Together for high impact tourism
The Tourism Impact Alliance is an international project implemented by TourCert in collaboration with the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) and co-financed by the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs SECO. The project addresses the challenge of over 150 tourism sustainability labels and the many different standards and aims to promote harmonization of standards and measurability of sustainability performance. An impact model with core indicators is to support the comparability of certified businesses and destinations and improve the sustainability impact. At the same time, the project is intended to provide impetus for increased cooperation between certification organizations and to promote digitalization, innovation and collaborative thinking in certification and auditing
Let’s face global challenges
Global sustainability developments are currently very dynamic and demand quick action, not least in tourism and in the tourism certification landscape – whether it is the EU decision on the Green Claims Directive, the diverse discussions on monitoring and measurability of sustainability in tourism, or the major question of what contribution global tourism can make to climate neutrality.
With our SECO-funded project Tourism Impact Alliance, we are addressing these diverse fields of action and aim to improve the transformational impact of companies, destinations and supply chains through performance measurement, digitalization and impact orientation. This is where value-oriented and tourism-competent certifiers can play a crucial role, if given the chance.
We pursue common goals
- Strengthen positive impacts through tourism
Improve transformational impacts of businesses, destinations and supply chains through performance measurement, digitalization and impact orientation.
- Create credible certifications
Joint Audit Office qualifies independent verification and promotes accredited audit standards.
- Expand collaboration between certifiers
Strengthen value-based and tourism-competent certifiers through networking and market positioning.
- Establish sustainable destination systems
Networking for labeling, performance assessment, qualification and systemic destination development.
Our areas of work
Impact management
At the end of 2022, The Tourism Impact Alliance formed the Impact Panel as a think tank and exchange platform for impact measurement, impact management and verification of sustainability commitments in tourism. It consists of certification bodies, standard owners and other regional sustainability networks.
The panel held monthly meetings in the first half of 2023 on various topics to advance joint impact management within its own initiatives and certifications. The meetings had a special focus on the development of joint sustainability indicators and methodological approaches to advance measurement for the standards and the Impact Alliance. The aim was to identify concrete core indicators, develop methodological frameworks and explore the feasibility and integration into certification processes. The findings ultimately resulted in a concept paper.
Impact Concept Paper TIA
pdf, 1.8 Mb
Tourism Audit Office
The Tourism Audit Office is an alternative and accessible approach towards increased quality assurance in the sustainable tourism certification community.
It brings together those who share the same vision of promoting sustainable tourism, of making its impacts visible, of making certification more credible and of generating a higher market impact.
The Tourism Audit Office, as an accredited service provider, is to spare any participating organization the individual accreditation, to develop professionally up-to-date standards and to implement the neutral certification by taking over the audits.
Concept Paper_Audit Office_EN
pdf, 2.7 Mb
Digital tools
Efficient processes, measurements, monitoring and audits require digitization. That is why we have developed the following IT tools:
- Impact Cockpit: The Impact Cockpit is the ideal solution for tourism companies and destinations to measure their impacts, evaluate supply chains, benchmark indicators and create reports. Several satisfied users are already using the tool in a pilot phase.
- Audit Manager: The Audit Manager is the convenient solution for certification and verification bodies to verify sustainability performance and assure compliance with a reference standard. The Audit Manager is already an integral part of the processes with a number of customers.
Destinations for Future
„Viva Latinoamérica!“ From the beginning, we have paid special attention to sustainable tourism development in Latin America in the project and, among other things, founded the network “Destinos del Futuro” in 2022. “Destinos del Futuro” is a destination network that aims to articulate tourism destinations that share an interest in sustainable, resilient and regenerative development in Latin America and the Caribbean. It aims to be an integrated platform of collaboration for the exchange of experiences and co-creation of improvements and innovation. So far, 7 destinations from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador and Peru have been part of the network. Other destinations from Chile and Honduras are eager to join.
Información_Destinos del Futuro_ES
pdf, 4.3 Mb
Further Downloads
Think and act collaboratively!
Are you interested in further information about the project or would you like to get in touch with us? We look forward to receiving your inquiry.
