EcoTourism

New Certification Focuses on Sustainable Business Practices

After completing a successful pilot launch, NSF International (NSF) and Sustainable Travel International (STI) have announced the official launch of the new Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Program™ (STEP) Program.

The STEP certification program addresses consumer and travel industry concerns regarding negative environmental, socio-cultural and economic impacts, such as:

-   environmental pollution,
-   introduction of invasive species that could potentially cause harm to ecosystems and human health,
-   loss of cultural heritage, and
-   leakage, which occurs when a tourism business buys supplies from outside the region, providing no assistance to the local economy.

In many parts of the world, tourism standards are either loosely enforced or nonexistent. The STEP certification program was developed in response to recent criticism from tourist destinations regarding the need for sustainable development in tourism.

The key to sustainable tourism development is to effectively manage the environment to ultimately provide benefits to local people and to increase visitors’ interest. The new program demonstrates the importance of certification to all travel and tourism providers, including hoteliers, tour operators, attractions and transportation service providers, and assists them with the implementation of sustainable business practices and management systems.

“Our goal is to complement and support other credible certification initiatives while offering the program in regions where none currently exist,” said Brian T. Mullis, STI Co-founder and President. “Our challenge has been to create a user-friendly program that’s applicable to tourism businesses of all sizes and meets all of the various stakeholders’ needs, while at the same time trying to ensure that the program will be financially sustainable.”

NSF recognizes the potential the program will have in helping tourism-related businesses of all sizes to reach increasing levels of sustainability in their operations. The educational component of STEP is designed for: newcomers to sustainability, those wanting to improve their existing approach, and businesses that have long-standing sustainability programs.

“STI’s expertise in sustainable tourism and eco-certification is the ideal complement to NSF’s existing environmental auditing and management systems registrations services,” said NSF International President and CEO Kevan P. Lawlor. “Together, we will help protect the environment and cultural heritage for future generations while promoting cross-cultural understanding and economic development.”

For more information on the certification process, visit ecocertification.org. Sustainable Travel International (www.sustainabletravelinternational.org) is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to promote sustainable development and eco-friendly travel by providing programs that help travelers and travel-related companies protect the environmental, socio-cultural and economic needs of the places they visit, and the planet at large.

Reprinted with permission from Sustainable Travel International Media Update
e-Newsletter, February 2007.

Appeared in the April/May 2007 issue of Innerchange.