LATA LAUNCHES SUSTAINABILITY TRAINING PROGRAMME COHORT WITH SPECIFIC FOCUS GROUP DEDICATED TO BRAZIL AS ITS TOURIST OFFICE CREATES NEW SUSTAINABILITY

Latin American Travel Association’s (LATA) Strategic Sustainability Training Programme in partnership with The Long Run kicked off its fourth cohort with Embratur taking part as a strategic partner for the group. the Brazilian tourist board, has a recently created a new division – the Sustainability and Climate Actions Team – which is a groundbreaking effort to promote Brazil’s sustainable and community-based tourism globally. This initiative is in alignment with a prioritized public policy led by Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

As a longstanding partner and member of LATA, Embratur, the Brazilian tourist board, was impressed with the approach of the LATA Strategic Sustainability Training and is joining this new cohort along with six other Brazilian members, the first from Brazil to take part in the training. Taking part alongside Embratur will be DMCs Be Brazil, Passion Brazil, Blumar and Gondwana as well as two luxury boutique hotels, Trijuncao Pousada and Estrela D'água Pousada.

Megan Parkinson, head of sustainability at LATA, says, “I am thrilled with the initial success of our sustainability training. The feedback from participants has been overwhelmingly positive and it’s very encouraging to see the learnings being implemented across so many different businesses.?We are delighted that Embratur sees the relevance of this programme as they begin their sustainability journey and are looking forward to working closely with the team to develop and expand it further”.?

All the members will participate?as normal, but there will also be a special focus group comprising the Brazilian members who will discuss the course learnings in the context of the Brazil travel industry and how the supply chain can be supported in embedding?sustainability into day-to-day operations. If this initial group proves successful, LATA and Embratur will look to scale up the programme and provide the training for more Brazilian travel businesses.

Embratur is looking to support its tourism businesses with tools to support the growth of sustainable tourism across the country. The Brazilian government is committed to resume actions for the preservation of its national forests and biomes, which will culminate with the country hosting COP 30 in Belem, at the heart of the Amazon, in 2025.

Mr. Marcelo Freixo, president of Embratur, says, “As we look to develop our tourism offering in a more sustainable way, benefitting visitors as well as businesses, it is imperative that we learn best practices from those who are further ahead than we are at this stage. We have seen the success LATA has had with its Strategic Sustainability Training and look forward to implementing this not just in our own organisation, but also across our domestic tourism providers. Having a specific focus group for the members from Brazil will mean we can really discuss our learnings in the context of our own tourism market and evaluate what we can all be doing better.”

Launched in November 2022, the LATA Strategic Sustainability Training is run in partnership with the Long Run and is available free of charge to all members aiming to demystify sustainability and embed it into the day to day running of business operations. This cohort will see 22 members taking part, consisting of tourist boards, tour operators, DMCs, expedition cruise operators and hoteliers. To date, a total of 68 member companies across four cohorts have already completed the course. ?

The LATA Strategic Sustainability Training programme is run in partnership with The Long Run ?and helps travel businesses take a 360-degree view of sustainability to create a supply chain that is aligned to The Long Run’s 4C framework (a holistic balance of community, culture, commerce, and conservation) putting Latin America on the map as a leading destination for sustainable tourism.

For more information on the Latin American Travel Association (LATA), please visit www.lata.travel??

For more information about The Long Run, please visit www.thelongrun.org