Sustainable Tourism

Ecotourism is a type of sustainable tourism that emphasizes conserving nature and improving the lives of local people in rural and wilderness areas. Sustainable tourism is not just limited to areas of ecological significance, but actively aims to reduce negative impacts in a holistic way, in urban, rural, and wilderness areas. Issues confronted include economic viability, socio-cultural sensitivity, and environmental sustainability, at destinations of natural and cultural significance, in both mass tourism and the various niche tourism segments. Sustainable tourism not only examines and responds to the needs of the present, but how current actions will also reduce negative impacts in the long term.

More information about issues related to both sustainable tourism and ecotourism can be found on the Global Development Research Center's Web site.

There are almost 70 existing sustainable tourism certification initiatives worldwide, and the Rainforest Alliance decided that it would be more productive to support local certification programs, help increase their international recognition and establish regional networks of certification programs to share resources and information and create standards for certification criteria. We also provide marketing support, training and technical assistance to certified businesses and businesses in the process of becoming certified.

The Rainforest Alliance works on three levels:

• Locally -- providing training, technical and financial assistance to small and medium sized tourism enterprises to help them become more environmentally, socially and economically responsible
• Regionally -- coordinating efforts of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas
• Internationally -- creating partnerships with tour operators to green all links in the tourism supply chain

The Rainforest Alliance's field work is primarily concentrated in Belize, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Guatemala and Nicaragua. Plans are in place to expand efforts in the near future to El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico and Peru, and in the long term to other Latin American countries. The Rainforest Alliance continuously works to build contacts and create alliances with local partners in all parts of the world.

We are based in San Jose, Costa Rica. Additionally, our regional coordinators for Mesoamerican and South America are located, respectively, in Guatamala City and Quito, Ecuador.

Our work has been supported by the Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank, the Ford Foundation, the Overbrook Foundation, the Tinker Foundation, the Global Environment Facility/United Nations Environment Programme, Mitsubishi and Citigroup Foundation, among others.

Best management practices are specific actions that businesses can implement in their tourism operations in order to improve the overall sustainability of the business. These actions are geared to improve the quality and image of the service and the overall business development and local economy, with the least possible impact on the environment and the local communities. Best practices are divided into three areas: environmental, socio-cultural and economic. Businesses that apply these practices are also preparing themselves to meet requirements to become certified by one of the sustainable tourism labels.

Certification labels are awarded by various non-governmental organizations (NGOs), private firms and governmental organizations to those businesses that have met certain criteria for responsible practices. Certification seals validate a business’ sustainability claims to the consumer, serve as useful marketing tools for business-to-business relationships and motivate the industry to deliver more environmentally friendly tourism services. Seals can also provide consumers with valuable information on sustainable tourism products, helping them to make more informed travel choices.

Currently there are over 70 sustainable tourism certification programs in the world, either currently active or in development.

Each program has its own specific criteria, but all programs incorporate requirements for environmentally, economically, and socially responsible practices.

There are currently about 90 members of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas, including all 10 certification programs currently operating in the Americas. The Network is working to establish common work tools and a joint marketing strategy, generate a set of best management practices based on existing regionally and nationally accepted tourism standards, and promote the participation of tourism operations (particularly small scale) in the best practices and certification processes.

The Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC) is a proposed global accreditation body for sustainable tourism and ecotourism certification programs. The Rainforest Alliance sustainable tourism program concluded an 18-month feasibility study to investigate the possibility for establishing this council and provide a fully developed implementation plan. A coalition of representatives from tourism industry associations, NGOs, and governmental agencies was established to advise in the development of this project, expected to launch late in 2007.

The responsibilities of the STSC will be to:

• Increase credibility of sustainable tourism certification programs by ensuring that certification is objective and transparent
• Provide information to consumers, tour operators, and other industry players about sound, accredited certification programs;
• Reduce "greenwashing" and false sustainability claims by accrediting only credible, independent certification programs;
• Help improve environmental and social standards and their implementation through sound certification programs;
• Guarantee multi-stakeholder participation in certification program development;
• Guide the establishment and development of new certification programs in countries where these are non-existent (in coordination with other programs around the world);
• Showcase certified companies as globally-recognized sound operations; and
• Lobby for political and financial support of accredited certification programs.

