The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is pleased to announce that the GreenStep Sustainable Tourism Destination Standard has achieved the ‘GSTC-Recognized Standard’ status. GreenStep Sustainable Tourism Standards are used by GreenStep Solutions in their assessment and verification programs which provide tools, resources, and consultative support to destinations and businesses across the tourism industry. The Sustainable Tourism standards enable tourism businesses and destinations to measure their sustainability performance in several key categories; management, social, economic, natural, cultural, and environmental.
The GSTC-Recognized status refers to the standard itself and means that a sustainable tourism standard or system has been reviewed by GSTC technical experts and the GSTC Assurance Panel and deemed the standard or system equivalent to the GSTC Criteria for sustainable tourism. It shows that the set of standards are based on the 4 pillars of the GSTC Criteria: Environment, Social, Cultural, and Management principles. This does not relate to the process of certification, nor to accreditation.
“We are thrilled to have achieved GSTC-Recognized status for our tourism destination standard,” says Angela Nagy – President & CEO of GreenStep Solutions. “Now our industry and destination partners, customers, and those that are using our complimentary online Sustainability Score assessments can rest assured knowing they are measuring their sustainability performance based on globally accepted best practices and standards.”
“Congratulations to GreenStep for their continued development in providing tools and support for systematic approaches to sustainable tourism,” says Randy Durband, GSTC CEO.
Currently, 11 destination standards, 32 hotel standards, and 14 tour operator standards have achieved GSTC-Recognized status. The status offers the market a proof that these standards adhere to international norms. GSTC Recognition does not ensure that a certification process is reliable, only that the set of standards used to certify are equivalent to the GSTC Criteria. GSTC-Recognized standard owners are encouraged to follow and complete the accreditation process, which assures that the certification process used to apply the standard meets international best practice, transparency, and rigor. List of GSTC-Accredited certification bodies is available here.
This press release also appears on the GSTC website.