The City Council strengthens this way its commitment to sustainable development and the SDGs through training for schools and businesses.
Benidorm begins efforts to promote its bid to join the International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories
5th and 6th grade students will participate in workshops on green energy, carbon footprint reduction, zero consumption, and water management
Benidorm City Council has already begun to promote its announced candidacy to join the World Tourism Organization's (UNWTO) International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO). These actions are aimed at raising awareness and disseminating the project "Improving and implementing sustainability systems and advancing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)."
These actions consist of up to 80 workshops in institutions, schools, institutes, and vocational training centres that are part of the roadmap that Benidorm will follow during 2025. These workshops will include talks for various groups, covering green energy, zero-consumption, sustainable gastronomic activities, local satisfaction with tourism, the economic benefits of the destination, seasonality and employment in tourism, water and wastewater management, solid waste management, and more, all of which are linked to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Last week, the workshops began in 13 schools across the city, aimed at 5th and 6th-grade students. They will be held in March
In these workshops, called "Seeds of the Future," students delve deeper into the aforementioned concepts through talks and specific projects. The objective is to raise awareness about the value of sustainable development aligned with the SDGs. For this reason, the Mayor of Benidorm, Toni Pérez, visited the Miguel Hernández school this morning, where this activity was taking place.
The workshops are structured around three main themes: responsible consumption, equity and inclusion, and healthy habits and personal well-being. The sessions apply the methodologies of the 5Rs of sustainability: recycle, reduce, reuse, recover, and repair. "It promotes teamwork and critical thinking among students and encourages them to find solutions within their reach to environmental and social problems while fostering empathy and conflict resolution," the mayor stated.
These activities also aim to strengthen the municipality's tourism quality through training for companies in the sector. In this regard, various training meetings have been held, as well as improvement groups, with the business community that is part of the Comprehensive System of Tourism Quality in Destinations (SICTED).
"These actions," the mayor stated, "represent a key step in consolidating Benidorm as a world leader in tourism quality and sustainability." All of this is done to obtain data and conduct an initial assessment of the indicators that Benidorm is already implementing and how to strengthen them and continue advancing in the implementation of the rest. This also includes establishing strategic alliances with other supra-municipal administrations at the provincial, regional, and national levels, as well as with other countries that are already part of INSTO.
Benidorm's candidacy, within the program 'Improvement and implementation of sustainability systems and progress in the SDGs', endowed with 45,000 euros, is one of the latest actions of the Sustainable Tourism Destination Plan 'Benidorm DTI + Seguro', jointly promoted by the Government of Spain, the Generalitat Valenciana and Benidorm City Council to continue advancing in safe, sustainable and smart governance by boosting Benidorm's tourism sector, with a total investment of more than 2,950,000 euros.
