LIFT Transformation

Sustainability Metrics

Carbon accounting, quality of employment, or tourism acceptance: how can sustainable tourism development be measured consistently across German destinations? To address this, the German Tourism Association (DTV), reCET create.empower.transform., TourCert together with the Excellence Initiative for Sustainable Destinations, and the Faculty of Tourism at Munich University of Applied Sciences are developing a new data standard as part of the funding project “Measuring, Communicating and Valuing Sustainability in Tourism.”. The project is funded under the LIFT Transformation programme of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The approach: Successful tourism cannot be measured by overnight stays alone. Qualitative growth indicators are essential for ensuring balanced and sustainable development. While there are already metrics at national level, these are not always applicable at regional scale. The aim is therefore to define indicators and measurement methods that can be used directly by tourism destinations. To achieve this, existing international and national indicators are being reviewed, suitable metrics identified, and their practical applicability tested in selected pilot destinations. The project results will be presented in December 2025. The initial impetus for the indicator set came from the DTV working group on future development, which will continue to support the project alongside the state tourism organisations.