ISTO welcomes 7 new members.

The ISTO Board of Directors approved the accession of 7 new members on October 15 2019 in Paris. Who are they?

INSTITUTO HONDUREÑO DE TURISMO - Honduras The Instituto Hondureño de Turismo is the official body in charge of tourism policies at the national level. In its functions, it formulates, directs, executes, promotes, stimulates and evaluates policies related to tourism as an economic activity that promotes the country's development through the conservation, protection and rational use of national tourism resources. Website SECRETARIAT OF TOURISM OF THE STATE OF TAMAULIPAS - Mexico The Secretariat of Tourism is part of the State's executive branch, which is responsible, in particular, for promoting, in coordination with municipalities, tourism development areas, preparing and maintaining the register of tourism service providers, and issuing opinions on the introduction of the tax incentives necessary to promote tourism activity; to authorize prices for tourist services and monitor their proper application; to regulate tourist protection measures and monitor compliance with the rules, in coordination with federal, state and municipal authorities; to promote tourist exchanges abroad; to formulate and disseminate tourist information on the State of Tamaulipas, among other objectives. Website ALFA VIAJES Y SERVICIOS GENERALES - EIRL - Peru Alfa Viajes is a family business specialising in the sale of local, national and international airline tickets, concerned about the sustainability of the growth of the Ucayali region and promoting the integration of the value chains of direct and indirect actors in the tourism industry. It has a team of 14 committed people, who follow a level of customer service awareness that helps to develop tools and protocols that increase the effectiveness and efficiency of the few resources with which they actively work with strategic partners, realizing the development of opportunities where others see only problems or obstacles to development. Website FUNDACION CALIDAD DE VIDA PARA PERSONAS CON CANCER - FUNCAVIDA - Costa Rica A non-profit foundation created in 2008 to help people with cancer, their families and close friends. Funcavida has specialized in support, training and assistance for people living this life situation. Most recently, they opened a travel agency, FUNCAVIAJES, (duly registered at the Instituto Costarricense de Turismo - ICT, member of ISTO), which offers tourist packages in Costa Rica (domestic tourism) for health and well-being based on social tourism. The packages are specially designed with government institutions and private companies (tourism and others). The Foundation is a partner in the "National Program of Integral Social Tourism", created by ICT and launched in June 2019 on the occasion of ISTO Americas' Meeting of the Americas of Social Tourism. Website LES OISEAUX DE PASSAGE - France LesOiseauxDePassage.coop is a cooperative travel platform, created and nurtured by those who host their destinations and brings together many local actors who all share the following values: hospitality, cooperation and humanity. The platform is a co-developed working tool that allows local actors to create their own enhanced travel guide in order to promote their destinations and with it their respective offers. Thus, everyone can freely publish their accommodation offers and activities but also all their good tips and local creations that they recommend to discover. You can also create territory stories that allow you to tell about its singularities and identities. In the form of local stories, discovery itineraries, destinations to explore or stays to book, you invite travellers to experience another journey. Website CENTRO DE INVESTIGACION PARA EL DESAROLLO SUSTENTABLE - CIDES - Mexico The Centro de Investigación para el Desarrollo Sustentable - CIDES- (Center of investigation for sustainable development), created in 2011, is an academic institution that promotes scientific, humanistic and technological research in order to innovate in the field of sustainable development, for professionals wishing to deepen their knowledge on the following themes: sustainable tourism, sustainable enterprises, education and environmental communication, and education for sustainable development. With regard to sustainable tourism, the Centre is particularly interested in community, social, solidarity and responsible tourism. The centre is recognized by CONACYT (National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico) as a training institution. He is also a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council - GSTC. Website UNIONE NAZIONALE PRO LOCO D'ITALIA- UNPLI - Italy UNPLI, the Italian network of Pro Loco associations (dedicated to the promotion of cities and villages), represents approximately 6,200 associations based in many medieval cities, for which approximately 600,000 volunteers work collaborating in the implementation of more than 10,000 events. Since 2003, UNPLI has been working on the safeguarding of the intangible cultural heritage through several national projects. Website