The STSC is a proposed umbrella organization that would set universal minimum standards for certification programs and accredit those that meet them.

The core mission of the STSC is to enhance the sustainability of tourism operations by ensuring better environmental and social performance, and improved economic benefits to local communities and to certified businesses worldwide.

This effort is now being led by a Temporary Executive Board with 17 organizations representing different stakeholder groups from all global regions, with the advice of a Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee that includes United Nations Environment Programme, World Tourism Organization and other international organizations. It will eventually be governed by a balanced international board of directors elected by a full assembly of stakeholders.

The Rainforest Alliance has provided technical and administrative leadership for the effort since 2001.

No, it is not a new global sustainable tourism certification system, rather, it is a global accreditation system that lends credibility to all existing and future certification systems that meet minimum criteria, based on international baseline criteria.

The STSC is initially financed by foundation and industry sources, but eventually it will be financed by fee-based self-financed sustainability.

• The idea of the STSC emerged as an outcome of a United Nations meeting that took place in Mohonk, New York in 2000. This was later revisited at the first international gathering of certification programs and reflected in the Mohonk Agreement, which includes consensus among existing certification programs and other organizations about the need to develop a common minimum standard for any credible third-party certification system.



• Consultation workshops have been held worldwide, with contributing stakeholders from electronic list-servers, questionnaires, and direct communication with over 1,000 organizations and professionals. Some examples of consultation activities from the past seven years include:
  • 20+ consultation workshops worldwide: Brazil, Australia, United Kingdom, Belize, Germany, United States, India, Peru, Kenya, Thailand, Sweden, and others;
  • Bottom-up approach through wide consultation at the International Year of Ecotourism’s regional meetings;
  • World Tourism Organization member survey;
  • Electronic list-servers, questionnaires and direct communication;
  • Online consultation; and
  • Two high level consultation meetings organized by United Nations Environment Programme (Rio de Janeiro 2005 and Paris 2008). Read more detail about the Feasibility Phase and the Marketing and Business Plan Phase in the Development Phases section below.

The Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas was created in 2003 as a regional network that could help inform the development of a global STSC. The Network of the Americas has since developed a common set of baseline criteria (compatible with the global Sustainable Tourism Criteria) and operates as a knowledge sharing network among 90+ members. Similar efforts have taken place in Europe through the VISIT network and the more recent Sustainable Tourism Network in Southern African countries.

• Governments, local authorities and destination management authorities. The STSC could assist them to raise the market profile and image of a destination in terms of its quality and environmental standards; it could also assist them to monitor and support local or national certification schemes.



• Travelers. The STSC will provide credible identification of the hotels, lodges, and tour operators in which travelers can feel confident of their sustainable practices.



• Conservation and Community Groups. The STSC will ensure that accredited sustainable tourism certification programs meet the highest standards for protecting the environment and the rights and livelihoods of communities.



• Certification programs. The STSC will provide legitimacy and credibility to all those sustainable tourism certification programs that meet STSC requirements and differentiation from those programs that have lower standards and weaker certification practices. The STSC will also facilitate comparisons and partnerships across certification programs.



• Tourism industry. The STSC will provide stronger and more reliable access to national and international marketing channels for the sustainable tourism sought by an ever-expanding share of the market. The STSC will also provide international third-party validation of all of the national and international, private and public, sustainable tourism certification programs with which tour operators may wish to engage.

• Finalize registration of the STSC as an official United Nations Partnership for promoting a more sustainable production and consumption of tourism services. All interested parties are welcome to join the partnership.



• Begin cross regional exchanges among regional networks of certification programs.



• Reach agreement on accreditation requirements for sound certification programs.



• Confirm seed funding for its launch. Target date for launch: first quarter of 2009.

• As a stewardship council, the STSC needs a common set of baseline criteria by which to accredit existing sustainable tourism certification programs. The GSTC are envisioned to serve that purpose.



