Our ambition
We are all aware of the impact of tourism and the environmental, economic and social emergencies we face. As a destination, it is up to us to address these issues and support change.
An engaged Metropolitan area
Greater Lyon was the first French city to formulate a development plan for sustainable tourism, stating its areas of action to make Lyon a leading destination for environmentally sustainable tourism. Aimed at building the tourism of tomorrow, it is based on collaborative work carried out since 2020 with industry stakeholders, in order to increase capacity and improve the welcome offered to visitors. This aim breaks down into four main areas: building a resilient and balanced destination; supporting tourism jobs in the metropolitan area; speeding up the transformation of practices for more environmentally virtuous tourism; guaranteeing tourism that is inclusive, participative and respectful.
“Alone we go faster; together we go further”
Based on its work to develop sustainable tourism over the years, and building on this plan and efforts made to help Lyon reach 13th position in the Global Destination Sustainability Index (GDS-Index), ONLYLYON Tourism has published a Manifesto putting forward its internal and destination-wide commitments to CSR.
Given its work to pursue a CSR policy and an Environmental Certification approach since 2019, the Tourist Office has a responsibility to lead by example! This is why it has achieved ISO20121 certification and got a CSR certification. It has also published its own Charter of Commitments to reduce the footprint of the events it plans.
The Manifesto also sets out priority challenges to achieve more sustainable tourism in Lyon, in line with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, and through an ambitious long-term strategy that includes 55 concrete actions. Involving all tourism stakeholders in Lyon, it is aimed at making Lyon a sustainable tourism leader, while positively impacting tourism professionals, visitors and residents, and maintaining a reasonable balance between local tourism, leisure tourism and business tourism.
ONLYLYON Tourism’s Responsible Tourism department
This new department was created in 2022 to meet the challenges involved in the natural evolution of ONLYLYON's strategy towards a more responsible, sustainable form of tourism and the taking into account of visitors’ new expectations. Its missions are to oversee the implementation of the destination’s responsible tourism strategy, both internally and for its partners and visitors. It is this department that submits Lyon’s yearly application to the GDS (Global Destination Sustainability) index and initiates environmental certifications for Lyon and the Tourist Office.
Main targets and actions
Tourism professionals:
- Assistance is provided for socio-professionals in the tourism sector as they pursue environmental certifications and deploy sustainable and responsible practices. In 2022, through two calls for applications, 40 organisations set in motion an environmental certification approach, thereby doubling the number of engaged actors in the metropolitan area.
- Deployment of the Accueil Vélo and Peace of Mind Charter approaches.
- Organisation of training sessions to assist professionals as they transition towards more responsible tourism
Visitors:
- Raising of awareness among our visitors on the adoption of more responsible travelling practices and promotion of local tourism among residents
Residents:
- To achieve its sustainable tourism goals, the Lyon Metropolitan Tourist Office has adopted an approach that makes residents part of its tourism development strategy. In 2022, it produced a questionnaire for residents to gather their opinions on tourism and organised in 2023 the first Tourism & Residents Forum. Several responsible tourism topics formed the core of discussions, to find concrete actions to be implemented in Lyon.
Local and international institutions:
- Management of Lyon’s annual ranking in the GDS Index.
Responsibility for various quality labels and certifications:
- ISO20121 in 2022 for responsible events and promotion of the destination.
- AFNOR engagé RSE in 2023 for the integration of sustainable development challenges within OLTC and by its stakeholders.
- The Qualité Tourisme (tourism quality) label, which was obtained in 2018 for a 5-year period, is currently in the process of being renewed for its reception and communication missions.
Please contact us : [email protected]