Representatives of nine sustainable tourism certification schemes in Africa and other sustainable tourism stakeholders came together on January 18-20 to consult with representatives of the newly formed Tourism Sustainability Council (TSC).
The TSC has proposed an international accreditation system for sustainable tourism certification programmes, and thus the main purpose of the meeting was to elicit input from African certification programmes that will be among the future users of the accreditation system.
Delegates expressed support for the TSC accreditation system, although a number of questions were also raised:
• Many certification organisations were concerned that compliance with an international accreditation programme could potentially undermine the authority of strong national accreditation processes of countries such as South Africa and Brazil.
• Although the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC), on which the TSC accreditation standards will in part be based, are internationally recognised standards, the GSTC need to be further clarified and would also have to be flexible to fit the African context.
• Accreditation fees should be affordable and announced far in advance to enable certification organisations to build these fees into annual budgets and fee structures.
• The possibility that the TSC will in future offer membership directly to the tourism private sector could inadvertently undermine local certification programmes.
Apart from enabling African stakeholders to engage with the TSC, the meeting also enabled African certification organisations to network and exchange information with each other, which is essential for a more integrated approach to sustainable tourism on the continent.
The meeting was facilitated by the Sustainable Tourism Network Southern Africa (STNSA), of which Fair Trade in Tourism South Africa (FTTSA) is the Secretariat.
FTTSA Executive Director, Jennifer Seif, summed up the meeting: "It would have been impossible only a few years ago for African stakeholders to participate with such strong agreement in this type of meeting. Networking has created strong trust between the various certification organisations on offer in Africa, and the Sustainable Tourism Network Southern Africa is prepared to take on the role of focal point for future consultation with the TSC."