Yeppoon Sea Caves, Queensland, Australia – Image: Capricorn Enterprise
The global demands from travelers are changing. With the continued threat of greenwashing and the changing consumer expectation, there is an unprecedented demand for sustainability and for international standards and certifications used by the tourism industry to continually improve, according to ECO-Tourism Australia.
“We continue to see more demand from travelers, particularly international tourists, for authentic and credible sustainability initiatives by the tourism experiences they seek out”, says ECO-Tourism Australia CEO Elissa Keenan. According to Booking.com’s Sustainable Travel 2024 Report, 75% of global travellers say that they want to travel more sustainably over the next 12 months.
Ecotourism Australia says it is working collaboratively with fellow best global certifying bodies in Europe and North America that will ensure continued best practice sustainable tourism certification and standards that will satisfy the requirements of emerging consumer protection legislation such as the European Union Green Claims Directive (EUGCD).
“We are committed to ensuring certification remains accessible, cost effective and able to meet local industry requirements for our tourism operators, and in particular SMEs that form the large majority of the tourism industry in Australia and around the world”, says Keenan.
The proposed European Union Green Claims Directive (EUGCD) will require companies to substantiate the voluntary ‘green’ claims they make in business-to-consumer commercial practices and is expected to commence in 2027. The aim of the Directive is to prevent false or misleading advertising and ensure only companies that can display transparent and accurate sustainability information to consumers.
ECO-Tourism Australia CEO Elissa Keenan – Image: Neuseeland News
“We welcome this global shift and the positive impact it will have for our ECO and Sustainable Tourism Certified operators and the alignment to our mission, purpose and values to ensure global best practice standards in sustainable tourism that are recognised, valid and credible. We will continue to work with our operators, destinations, industry and government on this topic to ensure Australia remains best placed to meet global requirements”.
