Agoda Partners With Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to Promote More Sustainable Tourism in South Korea
Seoul, 25 September 2025 – Digital travel platform Agoda collaborated with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) to organize a hotel sustainability training for industry professionals on 22-23 September at The Westin Seoul Parnas. The program brought together local hoteliers for a series of sessions led by influential industry experts, aiming to provide them with the competences and tools necessary to enhance their sustainability practices.
Throughout the training, participants immersed themselves in real-world insights drawn from best-in-class sustainability practices and actual hotel case studies. Using as a checklist the globally renowned GSTC Hotel Standard, attendees were empowered to assess their current performance and then set achievable short-, medium-, and long-term sustainability objectives.
Jay Lee, Senior Country Director South Korea at Agoda, said, “Agoda is honored to work together with the GSTC to deliver our inaugural in-person sustainability training focused on the hospitality sector in South Korea. This initiative, a modest yet important step, aligns with our collective vision to promote more sustainable tourism. With the right knowledge and tools, we aim to accelerate this evolution.”
Dr. Mihee Kang, Chief Assurance Officer at GSTC, shared, “This training underscored the importance of building knowledge and skills to advance sustainable tourism. The active participation of Korean industry professionals reflects a shared commitment to embedding responsible practices into the tourism sector and supporting the continued growth of a more sustainable tourism industry in South Korea.”
Dr. You Hyun Jang, Director of the International Cooperation Unit at the Korea Tourism Organization, delivered a guest speech at the event. He shared, “This training made possible by Agoda and GSTC creates a meaningful forum to share challenges and explore solutions for building a more resilient and sustainable tourism sector. It provides the industry with the opportunity to analyze the deeper structural issues behind them, serving as both a space for reflection and a foundation for practical action.”
To date, over five hundred industry professionals have taken part in the in-person hotel sustainability training sessions organized by GSTC and Agoda as part of the Sustainable Tourism Academy initiative across eight markets, including India, Singapore, and Thailand. More than forty participants, including senior executives from global and local hotel brands like Ascott, Hilton, Hyatt, Lahan, Lotte, and Westin, attended the inaugural edition in Seoul.