Sustainable Tourism Labelling – Greenwashing or sustainable impact?

Abstract

There are a bewildering number of sustainable tourism labels to choose from. This working paper reviews the different offerings and develops a dynamic framework to increase understanding of the certification and labelling process from a circular economy perspective. The framework can be used as a basis for improving practice i.e., for tour operators and tourism agencies to communicate to tourists more effectively, for tourist destinations including tourism providers to make more effective decisions on how to progress with 2030 targets, and for tourism students to increase awareness of sustainable tourism certification and labelling and more effectively promote sustainable tourism to those working in the tourism industry.