An alliance for a sustainable tourism

25/02

“Unity is strength” and cooperation helps us to be better, one could add about the Portugal Outdoor Alliance (POA). This alliance between tour operators working in the field of outdoor/nature tourism, from the north to the south of the country, aims to generate more positive impacts in the territories where they operate by putting into practice concrete actions, based on common principles of sustainability.

Proactivetur joined Portugal A2Z Walking & Biking, Portugal Green Walks and Bike Tours Portugal (founders of the POA) and has been actively collaborating in the creation of a benchmark on sustainability that must be followed by the companies participating in the alliance.

Issues such as giving priority to buying products and services from local suppliers, encouraging the economy of local communities, communicating the environmental impact of activities in a transparent way and investing part of the company's revenue in social projects in destinations are some of the good practices in the area of Responsible Tourism that are part of this benchmark.

But the principles and practices of sustainability cover many other subjects.

Nowadays, companies' sustainability performance is guided by the Environmental, Social and Governance pillars, abbreviated as “ESG”: In other words, companies that adopt “ESG” practices seek to minimize their environmental impact, promote good social practices (such as human rights and diversity) and exercise a form of ethical and transparent corporate governance.

It is these good practices that the POA wants to encourage in the companies that are part of the alliance, starting by defining as a criterion that they participate in the Sustainability Reporting Program, “Empresas Turismo 360” promoted by Turismo de Portugal. (Proactivetur is part of this program and has been awarded the “ESG engaged” seal).

The framework being built by the POA will be the common basis for bringing together more private partners who share these principles to create the first national association of outdoor activity operators in Portugal.

In the POA's view, with more similar companies adopting these good sustainability practices and with this entity having the mission of developing joint projects to this end, this will actively contribute to the regeneration of the inland/low-density territories where most tourism programs are developed.

In fact, the aim is to create the conditions for more and more Responsible Tourism that promotes long-term positive impacts on the territory, its local communities and its natural and cultural heritage.

What led us to set up Proactivetur in 2010 was precisely this desire to promote alternative ways of doing tourism in the Algarve/Alentejo, with the aim of preserving and enhancing the territory's rich heritage. We continue to strive for the same dream, but now with greater strength, because we feel part of an alliance that will certainly make us better.