Highlights of the ISTO 2024 World Congress.

The 29th World Congress of the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO) was held from 21 to 25 October 2024 on the theme of ‘Social Sustainability in Tourism: Connecting the essential at 360°’. Organised in partnership and with the support of the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), this international event was held for the first time in Central America, in San José, Costa Rica.

For this first ISTO World Congress organised in Central America, ISTO was supported by the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT) both in terms of logistics and the organisation of the event on site, at the Costa Rican National Convention Centre.

10 years after the last World Congress in the Americas, ISTO turned its attention to Costa Rica, renowned for its ecotourism policy and its commitment as a destination to the environmental and social pillars of sustainable development.

The five-day event was divided into three main sessions. October 21 and 22 were devoted to the ISTO DNA 360º Experiences, field visits organised for the first time at the start of an ISTO World Congress and which enabled registered participants to discover certain aspects and best practices of Costa Rica's tourism ecosystem.

Wednesday 23 October was dedicated to ISTO's statutory and internal meetings, including a General Assembly at which the 15 recently elected members of the Board of Directors were promulgated.

October 24 and 25 focused on the 360° of Social Sustainability in Tourism, with the congress opening with a speech by Costa Rica's Minister of Tourism, William Rodriguez, who underlined the potential of tourism as a resource for employment and human well-being.

During those two days, ISTO could count on the participation of more than fifty tourism players and experts to lead 7 round tables based on ISTO's DNA, as well as plenary sessions and conversation panels. Ligia Miranda, Executive Secretary of the Central American Secretariat for Integration (SITCA), Rodolfo Lizano, Director of Tourism Strategy at the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT), Raquel Huete, Professor and Researcher at the Instituto Universitario de Investigaciones Turísticas of the University of Alicante, and Richard Streitz, Director of Operations at Ruh Global IMPACT and Vice-President of Billion Strong, are among the renowned figures in the tourism sector who shared their vision of Social Sustainability in the tourism sector and presented the best practices implemented by their organisations.

The Congress was also marked by a plenary session on the 30th anniversary of ISTO's arrival in the Americas, during which the pioneers and current players in the section were celebrated for their significant contribution and constant support:

Louis Jolin, first president and Charles-Étienne Bélanger, first director of ISTO Americas; Sergio Rodríguez, and Veronica Gomez, respectively president and director of ISTO Americas, as well as the Conseil québécois du loisir CQL and the Auberges Saintlo, key members and partners of the section and represented by Sonia Vaillancourt and Vincent Bérubé.

On 25 October, after a plenary session on the evolution of ISTO and its members between 2014 and 2024, with the participation of representatives from the three regional sections - Africa, the Americas and Europe, three workshops were held in connection with ISTO's progress on indicators for measuring the Social Sustainability of Tourism for visitors, for workers in the sector and for local communities.

The Congress ended with the ISTO Awards 2024 ceremony. Three prizes were awarded: to the Catalan Tourism Agency in the Initiatives from Destinations category, to Vacances Ouvertes in the Initiatives from Associations and the Private Sector category, and to Angela Teberga de Paula in the Initiatives from Academies and Researchers category for their inspiring and innovative programme and projects.

Finally, an updated version of the Montreal Declaration incorporating the Brussels Addendum on the Social Sustainability of Tourism was published in three languages and distributed to all participants.

The discussions, discoveries and work carried out during the 5-day Congress in Costa Rica reflect a real interest in the issues of social sustainability in tourism at international level, and will enable ISTO to continue its work in this field.

ISTO would like to thank the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) for its commitment and support in making this Congress a success.