In 1995, when sustainability was barely present on tourism agendas, Lanzarote was ahead of its time by promoting the first World Charter for Sustainable Tourism. Twenty years later, in 2015, the baton was passed to Vitoria-Gasteiz, where the text was revised and aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Now, in 2025, the island is reclaiming that leadership to move from declarations of good intentions to measurable commitments and shared action. Antonio Abreu, Director of Ecology and Earth Sciences at UNESCO, recalled that the real risk is not a lack of ideas, but inaction in the face of well-known challenges such as climate change, pressure on resources and the social impact of tourism.
The Charter +30 incorporates eleven principles that update and strengthen the original vision. It calls for a form of tourism that fosters a culture of peace and understanding between peoples, that regenerates natural resources and protects tangible and intangible heritage, and that contributes effectively to climate action. It also champions innovation and the adoption of sustainable technologies, the need to limit overtourism in the most pressured destinations and the promotion of new products and ways of travelling that are more respectful towards host communities. Economic and social justice, education and awareness-raising for all stakeholders, and the creation of governance frameworks that guarantee the genuine sustainability of tourism activities complete this reference framework, together with the need to forge strong alliances that place tourism at the service of the common good.
Abreu stressed that these principles are not a closed recipe, but an “ethical compass” that must be adapted to the diversity of tourism realities around the planet. For this reason, the Charter makes an explicit call to the international community and invites governments, local authorities, companies, professionals, citizen organisations and travellers to adopt the document as a starting point for ongoing transformation. The text will be submitted to the United Nations Secretary-General for consideration by the General Assembly and for possible adoption by UN bodies and agencies, as well as by other international entities linked to tourism and sustainable development.
For the President of the Cabildo of Lanzarote, Oswaldo Betancort, the renewal of the Charter is “much more than an institutional milestone”. In his speech he stressed that Lanzarote and La Graciosa are voluntarily assuming a leadership role that nobody is demanding of them, but which the island understands as a commitment to its citizens and to the global tourism community. He recalled that there is no formal obligation for the destination to lead this process, but that it has chosen “to look to the future, to choose responsibility and to lead once again”, convinced that sustainability “is not a slogan, but the present and future” of the islands.
The shared nature of this commitment was also reflected in the interventions of other public representatives. Javier Hurtado, Regional Minister for Tourism, Trade and Consumption of the Basque Government, expressed the pride of Euskadi in “passing the baton” to Lanzarote and highlighted the alliance between territories that are geographically distant but united by a firm commitment to sustainability. Spain’s Secretary of State for Tourism, Rosario Sánchez, stressed that initiatives such as this contribute to consolidating an essential goal for the country: to rank among the most sustainable tourism destinations in the world and to exercise leadership that is measured in policies, investments and tangible results, not just in speeches.
