The non-profit youth hostelling association Hostelling International was established in 1931 in Flanders and 1933 in the Wallonia-Brussels. In line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it aims to promote social tourism, cultural tourism and travel for young people, and to play a role in developing the potential of young people, thereby contributing towards their education and responsible citizenship in a humanist spirit.
To this end, the association aims in particular:
- to undertake all these actions adopting an approach characterised by sustainable development and respect for the environment.
- to make the Belgian and worldwide youth hostel network known to young people using appropriate means;
- to create and maintain in its hostels a friendly atmosphere among all the guests who will be welcomed there without distinction as to age, colour, religion, nationality, language, sex or opinion;
- to involve local young people in the activities of these hostels;
- to create, run and lead a network of Youth Hostels, centres for meetings and accommodation;
Hostelling International in Belgium is a member of:
- Hostelling International (HI), the worldwide youth hostel network which has over 4,000 establishments in 90 countries ;
- the International Social Tourism Organisation (ISTO);
- the Belgian Confédération des Organisations de Jeunesse Indépendantes et Pluralistes (COJ).
Hostelling International and its youth hostels have been awarded the following certificates and labels:
- HI-Q, official quality certificate of Hostelling International (HI) ;
- Wallonie Destination Qualité, Walloon label awarded to tourist establishments that perform well in terms of quality of service, quality of management and overall quality management system;
- The Green Key, European ecolabel awarded to high-performance tourist establishments for sustainable development.
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