What is the GSTC?
Summary
TLDRThe GSTC, a joint initiative by UN agencies and international conservation organizations, has developed the Global Sustainable Travel and Tourism Criteria (GSTC Criteria IIA). These standards cover sustainable management, social and economic practices, culture, and the natural environment, aimed at combating greenwashing. The criteria are used for destination management, tourism policy, and various travel industry sub-sectors. GSTC provides accreditation to certification bodies and offers programs like sustainable tourism training and destination assessments, all based on its criteria. The criteria are available for free to promote sustainable practices in travel and tourism.
Takeaways
- 🌐 GSTC is a joint initiative by UN agencies and international conservation organizations to develop global standards for sustainable travel and tourism.
- 🏛️ The GSTC Criteria, known as GSTC Criteria IIA, are based on four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, social and economic practices, culture and community, and the natural environment.
- 📋 The criteria are applicable to various sectors, including public sector for destination management, tourism policy, hotels, tour operators, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and attractions.
- 🔍 GSTC Criteria are developed and revised through inclusive processes involving multiple stakeholders from different sectors and regions.
- 🌐 The criteria are widely accepted as global standards due to their inclusive development process.
- 🏅 GSTC provides accreditation to certification bodies, ensuring they meet rigorous requirements for certifying sustainable tourism practices.
- 🔄 There is a distinction between 'accreditation' and 'certification'; GSTC does not directly certify but accredits bodies that do.
- 📘 Certification involves external audits and the placement of a mark on a program, while accreditation is about the certification body's rigor, competence, and impartiality.
- 📚 GSTC offers resources such as the Sustainable Tourism Training Program, destination assessments, and support for destination managers, all based on the GSTC Criteria.
- 📥 The GSTC Criteria are available for free download in multiple languages for non-commercial use to raise awareness about sustainable travel and tourism.
- 💼 GSTC encourages businesses and destinations to operate more sustainably by providing tools and standards to support sustainable development policies and practices.
Q & A
What is the GSTC and what was its purpose for being created?
-The GSTC, or Global Sustainable Tourism Council, was created jointly by UN agencies and prominent international conservation NGOs to develop global standards for sustainable travel and tourism and to create tools to verify legitimate claims of sustainable businesses while combating greenwashing.
What are the four pillars of sustainability that the GSTC criteria are based on?
-The four pillars of sustainability that the GSTC criteria are based on are sustainable management, social and economic practices, culture and community, and the natural environment.
What are the GSTC destination criteria used for?
-The GSTC destination criteria are used by the public sector for destination management and tourism policy at various levels.
What are the key sub-sectors of the travel and tourism industry that have specific GSTC criteria?
-The key sub-sectors with specific GSTC criteria include the GSTC Hotel criteria, the GSTC T operator criteria, and the GSTC MICE criteria, which has three distinct components for venues, event organizers, and events and exhibitions.
How are the GSTC criteria developed and revised?
-The GSTC criteria are developed and occasionally revised formally through highly inclusive processes involving multiple stakeholders from all corners of the globe, including the public sector, private sector, NGOs, academia, and consultants.
Why are the GSTC criteria widely accepted as global standards?
-The GSTC criteria are widely accepted as global standards due to their inclusive development process involving a diverse range of stakeholders from around the world.
What is the role of the GSTC in the certification process?
-The GSTC provides accreditation to certification bodies to certify to their rigorous requirements. It does not directly certify programs but offers accreditation to organizations that do certify, using the GSTC criteria as the global standard of standards for sustainable tourism.
What is the difference between accreditation and certification as mentioned in the script?
-Certification involves placing a mark on a program based on external and impartial audits of the program's processes, while accreditation involves placing a mark on a certification body regarding their rigor, competence, and impartiality.
What resources does the GSTC offer for those interested in sustainable tourism?
-The GSTC offers a sustainable tourism training program, destination assessments, and other support to destination managers, all based on the GSTC criteria.
In what languages are the GSTC criteria available, and for what purpose can they be used for free?
-The GSTC criteria are available in several languages and can be used for free for non-commercial purposes to raise awareness of what sustainable travel and tourism truly means.
How does the GSTC encourage businesses or destinations to operate more sustainably?
-The GSTC encourages businesses or destinations to operate more sustainably by providing them with the GSTC criteria, offering accreditation to certification bodies, and providing various programs and support based on these criteria.
Outlines
🌏 Introduction to GSTC and Its Mission
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) is introduced as a collaborative initiative between the United Nations and other international conservation organizations. Its purpose is to establish global standards for sustainable travel and tourism, and to provide tools for verifying genuine sustainability claims while combating greenwashing. The GSTC has developed a set of criteria known as the GSTC Criteria IIA, which are based on four sustainability pillars: sustainable management, social and economic practices, culture and community, and the natural environment. These criteria serve as guidelines for public sector destination management and tourism policy, as well as for key sub-sectors within the travel and tourism industry, such as hotels, tour operators, MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions), and attractions.
