Sustainable tourism

Travelers are becoming more aware of the potential impact they have on the environment and communities. They expect tourist hosts or facilities to be more accountable for their current and future economic, social and environmental impacts. Sustainable tourism certification is a credential that gives evidence of good sustainable tourism management.

Auditing and certification for sustainable tourism

CWM is now able to offer auditing and certification for sustainable tourism for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) standards, one of the most recognised sustainable tourism certification programs for hotels/accommodations, tour operators/transport providers, and destinations.

Future of tourism: sustainable and GSTC certified

We believe that sustainable tourism practices are essential for the future of tourism, to remove the negative impact that tourism activities cause on the environment and society and instead to create positive benefits for the local economy, society and environment. We are working with our partners Vireo, to provide certification audits for GSTC.

How does it work?

The process

The Sustainability Management System (SMS) is the backbone of sustainability certification, it is a process designed and implemented for the facility to manage the different aspects related to the sustainability performance.

In a well-developed SMS nearly all staff from the facility will be involved in some form, and some staff have designated roles or responsibilities to ensure that the aspects are covered.

The GSTC criteria is organized around four main themes:

  1. demonstrate effective sustainable management.
  2. maximize social and economic benefits to the local community and minimize negative impacts.
  3. maximize benefits to cultural heritage and minimize negative impacts.
  4. maximize benefits to the environment and minimize negative impacts.

In order to obtain GSTC certification, our qualified auditors will audit the facility to the GSTC standards to verify that the criteria is met. This means that during the audit, the facility should be able to demonstrate that the SMS is up and running in accordance with GSTC.

CWM can also provide a shorter pre-audit, to assist with preparation for main audits.

The advantages of working with CWM for Sustainable tourism Certification

We believe strongly in our work for sustainable tourism and part of our mission is to develop increased knowledge, understanding, adoption and demand for sustainable tourism practices. With good knowledge and experience of the GSTC standards, our auditors are in a position to advise the best practices to help you to consistently develop your sustainability goals. As more booking sites will eventually set the GSTC standards as a basic requirement for tourists to book hotels, this will be a necessity in the future.

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