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 three sets: Destination Criteria for public policy-makers and destination managers, Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators, and GSTC MICE Criteria for Venues, Event Organizers and Events & Exhibitions. 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
All TUI Hotels & Resorts in Türkiye are GSTC-Certified
Raising the sustainability performance of their hotels is an important part of the TUI Sustainability Agenda. One way of measuring progress is through globally [...]
HN World Panel Viewpoint – Shaping the Future of Hospitality: Continuous Improvements or Radical Changes?
14 experts shared their view "Will the next 50 years bring the Great Decoupling or the Great Collapse?" [1] All bets are on the [...]
The Emerging Trends in Hotel Sustainability Certification
GSTC’s Roi Ariel shares how the increasing number of certification bodies is changing the meetings industry. An increasing number of certification bodies have entered [...]
Recent GSTC news
Zanzibar joins GSTC
The Ministry of Tourism and Heritage of Zanzibar has joined as a Member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Zanzibar is a Tanzanian [...]
The Largest GSTC Global Conference Took Place in Stockholm With the Presence of Her Royal Highness of Sweden, Crown Princess Victoria
The GSTC2024 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference, which took place in Stockholm, Sweden, from April 23rd to April 26th, 2024, brought together 500 delegates from [...]
II GSTC Academic Symposium concluded successfully
The second GSTC Academic Symposium was held on Tuesday, April 23rd, in Stockholm as part of the GSTC2024 Global Conference. This one-day, in-person event [...]
Azerbaijan joins and signs MOU with GSTC
The State Tourism Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan has joined as a Member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Azerbaijan Tourism Board [...]
Preferred by Nature Standard gains GSTC-Recognized Standard Status
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) is pleased to announce that the “Preferred by Nature Standard for Sustainable Travel Activities v1.0” in English and [...]
Bioscore Standard gains GSTC-Recognized Standard Status
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) is pleased to announce that the Bioscore Standard in English and Spanish has gained GSTC-Recognized Standard status, meaning [...]
Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau Joins GSTC
Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau has joined as a member of the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC). The Tokyo Convention & Visitors Bureau (TCVB) is [...]
Six Senses Sustainable Operations Guidelines Gain GSTC-Recognized Standard Status
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) is pleased to announce that the “Sustainable Operations Guidelines” of Six Senses has gained GSTC-Recognized Standard status, meaning [...]