, regional, national and EU laws and regulations in these areas; prevent, as far as possible, pollution; and promote the saving of energy and natural resources, both at an individual and a hotel level.
For more information please visit our company website Vincci Hoteles: Sustainable & Responsible (in Spanish). There you’ll find our commitments to society and the environment, as well as our achievements, which were recognised in 2016 by the Minister for Industry, with the presentation of the Medal for Merit in Tourism to our president, Rufino Calero Cuevas, in the Sustainability and Quality category.