Association

Short description

It is proposed the second stage of the STSC implementation process be the progression from a relatively informal STSC-Network to a STSC-Association. Essentially, a STSC-Association would build on the activities of the network (such as acting as a clearinghouse for information on certification and certification programs) but would differ from the STSC-Network in that it would be a legal entity and would take on additional roles such as formal training and marketing activities. It would also require a membership structure, for which a fee would be charged. The association would be the standard setting body for the sustainable tourism and ecotourism movements, much like IFOAM is for the organic movement. The association stage is necessary to allow time to finish the STSC standard and to determine the best options for outsourcing accreditation. The advantages of outsourcing accreditation are discussed in Chapter 5. The analysis here has assumed at least one year of association activities, which thereafter will evolve into the accreditation stage.

Mission/objectives

The purpose of creating the STSC-Association is to recruit formal membership by providing benefits to members in the form of training and marketing. Whereas the major objective of the STSC-Network is to raise the quality of certification programs, it is proposed that the STSC-Association takes active steps to increase the benefits of certification by:

• Developing and finalizing an international STSC standard and accreditation criteria; • Marketing to international markets and distribution channels;

• Assisting certified companies to gain a competitive advantage through increased awareness of market opportunities;

• Improving the performance of the tourism industry;

• Continuing to improve the professionalism of certification programs; and,

• Lobbying at the highest political level to widen support for certified tourism products and services.

As with the STSC-Network, the overall mission of the association is to enhance the sustainability of tourism operations by encouraging better performance in terms of environmental and social issues and improved economic benefits to local communities around the globe, while, at the same time, recognizing key regional differences and needs.

Main activities as they relate to mission and objectives:

The key activities that the STSC-Association would undertake beyond clearinghouse and standard development would be marketing and training.

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Clearinghouse

• Annual international conference

As in the STSC-Network, there will be annual international conferences, which will serve as the annual general meetings of the membership.

• Internet network

As in the STSC-Network, the Internet network will be the main method of communication between members between conferences.

Standard

• Develop multi-stakeholder international standard.

The Technical Committee will have responsibility for developing the international standard on sustainable tourism, or various standards for sub-sectors of the industry if this is deemed necessary, based on the input from the STSC-Network to date, the findings from this study and the input from a wide range of stakeholders.

• Promote certification competence procedures.

Tourism certification programs will be encouraged to acknowledge the usefulness of working towards ISO 65 Guide, an internationally agreed guide to test the capacity of certification bodies to undertake competent assessments. Tourism certification bodies will be encouraged to comply wherever possible with this guide, and training will be provided to this effect. • First-party mapping of own standard against international standard, feeding into rationale

for local/regional variations.

The development of an international standard requires testing for its feasibility, which will take place through first-party assessment of the proposed international standard against tourism certification programs’ own standards. The comparisons will provide evidence for arguments towards regional variations of the international standard, facilitate implementation and increase the sector’s ownership of final proposals.

Marketing

• Create database of certified companies and use it for marketing/brokerage.

The STSC will create a database of certified companies globally, which can be used as a valuable marketing tool. This could be used as a lobbying tool for tour operators and travel agents to actively promote certified tourism products and services.

• Lobby stakeholders.

The STSC will lobby key stakeholders to promote activities in line with STSC principles. National governments would be approached to consider support to national tourism certification programs. Tour operators will be approached to use certified suppliers from STSC members. NGOs will be approached to actively promote certified tourism services and products. It is not envisaged that the STSC-Association will take on a direct consumer marketing campaign, but rather, that it will work in partnership with a range of NGOs which have a much closer relationship with their members, who are consumers.

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• Coordinates buyer groups.

The STSC will continue to coordinate one or more buyer groups of tour operators which could provide useful information on the value of certification for supply chain management, and on how the criteria of certification could be more useful to tour operators in covering some of their responsibilities towards the safety of holidays for their clients. Nevertheless, special consideration should be given by the Association to the fact that the inclusion of safety and health provisions will increase STSC’s legal liability as the standards developer or the liability of certifiers and assessors.

Training

• Assessor and certification program training.

A key activity of the association will be to address the issue of training and capacity building for members. The purpose of these activities is to establish a level playing field of knowledge on certification and accreditation procedures and processes on a global scale, as well as to improve the ability of tourism certification programs and their assessors to meet ISO guides, introduce STSC standards, and comply with STSC accreditation criteria. Expansion of education/training/capacity building activities will include professional courses for industry association, governments and certification bodies on certification. These activities should result in improving the professionalism in tourism certification. Activities would also include providing support to governments to enable those countries that do not already have a national certification program to establish a suitable, relevant and high quality program. Fundraising

The STSC will continue to undertake fundraising activities to secure its financial feasibility and to support access to the STSC for organizations that do not have the financial means.

6.2.1. Organizational blueprint

This section provides an overview of how the STSC-Association could be structured to take the activities of the network forward, moving towards the long-term goal of forming a full Stewardship Council including accreditation. This includes information on housing, structure, staffing, governance, and membership.

Housing

As part of the consultation activities, stakeholders were asked whether they thought the STSC should be established as a body in its own right, to mirror other accreditation bodies such as the FSC, and/or whether the STSC could be housed within existing governmental or intergovernmental institutional structures. There was positive response to having a third-party (especially by a UN agency) house the STSC as a way to boost credibility for the concept and to economize on infrastructure expenses. Using this as a base for discussion, there are two options:

1. The STSC is a legally independent organization but housed by the third-party institution, which is given significant input into the STSC through a permanent role on the board. The institution provides physical space and some in-house professional services, along with political support, but is not committed to keeping the STSC afloat.

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