QUEENSLAND, AUSTRALIA—As the global tourism industry continues to grow faster than most other sectors, it has triggered demand for a more structured approach to certification programs in China.
Since the establishment of the Certification and Accreditation Administration of the People’s Republic of China (CNCA) in 2001, high quality development and performance has been a key priority. More recently CNCA formally approved EarthCheck as a certification program in China’s blossoming tourism industry. EarthCheck is a leading scientific benchmarking, certification and advisory group for travel and tourism.
Mr Changzhou Liu, CNCA’s Deputy Director, said certification and standards form the basis of China’s national quality performance. “Measurement, inspections and accreditation in China play an important role in transmitting trust and service development,” Mr Liu said. “EarthCheck has a good technical foundation and rich practical experience in the implementation of sustainable development of tourism standards and certification systems. Building capabilities will enable China to implement international standardization and promote the successful sustainable development of China’s tourism industry.”
‘An Honor to be Recognized’
EarthCheck’s Founder and CEO and Executive Director of the APEC International Centre for Sustainable Tourism, Stewart Moore, said it was an honor to be recognized by China as a global leader in certification.
“We are privileged to be working with CNCA delivering high quality services and supporting sustainable tourism,” Moore said. “Destinations and enterprises that demonstrate environmental integrity are more likely to commercially succeed at the same time as delivering positive outcomes for the planet.
“China has some of the world’s most significant world heritage sites, which creates new opportunities as well as challenges for managing tourism,” Moore added. “Sustainable tourism has the ability to generate shared value and through the EarthCheck benchmarking and certification programs, destinations and organizations are able to measure, monitor and manage their environmental footprint as well as learning how to deliver strong economic and social returns to the local community.”
