Official tourism website for Cork, Ireland

PureCork Sustainability

Sustainable tourism is defined by the UN Environment Program and UN World Tourism Organization as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

Visit Cork (representing the Cork Convention Bureau and the Pure Cork brand) aims to be the best Destination Marketing Organisation in Ireland, working with our partners in tourism to have Cork recognised as a leader in social, environmental, and economic sustainability for both business and leisure tourism.

This Visit Cork Sustainability Strategy (2023-2030) outlines the organisation’s vision and an action plan with short-term and long-term ambitions for the development of the sustainability agenda throughout the tourism sector in Cork. The principles and commitments to sustainability across the organisation’s operations are outlined further in the Visit Cork Sustainability Policy (2023-2030).

This strategy has been developed in consultation, and with the support of, Visit Cork’s industry partners and stakeholders. This includes the board of Visit Cork: Cork City Council, Cork County Council, Fáilte Ireland, Cork Chamber, Cork Airport, Irish Hotels Federation (Cork branch), and other industry stakeholders. 


Cork Convention Bureau
The Cork Convention Bureau works with its members to provide the most sustainable conference experience possible for visiting conference delegates. See more on Cork Convention Bureau’s dedicated sustainability page.


Global Destination Sustainability Index
As part of our commitment to sustainability Cork Convention Bureau joined the world’s leading destination sustainability ranking system, the GDS-Index, in 2018 with a vision to benchmark our activities and continuously improve our sustainability activities throughout the region. For more about this benchmark see www.gds.earth and to read about Cork’s performance see here.


Resources for the Tourism Sector
If you are working in the tourism and hospitality sector and are looking for information and advice about how to play your part in the global journey towards sustainability and regenerative tourism, then see some of our guides below for useful links and inspiration:

·        Visit Cork Sustainability Resources Guide

·        Visit Cork Community Engagement and Social Sustainability Guide

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