WASHINGTON, D.C.—The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) announced that the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) Standard 2.0 for Lodging and Tour Operators in Costa Rica has achieved the “GSTC-Recognized Standard” status.
The Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST), established by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute in 1997, was created to provide guidelines for hotel properties and service providers to build their business model based on the best sustainable tourism practices—the management and impact of the natural, cultural and social resources of the country. CST has a validity of two years and the criteria and indicators that are valued to award certification include: business management; social, cultural, and economic management; environmental management; and the management of specific indicators according to category.
Achieving the GSTC-Recognized status means that a sustainable tourism standard has been reviewed by GSTC technical experts and the GSTC Accreditation Panel and deemed equivalent to the GSTC Criteria for sustainable tourism. Additionally, an organization that meets GSTC requirements must administer the standard.
Well-Established Certification Program
“CST is a well-established certification program with a clever scheme of market incentives for participating businesses,” says Randy Durband, GSTC CEO. “We’re pleased that the standards driving that program comply with the GSTC Criteria and as such have formally re-gained GSTC-Recognized status.”
“As global leaders in sustainability, we are honored to receive the Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s recognition for the Certification of Sustainable Tourism Standard. Established more than 20 years ago by the Costa Rican Tourism Institute, the program is a result of the public and private sector’s collaborative efforts to recognize tourism companies for their sustainable tourism practices. Today, more than 400 tourism companies retain the certification,” says Gustavo Segura, Costa Rica’s Minister of Tourism.
Currently, 11 destination standards, 33 hotel standards, and 31 tour operator standards have achieved GSTC-Recognized status. The status offers the market a proof that these standards adhere to international norms. GSTC Recognition does not ensure that a certification process is reliable, only that the set of standards used to certify are equivalent to the GSTC Criteria. GSTC-Recognized standard owners are encouraged to complete the accreditation process, which assures that the certification process used to apply the standard meets international best practice, transparent, and rigor. List of GSTC-Accredited certification bodies is available here.
