“Promoting the widespread adoption of global sustainable tourism standards to ensure the tourism industry continues to drive conservation and poverty alleviation”
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) serves as the international body for establishing and managing standards for sustainable tourism. All of our programs and activities work toward this central mission. GSTC is mostly a volunteer organization, consisting of experts in sustainable tourism and supported by organizations and individuals with a passion for ensuring that meaningful standards are available globally for sustainability in travel and tourism. Those volunteers are organized in working groups which you can learn about in the GSTC Objectives section of this website. Financial support from donations, sponsorship, and membership fees are critical to our own sustainability.
At the heart of this work are the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria and the development of the GSTC Criteria for Destinations. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources, while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation. Sustainability is imperative for all tourism stakeholders and must translate from words to actions.