We serve global tourism and hospitality professionals with competence, reliability and innovation, accompanying every client on a sustainable bespoke discovery of Italy.
Destination Italia Group is a well-established and rooted reality in the Italian tourism sector, always ready and inclined to change and innovation. For this reason, we have committed ourselves and will increasingly do so in the future to embark on a path towards sustainability.
In this policy, we describe how we have approached and are working towards achieving a level of sustainability that encompasses every sector and aspect, both internal and external. We aim to reduce and eventually eliminate any negative impact on a social, environmental, and economic level that the company might have, even unintentionally.
As we operate in tourism, specifically inbound tourism in Italy, we interact daily with many stakeholders, from liaising with tour guides to collaborating with transportation companies, and contracting with hotels and accommodations. We are aware of our key role as the link between the customer and the destination, with all associated services. Therefore, we have the opportunity and, more importantly, the responsibility to prioritize sustainability among collaborators who share our cause, minimizing negative impacts and maximizing positive ones.
The sustainability policy is divided into macro areas, detailing all the actions and procedures we have internalized and commit to every day. This policy outlines what we have managed, what we are currently doing, and what we hope to achieve in the future. It defines the practices underlying product development, operations, and relationships with external partners.
- Sustainability Management & Legal Compliance
- Appoint a sustainability manager and a supporting team.
- Draft and publish our mission, policy, and action plan to be accessible to clients, collaborators, and suppliers.
- Collaborate with local associations sharing our sustainability goals.
- Increase company awareness of sustainability policies.
- Daily commitment to follow all territorial and national regulations.
- Internal Management: Social Policy & Human Rights
- Adhere to existing labor laws, including those against child exploitation.
- Implement psychological support services for all employees.
- Maintain a first aid kit and conduct periodic safety and first aid training.
- Create internships and apprenticeships for students and recent graduates.
- Prohibit all forms of discrimination in hiring, working conditions, training access, and promotions based on gender, race, age, disability, ethnicity, religion/beliefs, or sexual orientation.
- Provide regular training to staff.
- Internal Management: Environment and Community Relations
- Gradually eliminate disposable consumer goods.
- Procure office products through bulk orders to reduce packaging waste.
- Use certified biodegradable soaps that are environmentally friendly.
- Turn off lights and equipment when not in use, use automatic on/off systems, and set equipment to energy-saving mode.
- Adhere to national waste disposal legislation.
- Separate recyclable materials and organize proper collection and disposal.
- Implement practices to minimize pollution from the office.
- Reduce transportation-related impacts through telecommuting, video meetings, work-at-home policies, and other means.
- Partner Agency
- Communicate our commitment to sustainability to partners and advise concrete actions for improvement.
- Prefer organizations genuinely implementing sustainability.
- Prioritize authentic local realities when selecting various travel suppliers, considering their internal social policies.
- Include sustainability clauses in contracts focusing on child labor, anti-corruption, waste management, and biodiversity protection.
- Transport
- Select the most sustainable options, considering cost and comfort, when choosing transportation options to and within destinations.
- Integrate and promote one or more sustainable vacation packages based on recognized methodologies, including sustainable transportation, accommodations, and activities.
- Accommodations
- Choose accommodations based on sustainability criteria (e.g., waste recycling, sustainable energy, laws regarding minors).
- Communicate our commitment to sustainability to partners and motivate them to start the certification process.
- Prefer locally owned and managed facilities.
- Have accommodations sign a sustainability addendum.
- Include standard sustainability clauses in all contracts with accommodation providers, focusing on child labor, corruption prevention, waste management, and biodiversity protection.
- Excursions and Activities
- Advise client agencies (directly interacting with the end customer) on behavior standards during excursions/visits/activities, with particular attention to respecting local culture, nature, and the environment.
- Communicate our sustainability goals and requirements to contracted and non-contracted excursion and activity providers.
- Avoid offering excursions or activities that could harm local flora and fauna.
- Ensure expert and certified guides are informed about our sustainability standards.
- Promote and recommend excursions and activities that involve and support local communities.
- Tour Leaders, Local Representatives, and Guides
- Prefer local guides and tour leaders.
- Ensure partners comply with relevant laws and qualifications regularly.
- Inform them about relevant aspects of our sustainability policy.
- Ensure guides and tour leaders inform clients about local conduct norms.
- Destination
- Consider sustainability aspects in selecting new destinations, offering alternatives to mainstream destinations, especially during peak seasons.
- Respect territorial planning, protected areas, and cultural heritage regulations based on the law.
- Support initiatives improving relationships between accommodations and local producers.
- Engage in supporting and influencing local governments regarding sustainability and destination studies.
- Inform client agencies about illegal souvenirs, preventing the purchase of items containing threatened plant and animal species, illegally obtained historical/archaeological artifacts, drugs, or illegal substances, adhering to local and international laws to prevent such actions.
- Customer Communication and Protection
- Ensure customer privacy.
- Adhere to relevant standards and voluntary codes of conduct in marketing and advertising messages, avoiding overpromising.
- Provide clear, comprehensive, and accurate information about the company and its products and services, including sustainability statements.
- Promote sustainable accommodations, excursions, packages, and/or transport options (certified), ensuring they are recognizable to consumers and presented as the “best” option.
During customers’ vacations, we commit to:
- Provide as much information as possible about the destination: customs, do’s and don’ts, safety and health tips.
- Inform guests and provide advice on key sustainability aspects and how they can have a positive impact.
- Maintain an emergency contact available from 6 a.m. to midnight.
- Conduct training for all staff on handling emergency situations.
- Inform client agencies about key aspects of Italian legislation regarding the purchase of illegal souvenirs.
- Encourage and advise clients on restaurants and establishments run by locals.
At the end of customers’ vacations:
- Measure customer satisfaction, including sustainability aspects, and calculate the achieved results for continuous improvement.
- Establish clear procedures and protocols for handling customer complaints.
