Setting Global Sustainability Standards: The Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council

The proliferation of schemes to certify sustainable tourism and ecotourism across the world has not succeeded in changing purchasing patterns and consumer behavior due to the global nature of the tourism industry, both in terms of supply and demand. Following the footsteps of industries such as forestry, organic farming and fishing, tourism is now the next target for a global accreditation body to regulate claims of sustainability. This article discusses the challenges of setting global sustainability standards in a diverse industry such as tourism, and the process followed by a team of consultants to encourage a wide representation of views and realities in developing an international accreditation body for sustainable tourism and ecotourism certifiers, the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council