Plan to write about GSTC? Here are the basics
The GSTC in 2 sentences
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC®) manages the GSTC Criteria, the global standards for sustainable travel and tourism; as well as acts as an international body providing assurance for sustainable tourism certification in three key subsectors of tourism: hotels/accommodations, tour operators/agencies, and destinations.
The GSTC in 4 paragraphs
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC) establishes and manages global sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. There are two sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, and Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators. They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism.
The Criteria are arranged in four pillars: (A) Sustainable management; (B) Socioeconomic impacts; (C) Cultural impacts; and (D) Environmental impacts (including consumption of resources, reducing pollution, and conserving biodiversity and landscapes). Since tourism destinations each have their own culture, environment, customs, and laws, the Criteria are designed to be adapted to local conditions and supplemented by additional criteria for the specific location and activity.
The GSTC Criteria form the foundation for GSTC’s role in providing assurance for impartiality and competence of Certification Programs that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services; but it provides assurance for those that do.
The GSTC® is an independent and neutral organization, legally registered in the USA as a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, NGO’s, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism. GSTC is an ISEAL Community Member.
Understand Certification and Accreditation
GSTC does NOT certify businesses and destinations, but is deeply involved certification of sustainable tourism by promoting certification and providing an assurance that select Certification Bodies operate with impartiality and competence.
Certification is defined as a voluntary, third-party assessment, through an audit, of a tourism enterprise or destination for conformity to a standard. GSTC does NOT conduct certification. That is the job of the many Certification Bodies throughout the world; our job is to accredit those that certify. [e.g. Certification Body, Certification Scheme, Certified Hotel]
Accreditation is a mark of quality that GSTC places on Certification Bodies that choose our independent and neutral process to verify that they certify businesses, such as hotels or tour operators, or destinations, in a competent and neutral manner. We at GSTC look very hard at their process of certification to ensure you that they issue certifications based on merit and neutrality. [e.g. GSTC Accredited Certification Body]
NOTE: These are not merely GSTC’s definitions. The globally recognized ISO system of international standards provide clear definitions of certification and accreditation. GSTC adheres to ISO’s definitions and terminology. The media is highly encouraged to reduce the massive confusion currently seen in society and the media by using these terms correctly.
Recent GSTC press releases
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GSTC in the Media
Travel in the Time of Climate Crisis
As climate-related disasters ramp up, how can travelers minimize the harms and maximize the benefits they bring to recovering destinations? Photo credit: Gabriel [...]
Bahamas Wins Top Caribbean Tourism Organization Sustainable Award
Bahamas Wins Top CTO Sustainable Award NASSAU, Bahamas (16 March 2023) – The Bahamas can officially claim the title of sustainable champion after starting [...]
ABTA, IATA and GSTC pledge to go ahead with Türkiye events
ABTA, IATA, and GSTC have declared their commitment to hold their upcoming events in Türkiye as planned. Travel and tourism organizations planning conferences in [...]
Recent GSTC news
First In-Person GSTC Course in Padova, organized by the GSTC Italy Working Group
Join the first in-person official GSTC Sustainable Tourism Course in Padova, Italy, in collaboration with Etifor, organized by the GSTC Italy Working Group. The [...]
The Finance Minister of Vanuatu inaugurated the GSTC Training in Port Vila
The Finance Minister of Vanuatu, Mr. John Salong, inaugurated the two-day GSTC training on Sustainable Tourism, on the 7th of August 2023 in Port [...]
Destination Stewardship Report – Summer 2023 (Volume 4, Issue 1)
Destination Stewardship Report Summer 2023 May-August (Volume 4, Issue 1) The Destination Stewardship Report is a collaboration between the Destination Stewardship Center, Center for Responsible [...]
GSTC Communications Internship available
We are looking for an enthusiastic intern to join our Communications Team. They will be providing support to our Communications Manager with Social Media [...]
Mauritius Standards Bureau (MSB) is now GSTC-Accredited
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that Mauritius Standards Bureau (MSB) has gained the GSTC-Accredited Certification Body status. The Mauritius [...]
GSTC Vice Chair meets Prime Minister of Vanuatu at the Pacific Agritourism and Food Tourism Validation Meeting
Last week, Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)’s Vice Chair CB Ramkumar attended the Pacific Agritourism and Food Tourism Validation Meeting facilitated by GSTC Member Regenerative Vanua and the [...]
GSTC published revised GSTC Accreditation Manual 3.0
Photo: Dr. Mihee Kang, Assurance Director of GSTC, in the GSTC Auditor training in Antalya, Tükiye, during the Global Sustainable Tourism Conference 2023. [...]
RoyalCert is now GSTC-Accredited
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that RoyalCert has gained the GSTC-Accredited Certification Body status. RoyalCert is an International certification [...]