📜 GSTC Criteria and Certification Process
The GSTC Criteria were developed through an inclusive process involving multiple stakeholders from around the world, including the public and private sectors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia, and consultants. This inclusive development process has led to the GSTC Criteria being widely accepted as global standards. The GSTC offers accreditation to certification bodies that meet its rigorous requirements, emphasizing the difference between accreditation and certification. While the GSTC does not directly certify businesses or destinations, it provides accreditation to certification bodies and the GSTC Criteria as the global benchmark for sustainable tourism standards.
🏆 GSTC's Role in Supporting Sustainable Tourism
In addition to setting standards and offering accreditation, the GSTC plays a significant role in supporting sustainable tourism through various programs. These include the Sustainable Tourism Training Program, which is available to anyone working in the tourism sector, destination assessments, and support for destination managers. All of these programs are based on the GSTC Criteria, which are freely available for non-commercial use in several languages to raise awareness about sustainable travel and tourism. The script encourages businesses and destinations to operate more sustainably and to utilize the GSTC's tools and criteria to achieve this goal.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡GSTC
💡Sustainable Travel and Tourism
💡Greenwashing
💡GSTC Criteria
💡Sustainable Management
💡Social and Economic Practices
💡Culture and Community
💡Natural Environment
💡Accreditation
💡Certification
💡Sustainable Tourism Training Program
Highlights
GSTC was created by UN agencies and international conservation NGOs to develop global standards for sustainable travel and tourism.
GSTC aims to create tools to verify legitimate sustainable business claims and fight against greenwashing.
The GSTC Criteria IIA are based on four pillars of sustainability: sustainable management, social and economic practices, culture and community, and the natural environment.
GSTC Destination Criteria apply to public sector for destination management and tourism policy at various levels.
GSTC has criteria for key sub-sectors of the travel and tourism industry, including hotels, tour operators, MICE, and attractions.
GSTC Criteria were developed and revised through inclusive processes involving multiple stakeholders globally.
GSTC Criteria are widely accepted as truly global standards due to their inclusive development.
GSTC provides accreditation to certification bodies to certify to its rigorous requirements.
Accreditation and certification are different; accreditation is for certification bodies, while certification is for programs.
GSTC does not directly certify, but offers accreditation to organizations that certify to its criteria.
GSTC Criteria serve as the global standard of standards for sustainable tourism certification.
GSTC offers a sustainable tourism training program available to anyone working in tourism.
GSTC provides destination assessments and support to destination managers based on its criteria.
GSTC Criteria are available in several languages for free non-commercial use to raise awareness of sustainable travel and tourism.
GSTC encourages businesses and destinations to operate more sustainably using its criteria and tools.
Transcripts
thank you for your interest in the GSTC
I'd like to tell you who we are and what
we do GSTC was created jointly by un
agencies and prominent International
conservation NOS to develop Global
standards for sustainable travel and
tourism and to create tools to verify
legitimate claims of sustainable
businesses while fighting against false
claims sometimes known as greenwashing
there are a number of Standards
collectively known as the GSTC crit IIA
they're based on four pillars of
sustainability sustainable management
social and economic practices culture
and community and the natural
environment these standards are the GSTC
destination criteria to apply by the
public sector for Destination management
and tourism policy at various levels and
these standards are for key sub sectors
of the travel and tourism
industry the GSTC Hotel criteria the
GSTC T operator criteria the GSTC mice
criteria which has three distinct
components for
venues event organizers and events and
exhibitions and finally the GSTC
attractions criteria H was first
developed and occasionally revised
formally through highly inclusive
processes because their development is
so inclusive with multiple stakeholders
from all corners of the globe public
sector private sector NOS Academia
Consultants the GSC criteria are
accepted widely as truly Global
standards the GSTC provides
accreditation to certification bodies to
certify to our rigorous requirements to
understand this you need to know that
the terms accreditation and
certification are often used incorrectly
in colloquial English they are not the
same certification involves placing a
mark on a program based on external and
impartial audits of the program's
processes
accreditation involves a mark on a
certification body regarding their rigor
competence and
impartiality certification bodies
interested in accreditation should read
the section of our website called for
certification bodies GSTC does not
directly
certify however we're very much involved
in certification because we offer
accreditation to those organizations
that do certify and we provide the GSTC
criteria as the global St of standards
for sustainable
tourism GSTC also offers these programs
sustainable tourism training program
available to anyone working in tourism
destination assessments and other
support to destination managers
everything we do is based on the GSTC
criteria we encourage you to download
the GSTC criteria which are available in
several languages they're free of charge
when used for non commmercial purposes
to raise awareness of what sustainable
travel and tri and tourism truly
means as you can see GSTC provides many
tools to support development policy and
practices for genuinely sustainable
travel and tourism activities thank you
for taking the steps to operate your
business or destination more sustainably
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