Getting started on your
Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification

The preliminary assessment will be a great tool to help you gauge if you are ready for certification. It will provide you clear understanding on how many criteria you are already doing well against, and what areas you will need to improve in before achieving certification. If you are just at the start of your sustainability journey as a destination, you may like to consider our Corporate Supporter Program to begin driving sustainability amongst your tourism industry as a first step.

If you have visitor facing product like a visitor centre, museum, or art gallery which is run by your council or local tourism organisation, yes you can apply for the scorecard for this product specifically, it will provide you a short introduction into sustainability. However, if you’re looking for something across the entire destination and region, your best starting point is a preliminary assessment to help you get a benchmark for the entire region.

Sustainable Destination Certification does not encourage overtourism in a destination – it invites quality visitors who will care for and respect the community, local Indigenous cultures, and the natural environment. We treat our visitors as our invited guests, who treat our region with care and who leave it in a better place than when they arrived.

The Sustainable Tourism Certification is designed for all businesses that operate in the tourism supply chain in a non-nature-based space, including hotels, attractions, tours, transport, restaurants, breweries, and more who focus on sustainable practices. Whereas the Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification program is available to all urban destinations and focuses on sustainability through a regional commitment to sustainable and responsible tourism practices.

ECO Destination Certification is for a nature-focused destinations with visitors coming to the region to experience the natural offering (e.g. diving, snorkelling, hiking). The Sustainable Tourism Destination is for an urban based region with food, drinks and culture at the heart of the experience.

There are two levels of Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification.

Sustainable Tourism Destination – Tourism destination with a strong commitment to sustainability principles. This involves minimising negative impacts and maximising benefits to environment, communities, and culture.
84 criteria are required to complete this certification. An online audit every two years and an onsite audit every four years are conducted.

Advanced Sustainable Tourism Destination – Tourism destination with an in-depth demonstration of commitment to sustainability principles across all aspects of the tourism industry and community. This involves management of environment, communities, and culture to not only preserve it, but to improve these assets.
91 criteria are required to complete this certification. An online audit every two years and an onsite audit every four years are conducted.

You don’t need to decide which level to apply for straight away. Once you have applied for certification you will get access to all levels in the portal, making it easier to decide as you go through the application process. You can also speak to one of our certification specialists who will be happy to guide you.

Prior to applying for Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification, it is a requirement to complete a preliminary assessment to evaluate the region’s existing practices and plans. This assessment is a once-off, flat rate cost and will provide the destination with a report of their current standing against the certification criteria to better inform decision making regarding certification.

The cost of Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification is based on the population of the region. In the first year only, destinations are required to also purchase a support package to ensure the destination is supported effectively throughout its application. In the second year and onwards, just the certification is billed annually.

For a personalised conversation about the Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification’s pricing, please contact the office on (07) 3256 6777 or email eco@ecotourism.org.au.

Each destination has multiple agencies managing the area (e.g. local government, Traditional Owner representatives, local tourism organisation and national parks), however one agency needs to be the ‘lead agency’ with responsibility for the certification. ECO Destination Certification is often led by local government (as they have the most responsibility in the destination) and delivered in partnership with the local or regional tourism organisation. It is recommended that one representative from the lead organisation is the main contact for this program. This is normally an allocated staff member who has tourism and sustainability knowledge and is well connected across various departments/stakeholders.

Optional engagement of consultants can assist with the speed/quality of the application. However, it is suggested that the main responsibility still sits with an internal staff member of the destination’s lead organisation to ensure the organisation is satisfied with the information submitted on its behalf and ownership continues beyond the consultant.

The time commitment varies from destination to destination and will depend on several variables including:

• The level of existing sustainable management practices and stakeholder engagement
• The deadline in which the destination would like to achieve certification
• Other project priorities for the destination representative
• The complexity of the destination’s management
• The level of buy-in from key stakeholders
• The scope of the region and the support packages chosen.

The process of certification allows a destination to proceed at its own speed, but on average an application for Nature level certification is reached within 12-18 months.

Following the preliminary assessment, which compiles existing (publicly available) documentation, policies, and plans, you will have a greater understanding of the certification requirements prior to beginning certification. Examples of documents required include a Biodiversity Strategy, a Destination Management Plan with all 4 pillars of sustainability considered, a Tourism Impact Assessment (template provided), Low Impact Mobility Strategy and Waste Management Strategy. A summary of documentation required for the assessment can be provided in advance upon request.

Ecotourism Australia provides extensive and personalised support throughout the application process and then beyond certification. Initial engagement includes the choice of multiple tiers of support packages to help destinations through the application process. These packages include onsite visits to facilitate engagement with key stakeholders and industry and various levels of coaching time included.

As Ecotourism Australia is the certification body, they can support the destination through the application process as a ‘coach’ but cannot complete the application on behalf of the destination – that is where an independently engaged consultant can assist.

Sustainability is not an endpoint, but an ongoing journey of improvement. Sustainable Tourism Destination Certification means that a region is committed to meeting best practice processes and procedures to grow sustainable and ecotourism offerings in their region.

A preliminary assessment will establish a baseline of the destination’s current sustainability performance against our globally-recognised certification standard. Our certification includes plans, policies, strategies, and steps to develop the region’s responsible destination management practices. Through regular auditing, Ecotourism Australia’s independent auditors will assess the destination’s continued commitment to sustainability and may leave recommendations for your region to address.

Once you have attained certification you will be required to pay an annual fee at the beginning of each financial year to retain certification. Every fourth year an onsite audit will be conducted to ensure you remain committed to the agreed terms of your certification. Every second year a smaller online audit is conducted to ensure documents are kept up to date.

Once you complete your onsite audit and meet any further corrective actions you will be awarded certification. We will send you your certificate and liaise with your marketing and communications teams to assist in arranging a certification launch event and announcement promotion.

Each financial year you will need to pay your renewal fee and complete an annual declaration stating that you are still committed to the agreed terms of your certification.

Two years after your certification you will undergo a desktop only audit, and then a further 2 years after that you will have another onsite audit to maintain your credentials and continue the path of sustainable tourism improvement. To keep your certification up-to-date and to facilitate the audit process we require your documentation to be updated regularly.