Yulia Koroleva
Sustainability Director, GIA, Switzerland
As GIA’s Sustainability Director, Yulia Koroleva (Switzerland) brings over 15 years of experience in Sustainability Management, working with international organizations, media, and research institutions.
As co-founder of an Ocean TV channel, she combined entrepreneurship with environmental advocacy, delivering over 100 workshops on sustainable practices.
Yulia’s academic credentials include a professorship at the Sustainability Management School (SUMAS) with a diverse portfolio of courses, including Sustainable Business Models, Responsible Tourism, and Sustainable Hospitality. She contributed to the United Nations ITU’s Sustainability Policy.
Among her notable projects is the launch of the first Green Fitness Rating, designed to assess the sustainability of fitness clubs and centers. Her multidisciplinary approach — spanning academia, business, and media — positions her as a high-impact professional in the sustainability sector.
Yulia’s vision for sustainability is rooted in actionable steps toward responsible resource management and transparency in corporate practices. At GIA, she leads programs that equip participants with the knowledge and tools to incorporate sustainable practices in business, thereby fostering environmental responsibility and social impact.
1. How can hotels, resorts, and airlines implement eco-friendly practices without compromising guest experience?
Hotels, resorts, and airlines can implement eco‑friendly practices without compromising guest experience by grounding their strategy in four core principles of green marketing: delivering superior consumer value, ensuring authenticity, embedding sustainability across the full product lifecycle, and engaging consumers in meaningful, participatory ways.
In parallel, this transition should steadily build a compelling business case for guest experience, articulating a clear value proposition that resonates with travelers and elevates their stay. Sustainable choices should be supported by continuous, engaging, and even playful learning moments that make responsible hospitality feel aspirational and desirable — in other words, “sexy.”
Finally, the diverse shades of green consumers should be invited to act as co‑creators of these innovations, serving as a think‑tank community and unique advisory group shaping the next generation of sustainable experiences.
2. What innovations in sustainable tourism—such as renewable energy, waste reduction, and local sourcing—have the greatest impact on environmental outcomes?
The most impactful innovations in sustainable tourism are not individual techniques like renewable energy, waste reduction, or local sourcing. These are important, but they are ultimately tools. The real transformation happens when tourism operators redesign their business models to be inherently sustainable — models that are disruptive, competitive, resilient, and capable of evolving in a volatile geopolitical and environmental landscape. When this foundation is in place, the operational innovations naturally follow and reinforce each other.
A powerful example is Wilderness Safaris, a pioneering tour operator on the African continent. Instead of relying on the traditional (and increasingly overused) triple bottom line, they expanded the model by adding culture as a core pillar. This shift created unprecedented long‑term impact: tangible benefits for local communities, thriving commerce, strengthened conservation outcomes, and deep cultural preservation. At the same time, they earned the trust and loyalty of discerning high‑end travelers by respecting the carrying capacity of their wilderness sites and delivering experiences rooted in authenticity and ecological integrity.
This is the kind of innovation the sector needs — not isolated sustainability tactics, but holistic, culturally grounded, community‑anchored business models that make environmental outcomes inevitable rather than optional.
3. How can governments and industry stakeholders collaborate to promote responsible tourism and green certifications worldwide?
Governments and industry stakeholders can accelerate responsible tourism and the adoption of green certifications by applying the best practices of multi‑stakeholder management and engagement, including:
Shared vision and aligned incentives
Clear roles and responsibilities
Transparent governance and decision‑making
Continuous dialogue and feedback loops
Joint monitoring, evaluation, and accountability mechanisms
When a strong business case and financial incentives are embedded into green certification systems, magic happens. Operators see certifications not as compliance burdens but as gateways to market differentiation, new revenue streams, and access to high‑value traveler segments.
As responsible tourism continues to evolve, governments and industry players should co‑lead the market, shaping an ecosystem grounded in inclusivity, innovation, and long‑term value creation. When certifications open doors to new markets, strengthen brand trust, and enhance destination competitiveness, that alone becomes a powerful engine to keep these partnerships advancing — milestone by milestone.