Roi Ariel has been focusing on responsible travel and sustainable tourism over the past decade, and is currently the General Manager of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC), the leading global authority in setting and managing standards for sustainable travel and tourism. In his role, Roi manages the organization's memberships, communications, events and operations. This includes working closely with key governmental agencies and influential companies to mainstream and promote adherence to sustainability standards in travel and tourism.
He previously worked with UN-ESCAP researching sustainable development and green growth in Southeast Asia, and on sustainability issues with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA). He also served as the Green Economy Initiative Advisor for Friends of the Earth Middle East in Israel, as well as sustainable tourism advisor around the world in countries including Madagascar, China, and Taiwan.
Roi holds a master degree in Applied Economic and Social Development from the National Chengchi University in Taipei, and a bachelor degree in International Relations and Comparative Religion with a focus on Development and Asia from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. With his master thesis titled “Common Pool Resource Management and Benefit Distribution in Community Based Tourism”, he speaks as a guest lecturer at universities and presents at academic conferences. He is fluent in English, Hebrew, and Mandarin, with basic understanding of Thai and German. He also studied Sanskrit and Pali.