Eco-Tourism and Eco-Labels
Eco-labelling and Accreditation are effective means of ensuring that tourism organisations adhere to the principles of sustainability?
Tourism industry is ‘a consumer of resources’ which ‘represents an insidious form of consumptive activity’ (McKercher 1993 cited in Fyall and Garrod 1997, p.51). Governments of different countries are now seeking for different ways to prevent further exhaustion of natural resources that was caused by tourism activities and developments. The Green Globe programme aims to create a certification system for travel and tourism industry that would address the major environmental issues facing the planet (Parsons and Grant 2007).
The purpose of this essay is to find out if certification of businesses and eco-labelling systems would play a bid role in sustainable development of the tourism sector; and how different parties that involve in to the tourism industry react to the idea of sustainable development, eco–labelling and accreditation.
Tourism industry has to protect its resources because of its high dependence on them and policy is a way to attain this (Andriotis 2001 cited Dodds 2007). Approximately 104 certification or eco-labelling programmes have been developed in the tourism industry. The main objective of such systems is to push the tourism industry towards more sustainable operating practices (Honey and Stewart 2002 cited in Medina, L. K. 2005).
In Australia the terms certification and accreditation often used interchangeably where in fact they carry out two separate meanings and therefore two different procedures. ‘Certification is a voluntary procedure that sets, assesses, monitors and gives written assurance that a business, product, process, service or management system conforms to a specific requirement’ (Black and Crabtree 2007, p.20). It involves ‘best practices’ performance for the businesses rather than acceptance of minimum standard. On the other hand accreditation is a procedure by which an authoritative
Tourism industry is ‘a consumer of resources’ which ‘represents an insidious form of consumptive activity’ (McKercher 1993 cited in Fyall and Garrod 1997, p.51). Governments of different countries are now seeking for different ways to prevent further exhaustion of natural resources that was caused by tourism activities and developments. The Green Globe programme aims to create a certification system for travel and tourism industry that would address the major environmental issues facing the planet (Parsons and Grant 2007).
The purpose of this essay is to find out if certification of businesses and eco-labelling systems would play a bid role in sustainable development of the tourism sector; and how different parties that involve in to the tourism industry react to the idea of sustainable development, eco–labelling and accreditation.
Tourism industry has to protect its resources because of its high dependence on them and policy is a way to attain this (Andriotis 2001 cited Dodds 2007). Approximately 104 certification or eco-labelling programmes have been developed in the tourism industry. The main objective of such systems is to push the tourism industry towards more sustainable operating practices (Honey and Stewart 2002 cited in Medina, L. K. 2005).
In Australia the terms certification and accreditation often used interchangeably where in fact they carry out two separate meanings and therefore two different procedures. ‘Certification is a voluntary procedure that sets, assesses, monitors and gives written assurance that a business, product, process, service or management system conforms to a specific requirement’ (Black and Crabtree 2007, p.20). It involves ‘best practices’ performance for the businesses rather than acceptance of minimum standard. On the other hand accreditation is a procedure by which an authoritative