Lloret de Mar will become the first tourist destination in the world to be certified by the Bioscore Sustainability Destination Management System, a national and international benchmark in sustainability that will enable it to have a comprehensive management system that includes both public facilities and private establishments.
The certification includes the categories of catering, transport, culture (museums, theatre, Santa Clotilde Gardens), complementary activities and public facilities such as the municipal swimming pool or the Tourist Offices, which will be audited and where the carbon footprint, water footprint, waste segregation and supply contracts will be monitored to improve their efficiency, among others.
In terms of accommodation, Lloret Turisme has already collaborated with the Lloret de Mar Hotels Association in promoting Bioscore sustainability certification, and there are currently 27 establishments with more than 15,000 hotel beds that are accredited, which represents more than 50% of the total in the destination.
Bioscore certifications are also highly valued by the different distribution channels such as Booking, Destinia, OntheBeach, Ecohotels.com, Greenline Hotels or Bidroom, which contributes significantly to the commercial positioning in the field of sustainability.
In the words of the Mayor of Lloret de Mar, Adrià Lamelas, the agreement “ratifies the commitment to the development of a model of responsible tourism in a joint public-private partnership”.
Sustainable Lloret by Bioscore
“Lloret Sostenible by Bioscore” is part of the global project “Lloret Sostenible” launched in 2021 with the aim of coordinating, improving and raising the profile of sustainable tourism in Lloret de Mar. Since then, various actions have been developed, such as the creation of a sustainability communication plan for the destination with press releases and specific campaigns, , the organisation of two training programmes on ethical and sustainable transformation and on innovation and sustainability, and participation in the Greentour project “Circular economy and sustainable tourism in destinations in the SUDOE area” financed with European funds.
Sustainability will continue to be one of the main strategic axes of Lloret de Mar in 2024 with activities linked to the discovery of the natural environment (Lloret Nature); the Little Foodies project, in good, healthy and sustainable children’s restaurants, and other actions of environmental commitment such as the development plan for the regenerated water network or smoke-free beaches.
Bioscore Sustainability, a benchmark in sustainability certification
The Valencian company Bioscore Sustainability offers, among other services, three types of certification: for accommodation (Bioscore Sustainability Certification), for destinations (Bioscore Destination Sustainability Management System Certification), and for outdoor spaces and recreational water facilities (Blue Leaf Certification). In addition to being a pioneering destination in the certification of the sustainability management system, the Lloret de Mar municipal swimming pool was also the first aquatic facility of its kind to receive the Blue Leaf certificate, a standard for the sustainable architecture and management of outdoor spaces in holiday resorts and summer swimming pools for public use.
The Bioscore Sustainability Certification standard (on which its certification for accommodations is based), has recently received recognition from the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), an international body that sets and manages global sustainability standards based on four pillars: sustainable management; socio-economic impacts; cultural impacts; and environmental impacts. The recognition status guarantees the equivalence of the criteria established by the GSTC with those of the Bioscore Sustainability Certification standard.