The 7th Edition of the Sustainable & Social Tourism Summit 2023 in León, Guanajuato successfully begins

Leaders, experts and professionals from the tourism industry came together in the initial activities to begin to address crucial issues related to sustainability and social impact in tourism.

Opening ceremony:

The first day of the event was marked by an opening ceremony that brought together a distinguished list of participants, including government authorities, leaders of international organizations and representatives of the tourism sector. Notable participants included:

Lic. Diego Sinhué Rodríguez Vallejo, Governor of the State of Guanajuato, who expressed his commitment to promoting sustainable and social tourism in the region.
Dr. Fernando Mandri Bellot, President of the Committee of the Sustainable and Social Tourism Summit, who highlighted: "We want everyone to leave with a task and commitment to make a better world, let's take action!"

“We believe that there is no better way to move forward and generate change than by getting together, discussing, seeking and finding solutions that adapt new tools that replicate good practices, redesign public policies and, ultimately, find new and better ways of doing things together. , because generating true, fair and responsible development is an outstanding debt that we have as a sector, towards the local communities and the environment", emphasized Fernando Mandri Bellot, when officially inaugurating the most important event in Latin America that has revolutionized and promoted sustainable and socially responsible tourism.

Ing. Marco Antonio Espinosa Magaña, General Director of Tourism Sustainability and representative of the Secretary of Tourism of Mexico, Miguel Torruco Marqués.
mtro. Juan José Álvarez Brunel, Secretary of Tourism of the State of Guanajuato.
Mr. Dirk Glaesser, Director of Sustainable Tourism of the World Tourism Organization, who shared international perspectives on sustainable tourism.
Mrs. Isabel Novoa, President of the International Organization of Social Tourism.
Lic. María Isabel Ortiz, Secretary of the Environment and Territorial Development of the State of Guanajuato.
Lic. Alejandra Gutiérrez Campos, Municipal President of León, who shared the vision of the city for responsible and beneficial tourism for the local community.
Mr. Jair Urriola, Executive Secretary of the Central American Commission for Environment and Development.
Mr. Carlos Tejeda, UNESCO Mexico Culture Coordinator.
Lic. Juan Enrique Suárez del Real Tostado, President of the Association of Secretaries of Tourism of Mexico (ASETUR).

The opening of the Sustainable and Social Tourism Summit marked the start of three days of dialogues, panels and discussions on how tourism can be a positive force for social and environmental change. Participants come together for the purpose of exploring solutions and sharing best practices that can drive positive transformation in the tourism industry.

The Award for Sustainable and Social Tourism of Ibero-America was awarded for the second time, the objective of which is to recognize the actions and initiatives of a permanent nature developed by associations, companies, organizations from the private, public and social sectors, which are committed to sustainable tourism, solidarity and socially responsible, and that are exemplary and inspiring for the development of a new tourism model at a global level.

The winners were:

In the "Civil Society Organizations" category, the winner is: Senderismo sin límites, a project presented by the Fundación Eres de Chile. Received the award: Glenda Durán Caro.

In the category "Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise" the winner is: Experiential Tour - Colca Valley, project presented by Giardino Tour Operator of Peru. Received the award: Lourdes Pérez-Witch.

In the category "National or international company" the winner is: Digitization and access to markets for sustainable and community tourism projects in Mexico, a project presented by Rutopía de México. Received the award: Nubia Murillo.

In the "Public Sector" category, a tie was declared between two initiatives: Colibrí Viajero, a project presented by the Ministry of Tourism of the Government of Mexico City, and Expo Verde #AhorraTeTocaATi, a project presented by Expo Verde Convenciones Puebla. Received the award: Nathalie Desplas and Humberto Domínguez, respectively.

The jury decided to award a special mention to the project: La Inspiración, postulated by the organization of the same name in Costa Rica.

Sessions and meetings of Associations, Chambers, Governments and Organizations.

In addition to the inauguration, this day some sessions and work meetings were held by Associations such as: ASETUR (Association of Secretaries of Tourism of Mexico AC), National Association of State Environmental Authorities (ANAAE), Women's Association of Executives of Tourism Companies (AFEET), GIZ Caribe Circular - PROCEP - Exchange management of waste in hotels, Guanajuato Tourism Observatory Technical Group, International Social Tourism Organization (ISTO), Belgium and Sustainability in Hotels by Hospitalitas.

Acerca del Sustainable & Social Tourism Summit®

Considered the most important sustainable and social tourism event in Latin America, the Sustainable & Social Tourism Summit held its first edition in 2017. In its 6 previous editions, the "Summit" has brought together more than 3,150 participants, 250 international and national speakers. Its speakers have come from more than 35 countries on the 5 continents and it has had the participation of all the states of the Mexican Republic.