The International Network of Sustainable Tourism Observatories (INSTO) is a network founded in 2004 by UN Tourism. Member observatories are monitoring the economic, environmental, and social impact of tourism at the destination level. This initiative is based on the UN Tourism's commitment to the sustainable and resilient growth of the sector.
In 2024, about 45 members were dedicated to embrace the vision of INSTO which is to foster a dynamic network of partnerships that endeavours towards future oriented places for visitors as well as the local communities and create resilient destinations for the next generations. INSTO has set the task of gathering various tourism observatories from countries around the world to focus on monitoring the impacts of tourism at the destination level.
In October 2023 the Centro de Portugal Sustainable Tourism Observatory (OTSCP) joined INSTO. As part of theGlobal INSTO Meeting in November 2023 in Madrid, OTSCP was introduced and welcomed as a new member of the UN Tourism network by the INSTO board and the other members.
Besides the Centro Portugal Observatory, three more Portuguese observatories are part of INSTO. The Alentejo Sustainable Tourism Observatory (ASTO) is an INSTO member since 2018, while the Algarve Sustainable Tourism Observatory (AlgSTO) and the Azores Tourism Observatory joined the network in 2020. Other members of INSTO are located in all continents in the world, covering different countries like Mexico, China, Argentina, Australia, or Greece.
INSTO provides a sustainable tourism monitoring framework, allowing its members to exchange gained knowledge about sustainability issues and implement long-term monitoring plans. This framework includes 11 issue areas which have to be monitored by the observatories, environmental, social and economic topics are covered. It is mandatory to measure some indicators in each area, but there are no pre-determined indicators as they can be individually selected by each observatory. Every destination is unique, has different climatic circumstances and tourism offers. To support this individuality, observatories are in charge of monitoring indicators that suit their region best.
The 11 issue areas can be explored in detail below.
