At the end of last year, TourCert and “ServiceQualität Deutschland” (SQD) e.V., a nationwide quality initiative with 16 member organisations, started their cooperation. Together we want to develop the quality and sustainability of the tourism service chain.
We reported on this in our last blog post about the cooperation. Since then already 14 companies have used the TourCert Check as a quality tool and thus created the basis for sustainable and quality-oriented management. 24 further companies are already in the processing stage. With its certification system, “ServiceQualität Deutschland” is addressing small and medium-sized companies, with focus on the hotel industry, gastronomy and tourism.
Sustainability is playing an increasingly important role; in times of climate change, everyone should make their contribution to a responsible use of our environment and available resources. Especially tourism as an important economic factor offers a lot of potential.
The TourCert Check as a Q-tool offers the possibility to take a step towards sustainability without additional costs. It helps to integrate consistent sustainability management into the company. In addition, the self-analysis in the TourCert Check provides an opportunity to check the extent to which the company is already making a contribution to sustainable tourism and where there is still potential for improvement.
We asked the already participating companies why they decided on the TourCert Check and what this entailed: For Ammergauer Alpen GmbH, sustainability has always been an important issue, which has gained in relevance with the nomination of the destination as a nature park and has thus changed from a marginal issue to a core issue.
“Since we are committed to both, service quality and sustainability, the combination of these two elements was ideal,” reports Jasmine Holfeld, Product Manager Timeout/Culture Time/Regional Marketing.
The TourCert Check raised awareness of sustainable working and the critical aspects that the industry implies and defined concrete measures for sustainable working by means of a plan.
Also the Spreewald-Touristinformation Lübbenau e.V. as a part of the whole region Spreewald has dedicated itself to the idea of sustainability. The TourCert-Check was seen by the managing director Caroline Fürll as a compulsory task, which they had gladly accepted. The Check was able to demonstrate once again that sustainability is a holistic approach.
Again, a plan of measures was developed within the framework of the Q certification, in particular the use of recycled paper and the principle of paperless work are to be implemented promptly. In order to make the company even more attractive for employees, they are given the opportunity to take part in individual training courses several times a year. They can also look forward to one more day’s holiday.
When they were asked why sustainable management is important for sustainable tourism, the two agreed: it is also the responsibility of the DMO to develop the region for future generations, both as a tourist destination and as a home.
“Sustainability also means constantly working on quality. This applies in particular to the company and its employees, but also to our guests, who must be made aware of the uniqueness of our landscape – the region should remain attractive for everyone, whether resident or guest,” concludes Caroline Fürll.
Are you also interested in advancing the topic of sustainability and making your contribution to a better future? With the TourCert Check this is possible, it offers an easy introduction to the topic, positions your company for a sustainable tourism and paves the way for a later certification by TourCert.
Tags
ServiceQualität Deutschland, SQD, Tools, TourCert Check, Update
