GSTC standards receive industry support from Royal Caribbean Cruises and Sabre Holdings, whose brands include Travelocity. They are among the first group of global travel corporations to publicly commit to promoting sustainable tourism products and services recognized by the GSTC.

Other firms include Amadeus, Melia and TUI Travel. Each firm has committed to using the GSTC Criteria as reference for sustainable travel. The GSTC Criteria serve as the global baseline standards for tourism businesses of all sizes to approach sustainability. As a result, GSTC now recognizes companies, organizations, cities and other travel destinations that adopt and apply the criteria as their standard for sustainable industry practices.

GSTC-Recognized Standards

GSTC-Recognized Standards are sustainable tourism standards that adhere to and are equivalent to the GSTC Criteria. This means that the GSTC Criteria are included within the set of standards owned by a Certification Body or a local, national, or specialized tourism organization.

The first batch of GSTC-Recognized standards to pass the review process are:

  • Bundesministerium für Land und Forstwirtschaft, Umwelt und Wasserwirtschaft’s Austrian Ecolabel for Tourism
  • Costa Rica Tourist Board’s Certification for Sustainable Tourism
  • Ecotourism Australia’s Ecotourism Standard
  • Ecotourism Australia’s Advanced Ecotourism Standard
  • Ecotourism Ireland’s Ecotourism Ireland Label
  • European Ecotourism Knowledge Network’s European Ecotourism Labelling Standard
  • Fair Trade in Tourism for South Africa
  • 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

Improve Sustainable Travel Offerings

Royal Caribbean and Sabre are among the tourism and hospitality companies that are working to reduce the environmental impacts of their operations.

«Travelers and agencies need simple tools to find and purchase sustainable travel offerings. The Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria helps by harmonizing the numerous global certification programs in the marketplace to provide travelers with clear and trustworthy sustainable travel choices.» – Leilani Latimer, Director of Sustainability Initiatives at Sabre Holdings and a GSTC board member

Clarification from the GSTC

GSTC Recognition of standards refers to, as the name suggests, to standards only. GSTC has NOT analyzed the quality of the process of certification of these standards except those that have been accredited by GSTC.

Learn more about the difference between certification of businesses, accreditation of certification bodies, and recognition of standards.