Herost, which means “Hosts are Heroes” is an international network and online impact platform dedicated to the promotion of sustainable, community-driven tourism destinations and experiences, including accommodations, activities and tours.
In this COVID-19 context, we want to promote a new, exciting tourism that is able to satisfy both the hosts and travelers. For us, this tourism should be centered on the development and empowerment of local communities as the main stakeholders and right holders of any travel experience.
Herost
Implemented in
- Africa
- Asia / Pacific
- Europe and Central Asia
- Latin America / Caribbean
- Middle East
- North America
Led by
Sectors of activity
Environmental Services, Buildings and construction, Culture and recreation, Education, Food & Beverage, Tourism
Type of initiative
Capacity Building & Implementation, Education & Awareness Raising, Research, Analysis, Assessment
Type of lead actor
Business Sector
Submitted on:
22/01/2019Objectives
Herost is an impact-driven brand and online platform dedicated to the promotion of sustainable, community-centered travel experiences.
Post COVID-19, a new age of tourism and hospitality is coming, focused on the development, empowerment and satisfaction of communities as the main stakeholders and right holders of the tourism experience, in order to guarantee the highest level of satisfaction and fulfillment both for hosts and guests.
Our Purpose: we exist to make this world a fairer place to live and to explore
Our vision: to advance travel as a tool for the sustainable development and empowerment of people
Our mission: we inspire travelers and engage them to connect with local hosts committed to having a positive impact on their communities and the environment through offering verified eco-friendly accommodations, activities and events.
Herost intends to drive social innovation in the travel and tourism sector through:
Online travel platform highlighting eco-friendly travel experiences and matchmaking hosts and travelers who share the same visions and values.
10-commitment Charter (see below) and a Scoring System featuring 20 criteria aligned with the standards of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) in order to prevent greenwashing and give our Hosts a unique access to a growing market.
Consulting and training services provided by a global network of professionals actively involved in the co-creation and promotion of sustainable tourism destinations, practices and experiences.
Selection of off-the-beaten-path destinations and attractions in order to disperse and balance the flows of tourists.
Activities
As collected through the One Planet Reporting
Output level
Knowledge resource and technical tool
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Herost, P2P marketplace for community-based tourism
Herost, P2P marketplace for community-based tourism
Regions
Asia / Pacific
Lead organization
Millenium Destinations
Objective
Herost is a new initiative developed by Millennium Destinations, in partnership with GreenBIM Engineering, as a digital platform offering a fair P2P marketplace for co-creating, sharing and promoting transformative community-based experiences between local hosts and their guests or visitors. The core values and guiding principles of Herost: authenticity, creativity, equity, and sustainability.
Achievements
Through Herost, our main purpose is to mainstream fair sustainable community-based experiences so that they becomes a standard for any relationship between residents and their visitors. The main objectives of Herost are: - to contribute to the sustainable development, positive transformation and empowerment of communities receiving (or willing to receive) hosts of guests / visitors / tourists; - to promote a new sustainable business model for Community-Based Tourism (CBT) towards Community-Based Transformation; - to design and disseminate principles and good practices for sustainable production and consumption of local experiences; - to foster sustainable income and job opportunities for host community members ; - to generate significant funding for sustainable community-based projects through automatic allocating a portion of revenues; - to raise awareness and educate on environmental conservation and the preservation of cultural heritage in destinations; - to prevent overtourism and encourage dispersal of tourism flows through offering off-the-beaten track options; - to promote sustainable lifestyles and behaviors for both host community members and their guests; - to bolster international cooperation and public-private partnerships , through supporting projects and programs aimed at strengthening dialogue among involved stakeholders; - to provide consulting and advisory services to communities for projects and initiatives contributing to the spread of circular economy, creative economy, collaborative economy.
Impact and Results
Herost intends to advance travel as a tool for local sustainable development and empowerment through promoting community-centered experiences that are economically viable, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable.
Our main objective to maximize the benefits of travel for the local hosts, their communities and the travelers, while minimizing the negative impacts on places, people and the planet.
Herost mostly focuses on three sustainable development goals:
SDG8 - Decent work and economic growth
SDG10 - Reduce inequalities within and among countries
SDG12 - Sustainable production and consumption
Our value proposition
For the hosts:
Recognition of their efforts toward community-based and sustainable practices
Increased visibility and competitiveness; access to new markets
Attract the growing segment of travelers who care
For the travelers:
Time saving and convenience in searching for reliable, verified eco-friendly options for accommodations, activities tours and events
High-quality contents about local hosts, authentic experiences and off-the-beaten-path destinations: written, visual and audiovisual storytelling
Off-the-beaten track, interactive experiences and destinations
Good image and sense of belonging to the Herost community
For the local communities:
A complementary source of revenues and jobs opportunities for local communities with a focus on youth and women
The main results and impacts we are expecting are:
Increased awareness and knowledge of sustainable travel and tourism practices
Advancement of sustainable, community-centered travel as a desirable lifestyle
Transformation of the tourism industry and shift to a sustainability paradigm
Minimization of the negative socio-cultural and environmental impacts of tourism
Increased commitment of hosts to implementing sustainable, community-centered practices and offer truly eco-friendly experiences
Development of economically viable, socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable travel experiences and products
Increased engagement of travelers towards selecting sustainable travel options
Increased job and income opportunities for local communities in tourist destinations
Fairer distribution of the economic revenues generated through travel and tourism
Improvement of the livelihoods and socioeconomic status of local communities
Dispersion of the flows of travelers to less visited destinations and attractions
Next steps and how to get involved
We are looking for partners and supporters for the following activities:
Brand marketing and awareness-raising
Development and operation of the Herost online platform
Fundraising and volunteering programs
Marketing survey targeting travelers and hosts
Recruitment of hosts: identification, online and offline assessment
Storytelling and content creation
Generation of online traffic through content marketing
Network and global / local partnership building
Development of Herost Academy: online and offline education, knowledge sharing, training and capacity-building
Herost consulting on travel marketing and sustainability