SETTING STANDARDS FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM, AS A SOURCES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32461/2226-3209.3.2018.175174Abstract
Abstract. Tourism is no doubt one of the largest industries and sources of entrepreneurship in the world.
Behind fuels, chemicals and automotive parts, it is fourth in the amount of export income it generates.
Over the recent decades, a plethora of tourism certification programs have sprung up worldwide in an effort to recognize tourism businesses who truly work to reduce negative impacts by using sustainable practices. This worldwide proliferation of tourism certification programs, however, has led to consumer confusion, lack of brand recognition and widely varying standards. Here the best practice standards for tourism certification programs is used as laid out in the Mohonk Agreement, and the recently released Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria, envisioned to serve as the common set of baseline criteria by which to accredit certification programs, to evaluate four state-level tourism certification programs as case studies in the world. This paper also conjecture what the future may look like for these programs. At the end some notes have been proposed for more researches in the way of tourism standardization.
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