Ten new members join ISTO.

The Board of Directors approved in April 2019 the membership of 10 new organizations.

• ADUNATOURS (Guinea Bissau). Adunatours is a tourism and travel agency with the aim of promoting cultural tourism, Guinean handicraft and fair tourism. The organization is very involved in sharing good practices about a kind of tourism that respects the local people and their cultural and environmental heritage.
• Association Européenne de la Route d'Artagnan (AERA) (France). The European Association of the Route d'Artagnan has set itself the goal of creating the very first "European Equestrian Route" modeled on the roads of St Jacques de Compostela, in the footsteps of the famous Musketeer. It offers riders and leaders of all levels an equestrian experience but also a discovery of European cultural diversity, heritage, gastronomy and variety of landscapes in 6 member countries of the European Union.
• I Viaggi del GOEL (Italy). The organization is the tour operator of the global cooperative GOEL. The agency provides health and social services to vulnerable segments of the population, such as people with disabilities, orphans, abused children, adolescents in family or school dropouts, and people with mental health problems. It also provides shelter and training opportunities for new migrants arriving in Calabria and keeps them away from mafia's sprawling networks.
• Valoshki Solnechnyj Krug (Belarus). The association undertakes socially responsible projects in Belarus; its main task is to motivate the popularization of tourism in the declining regions of the country and to reinforce intrafamily links through travel. The Valoshki project also sets up mechanisms for the inclusion of people with disabilities in society, through crafts, and also offers them tailor-made excursions.
• RED NICARAGUENSE DE TURISMO RURAL COMUNITARIO - RENITURAL (Nicaragua). RENITURAL is a network of 55 national-level initiatives, including farmers' cooperatives, cooperative unions, community associations, indigenous communities, local associations, women's associations and artisan associations. RENITURAL's mission is to contribute to the positioning of the tourism offer in the national and international market.
• H. AYUNTAMIENTO DE PUEBLA (MUNICIPALITÉ DE PUEBLA) (Mexico). The Municipality of Puebla, through the Secretary of Tourism, executes the actions necessary for the design and implementation of plans and programs of the municipal government in the field of tourism, in order to position the municipality as a tourist destination, by the dissemination of heritage and cultural activities, with strategies generating tourism products focused on cultural activity, as well as attention to tourists, visitors and residents of the municipality and the tourism industry.
• H. AYUNTAMIENTO DE XALAPA (MUNICIPALITÉ DE XALAPA) (Mexico). The Municipality of Xalapa, through its Tourism Department, sees tourism as an important platform for development, progress and social well-being. They have initiated a transformation in public policies under the following themes: to reduce social inequalities, preserve the environment, improve citizen security and promote economic development, all while having established municipal governance criteria such as austerity, effectiveness, efficiency, transparency, inclusiveness and benefits to residents.
• RED BOLIVIANA DE TURISMO SOLIDARIO COMUNITARIO « RED TUSOCO » (Bolivia). The Bolivian Community Tourism Network, RED TUSOCO, created in 2006, is a private, non-profit organization that supports various rural community tourism initiatives in Bolivia, based on solidarity and community principles. The main activities of TUSOCO include the strengthening of peasant and indigenous tourism initiatives, support of the self-management process based on social and solidarity economy, improvement of the quality of the services of its associates (accommodation, food, guides , etc.), facilitation and promotion to contribute to the marketing of members' tourism products, through its tour operator (TUSOCO Viajes), and the representation of its members and the lobby in front of different public authorities.
• Coopérative BoaPaz (Costa Rica). Boa Paz is a cooperative created in 2017, working to empower vulnerable populations through entrepreneurship, employability and the construction of production lines. They are currently starting to develop inclusive tourism actions where people with disabilities are also part of the process. BoaPaz focuses on three main activities: 1) adventure, sport and leisure in partnership with the Costa Rican Institute of Sport, 2) wellness and health, 3) TeamBuilding for companies.
• AMT Concept (Belgium). AMT Concept aims to develop a "tourism for all" via its website "Handy Brussels". Its purpose is to provide a diagnostic of accessibility to travelers with reduced mobility. AMT Concept sees it as an effective tool for agencies and tour operators, service providers, transport or accommodation but also and especially for individuals.