A GUIDE FOR TOUR OPERATORSON HOW TO BECOME CERTIFIED

Becoming Certified asa Sustainable Tour Operator
What is the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC)?
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council establishes and manages global
sustainable standards, known as the GSTC Criteria. It also provides an assurance
framework for sustainable tourism certification.
It was formed in 2007 as a coalition of 32 partners, initiated by the Rainforest
Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations
Foundation (UN Foundation), and the United Nations World Tourism Organization(UNWTO). The purpose was to foster an increased understanding of sustainable
tourism practices and the adoption of universal sustainable tourism principles.
There are two sets: GSTC Destination Criteria for public policy-makers anddestination managers, and GSTC Industry Criteria for hotels and tour operators.
They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language aboutsustainability in tourism. They are arranged in four pillars: (A) Sustainablemanagement; (B) Socioeconomic impacts; (C) Cultural impacts; and (D)Environmental impacts.
Currently, the GSTC Mice Criteria and GSTC Attractions Criteria are underdevelopment. The GSTC Criteria form the foundation Accreditation for Certification
Bodies that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators/transport providers, anddestinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place.
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 travelcompanies, hotels, tour operators, NGOs, individuals and communities – all striving
to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism.

GSTC does NOT certify anything. GSTC provides Accreditation toCertification Bodies. Certification and Accreditation are different things.

Becoming Certified asa Sustainable Tour Operator
Increasingly, travelers are seeking confirmation that sustainability practices are inplace. Also, travel companies are looking for a product that is not only certified
sustainable but certified sustainable by a Certification Body that is GSTC Accredited.

Why GSTC-Accredited?
Being certified by an Accredited Certification Body means that your tourism productor service complies with the highest social and environmental standards on themarket.
Businesses certified by a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body, meeting all the GSTC
Criteria (or a GSTC-Recognized Standard), have the highest level of assurance* andcredibility available.
With an accredited certification, customers and buyers are assured that thebusiness was certified in a credibly verified procedure in a transparent, impartial,
and competent manner.

* General assurance levels:

3rd-party certification by an Accredited Certification Body
(impartiality is certain)
3rd-party verification(impartiality is not certain)
2nd-party verification(not impartial)
1st-party self-assessment
No verification
at allBecoming Certified asa Sustainable Tour Operator
How to get started?
1. Compare and Select a Certification Body (CB) from our website or “CertificationSchemes” that are committed to partnering exclusively with Accredited Certification
Bodies.

www.gstcouncil.org/certification/become-certified-tour-operator

2. Register and/or Contract with a Certification Body. The CB may require tour
operators to officially register, fill out an application and pay a one-time fee. Somemay require tour operators to enter into a contract with the CB. Prior to starting thecertification process, some offer the option to conduct a short self-evaluation todetermine if certification is worth the time, money and effort. Costs may be
associated with this step.
3. Submit Application/Documentary Evidence to the Certification Body. The length of
this process can vary depending on the extent of the tour operator’s documented
policies.
4. Onsite Audit. The CB will visit the tour operator’s office to see how its policies areput into action.
5. Certification issued. After working with a CB towards achieving full GSTC
requirements compliance, your operation will receive its Certification by an
Accredited CB. Tour operators should check with the CB to see when the certification
renewal process should begin. It generally is between 4-6 weeks prior to theexpiration of certification.

All the Certification Bodies listed on our website have gained
Accreditation to certify Tour Operators as sustainable.

Becoming Certified asa Sustainable Tour Operator
My Tour Operator is certified
Tour Operators should proudly display information regarding their certificate andthe certification body that issued it. Doing so informs your stakeholders — fromcustomers to ownership and to your supply chain — that your business is operated
with sound management that looks to the future and not merely at today.
Being certified by an Accredited Certification Body (CB) means that your operations
comply with the highest social and environmental standards on the market.

Those businesses certified by a
GSTC-Accredited Certification Body can display
a unique GSTC logo with a traceable code

Increasingly, travel companies are looking for a product that is not only certified
sustainable but certified sustainable by a certification program that is GSTC
Accredited.
For example, Royal Caribbean Cruises give preferential buying treatment, whenfeasible, to operators of shore excursions that are certified by a GSTC-Accredited
Certification Body.
MSC Cruises follow a similar model. Other travel providers give preferential buying
treatment to suppliers that are certified sustainable.

Question? Contact us:
info@gstcouncil.org