Brisbane City, QLD

About Us

Ecotourism Australia (EA) is the credible, national peak body for sustainable and eco-tourism. We are a non-government, not-for-profit member organisation established in 1991. We promote and support the ecotourism industry in Australia by building capacity and actively promoting sustainable tourism operations and systems.

We pioneered the world’s first national ecotourism certification program with our foundational program – ECO Certification. Our Certification programs, including the Sustainable Tourism Certification, set global best practices and receive international recognition from the industry.

As the peak body for ecotourism and sustainable tourism we connect, champion, inspire and inform through strategic partnerships and global best practice standards.

We certify over 2000 experiences, tours, attractions and accommodation in our ECO, Sustainable Tourism, Climate Action, and Respecting Our Culture Certifications.

In 2018 we launched the ECO Destination Certification program where local government; regional tourism organisations and operators work together to demonstrate a community-wide and regional commitment to sustainable tourism management practices. Today, almost 20 destinations in Australia and the Pacific participate in the program.

More recently Ecotourism Australia launched, three new sustainability programs: Sustainable Tourism Certification, Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification, and a pre-certification benchmarking program the Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard. These programs are based on our globally recognised ECO Certification standard and are designed to support and recognise the broader tourism industry demonstrating commitment to the four pillars of sustainability: environmental, cultural, financial/business, and socio-economic impact. Our core program, ECO Certification, showcases ECO Certified operators’ sustainability leadership with additional criteria for wildlife engagement and conservation, while our Sustainable Tourism Certification supports tourism businesses operating in urban environments.

We have established global partnerships, working with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), UN Tourism (formerly known as the United Nations World Tourism Organisation – UNWTO) and Green Destinations (an international organisation for sustainable destination development).

Ecotourism Australia is also a founding member of the Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance (TSCA), a global association for sustainable tourism established in January 2025. TSCA members are responsible for certifying more than 19,000 travel and tourism enterprises, organisations, and destinations across the globe – representing the largest cohort of certified operators worldwide.

Along with the other founding members of TSCA – Biosphere, Green Globe, Foundation for Environmental Education (Blue Flag and Green Key), Good Travel Seal, Green Globe, Green Key Global, TourCert, Travelife for Accommodation, and Travelife for Tour Operators, Ecotourism Australia has aligned our certification programs’ minimum criteria and auditing processes under a new standard (the TSCA Standard).

We partner with key organisations in the Asia-Pacific region including Tourism Australia, WWF-Australia, Accor Australia Pacific, Big Red Group, Australian Tourism Data Warehouse, Australian Tourism Export Council, various state tourism organisations, and national parks agencies across Australia including Parks Australia, and the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority (GBRMPA).