Knowledge Networking Portal for Sustainable & Responsible Tourism
First 10 certification standards recognised by GSTC
Today the GSTC is pleased to announce the first GSTC-Recognized standards:
• Bundesministerium für Land - und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft (BMLFUW)‘s Austrian Ecolabel for Tourism (Österreichisches Umweltzeichen)
• Costa Rica Tourist Board (ICT)'s Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST)
• Ecotourism Australia's Advanced EcoCertification
• Ecotourism Ireland’s Ecotourism Ireland Label
• European Ecotourism Knowledge Network’s European Ecotourism Labelling Standard (EETLS)
• Fair Trade in Tourism for South Africa (FTTSA)
• Instituto de Turismo Responsable's Biosphere Hotels
• Japan Ecolodge Association’s Environmentally sustainable accommodations standard
• Rainforest Alliance’s Standard for Tourism Operations
• Sustainable Travel International's Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program (STEP)
Each standard went through a rigorous review and authorization procedure and are considered equivalent to the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria are the worldwide minimum requirements for tourism businesses of all size to approach sustainability.
Today marks a significant milestone in the development of credible sustainable travel and tourism products. The GSTC-Recognized standards are the cornerstone and first step of a 3-stage GSTC Process. Stage 1 recognizes that a standard, which is a written statement that can be verified, is compatible with the GSTC Criteria. Stage 2 is the evaluation of the processes for certification to ensure they are transparent, impartial and conducted by people with technical competence. The 2nd stage is called GSTC Approval of a certification program that uses a GSTC-recognized standard. The third and final stage is full accreditation (GSTC-Accredited) and will begin implementation in December of 2014. To learn more about the GSTC Process please visit the GSTC website.
(GSTC press release 18 jan 2012)
TIP: See the 10 certification programmes with the 10 GSTC-Recognised standards on the DestiNet Atlas
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| Address | |
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| Source | GSTC |
| Keywords | certification,accreditation,standard,GSTC,, |
| Target group(s) | Destinations , Businesses , Travellers |
| Topics | Certification & Marketing |
