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Sustainable Tourism Stewardship CouncilDevelopment | Alliances | Events In September, 2009, the Partnership for Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria and the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council announced they will merge to form the Tourism Sustainability Council. Certification programs need to demonstrate to tourism operations that getting certified has positive impacts on their businesses, they need to report to governmental and non-governmental agencies about the on-the-ground impacts of certification, and they need to be credible so that tourists feel confident that the certified businesses patronize are indeed protecting ecosystems and the well-being of local people. 
The Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC) is a proposed global accreditation body for sustainable tourism and ecotourism certification programs. Learn more about the STSC by reading answers to our frequently asked questions. DevelopmentFeasibility Phase The Rainforest Alliance conducted a comprehensive 18-month feasibility study to investigate the need for such an institution, determine its scope and develop an implementation plan. Then representatives of numerous organizations provided input on all aspects of research, design and implementation of the business plan for the institution. For more detailed information, please consult the documents linked to below. Read about the development of the report, as well as the objectives and results of the study. One outcome of the study was the launch of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas, a regional network including all certification programs as well as NGOs, academic institutions and other interested parties in the Americas. Business and Marketing Plan Phase View the Governance Systems, Business & Marketing Plans for Setting Up and Running the STSC [PDF - 1.71 MB] View the STSC Vision 2007 - 2012 Presentation [PPT - 1.78 MB] View the STSC Business Plan 2007 - 2012 Presentation [PDF - 133 KB] View the Consultancy to Create Business and Marketing Plans for the STSC -- Final Report [PDF - 201 KB] To see the STSC Business Plan Primary Overview, please send requests to sustainabletourism@ra.org. See a list of members of the Steering Committee. Implementation of the Business Plan Formalizing the STSC Temporary Board and Planning its Launch AlliancesThe Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council is part of the Marrakech Process, a United Nations-led initiative to promote a shift towards global sustainable production and consumption. As the first phase in the Process, the Sustainable Tourism Task Force met in Paris in February 2007 to discuss labels, standards and certification processes. At the meeting, the Rainforest Alliance committed to developing a comparative analysis of different certification standards from around the world to identify common certification criteria that can serve as input for the STSC standard. The STSC is part of the emerging initiatives program of the International Social and Environmental Accreditation and Labelling Alliance. EventsThe Future of Certified Sustainable Tourism: A Briefing on the Launch of the Critical Missing Tool, the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council was held in Washington, DC in September 2008. Documents from the event:
To receive a copy of the minutes, please contact us at sustainabletourism@ra.org.
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