With the formation of the GSTC Data Standard Working Group at the GSTC Conference in 2023, a group of international experts under the official umbrella of the GSTC, is developing an open data standard for sharing sustainable tourism certification data across all platforms and for increasing transparency for consumers and providers of sustainable tourism offers.
Why
We would like to show the data from the sustainability certifications to the tourists in a comprehensible form so that they can make informed decisions in the future. It is our effort to make it easier for both, guests and providers, to find sustainable tourism products and experiences. We want to give a better transparency about what the destination, accommodation or tour operator are actually doing when it comes to sustainability.
How
We want to create a uniform data structure for the results from the GSTC-based certifications on the basis of which the data can be exchanged between platforms.
What
The relevant stakeholders agree on the goal of defining a uniform standard under the umbrella of the GSTC based on the GSTC criteria catalogs. The platforms can orient themselves in the implementation of the data structures.
For more information about the GSTC Data Standard Working Group with all relevant players, please download the presentation of the data-set workshop during the CSTC Conference from our Outdooractive CEO Hartmut Wimmer.
Sustainability Scores
At the moment various certification bodies certify tourism businesses and providers differently. Therefore we face a rather confusing label jungle with an obscure mix of several subjective evaluation criteria.
To create a data standard of criteria that is transparent and measurable to exchange data and distribute it to all the different platforms such as Outdooractive, Booking.com, Tripadvisor, Yelp, etc., the CSTC Data Standard Working Group is planning to introduce a Sustainability Scorecard with a certain number of defined core values. This Scorecard, first developed by Albert Salman of Green Destinations, will be based on agreed Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that are measurable and meaningful. A first step in terms of visualizing the sustainability scores for POIs, tour operators and destinations is being shown in the following overview.
Stay up-to-date
To keep yourself in the loop on any further development and to connect to the GSTC Data Standard Working Group, you are invited to subscribe to our mailing list provided by Outdooractive.