• Going forward, the GSTC Partnership and STSC have secured a close relationship; each will deal with different areas of sustainable tourism. While the STSC will focus on the more technical aspects accrediting certification programs, the GSTC Partnership will focus on providing educational and implementation tools that any member of the travel industry –- whether certified or not –- could use to improve their sustainability practices.



• Seven organizations are represented in the leadership of both the GSTC Partnership and the STSC, which will allow for greater collaboration in implementation phases.

Each certification program has slightly different procedures and criteria. To find that covers your region, check our list of sustainable tourism certification programs.

This depends on the certification program. Many programs are now certifying accommodations in addition to restaurants, transport, tour operators, tour guides, language schools, parks and reserves and destinations. Contact the certification program directly for details.

The Rainforest Alliance currently only has matching funds available for businesses participating in our Best Practices Program in Costa Rica, Guatemala, Belize and Ecuador.

We promote certified businesses and businesses participating in our Best Practices Program in international and national trade shows, through familiarization trips for international tour operators and through marketing publications. Additionally, any certified or verifiably sustainable business can sign up for listing in the Eco-Index Sustainable Tourism, by making use of the "Add a Tourism Business" section of the menu bar.

The Guide for Sustainable Tourism Best Practices offers practical advice for owners and managers of small and medium-sized hotels and lodges who want to operate sustainably, improve their market position and qualify for certification standards. The guide includes information on the benefits of recycling water and garbage, reducing the use of electricity and employing low-impact construction methods, for example, along with easy-to-follow instructions for getting the job done.

The Directory of Best Practices, Certification and Codes of Conduct for Sustainable Tourism serves as an excellent electronic complement to the information offered in the best practices guide. The online directory is a comprehensive resource explaining what best practices are and how to implement them.

The Integral Biodiversity Impact System was developed by the Rainforest Alliance with the support of the Dutch consultancy firm CREM so that tourism businesses and organizations can not only measure the impact of their activities but also learn how to minimize it.

You can download all of these resources free of charge.

Simple things you can do:

• If sensitive areas are included in your itineraries, give customers information to educate them about the natural and cultural features of visited sites;
• Provide customers with guidelines on how to avoid causing damage when visiting sensitive areas -- for example, maintaining appropriate distances from wildlife, staying on trails to avoid trampling plants or causing erosion and keeping water and energy use down to avoid related impacts on the environment;
• Limit the size of groups, or divide large groups into smaller ones when visiting sensitive areas;
• Inform protected area managers of visits ahead of time and discuss with them ways to reduce visitor impacts;
• Choose locally owned and operated suppliers, and integrate sustainability principles into selection criteria and service agreements; and
• Make financial contributions to conservation and development projects and encourage your clients to do so as well.

The purpose of cooperative agreements signed by international and local tour operators with the Rainforest Alliance is to encourage their suppliers and affiliated business enterprises to join us in conserving biodiversity and reducing tourism's negative impacts. The agreements allow staff with lodges and other tourism enterprises that work with participating tour companies to receive Rainforest Alliance training related to effective business management, sustainable tourism best practices and the requirements of certification programs. Participants can then elect to receive technical assistance and marketing support, if their businesses meet specific requirements.

Responsible travel starts with planning. Making informed choices is the key to becoming a responsible traveler.

Search the Web: Look for Web sites specializing in responsible travel, ecotourism or sustainable tourism.

Consult guidebooks: Choose guidebooks that include information on your destination's environmental, social and political issues, and read before booking. Guidebooks vary in quality, even within a series, but Lonely Planet, Rough Guides, and Moonare among the best.

Make contact: Contact tour operators who have firsthand knowledge of the places you intend to visit.

Ask questions: Let tour operators and hotel managers know that you are a responsible consumer. Before you book, ask about their social and environmental policies.

Choose wisely: Are the businesses you're considering certified? Do they have eco-label ratings, or have they won eco-awards?

Check out our Eco-Index Sustainable Tourism, which lists certified and verified sustainable tourism operations throughout Latin American and the Caribbean.