UNWTO Sustainability Seal For Two Salzburg Destinations
A great honor for Wagrain-Kleinarl and Zell am See-Kaprun: the two tourist resorts in SalzburgerLand were the only ones in Austria to be awarded “Best Tourism Villages” by the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). The seal is considered the most important award in terms of sustainable and natural tourism.
Over 130 communities from 57 countries had applied for the sustainability seal. In the end, only around 30 places worldwide were awarded – including two from Austria. Both are based in SalzburgerLand: Zell am See-Kaprun and Wagrain-Kleinarl were able to convince the international jury of experts, who made their assessment in the areas of cultural and natural resources, sustainability, regional value creation, infrastructure and health and safety.
Kraus-Winkler: "Recognition for Austria as a tourist location"
A few weeks ago, the official UNWTO award ceremony took place in Saudi Arabia. The Austrian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Georg Pöstinger, accepted the awards on behalf of the Austrian prizewinners and brought them to Austria, where Secretary of State for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler presented them to the local prizewinners.
“Our guests want authentic and natural holiday experiences, at the same time they pay more and more attention to ecology and sustainability and actively demand them. Wagrain-Kleinarl and Zell am See-Kaprun play a pioneering role as destinations here - in line with the tourism master plan - and have therefore rightly received the 'Best Tourism Villages' award," says Secretary of State for Tourism Susanne Kraus-Winkler. "This is important international recognition for Austria as a whole as a tourist location and another step towards making Austria one of the most sustainable destinations in the world - congratulations!"
Sustainability and regionality is Salzburg's core competence
For Leo Bauernberger, Managing Director of the SalzburgerLand Tourismus Gesellschaft (SLTG), the fact that the SalzburgerLand repeatedly stands out as a competence center for natural and sustainable tourism is no coincidence, but the result of a basic attitude that has been lived for decades. This core competence is also taken into account by the new tourism strategy in SalzburgerLand, which was only recently presented and which has defined the topic of sustainability and mobility as a central impetus for the future. "We want tourism of the highest quality in our federal state, which is committed to people and nature - and thus further expand our image as a premium destination in the Alps," says Bauernberger.
“A lot of what is often described as sustainable was not born out of a trend for us. For example, in the cooperation between agriculture and tourism, where the SalzburgerLand has played a pioneering role for decades and sets standards in the development of tourist offers. We also have a special 'lever' when it comes to mobility, thanks to our perfect location in the heart of the European railway network. This is one of the reasons why we launched the largest rail travel campaign in domestic tourism a few days ago, in order to inspire even more people to travel to their vacation in an environmentally friendly way in the future.”
Salzburg regions score with long-term concepts
The two award-winning regions in SalzburgerLand were able to score points with the jury with long-term concepts in terms of sustainable, future-oriented tourism. In the case of Wagrain-Kleinarl, the comprehensive and participatory process for sustainable tourism development was recognized, which is also reflected in the certification as a "Green Destination" by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and in the ongoing application for the Austrian eco-label for destinations. Zell am See-Kaprun scored as a climate and energy model region with a high level of commitment and specific measures against global warming.
Renate Ecker, Managing Director of Zell am See-Kaprun Tourism said "Zell am See-Kaprun stands for sustainable tourism and action in harmony with nature, which is why we are particularly pleased about the UNWTO award for Best Tourism Village. In recent years we have been able to implement many sustainability projects in the region. We are constantly trying to advance and expand these projects in order to preserve our natural paradise between glaciers, mountains and lakes for future generations and to continue to do pioneering work in environmental protection and tourism.”
Stefan Paßrugger, Managing Director of Wagrain-Kleinarl Tourismus said "This award fills us with great joy and also with such humility. As regional as we are, we too are part of the Global Village. Being "Best Tourism Village" gives us enormous momentum, the potential that tourism has as a driving force There is strength for the design of future living and natural space, to use it even better and to expand it further: tourism as a meaningful and future-oriented instrument.
