Ecotourism Certification Standard
60 Days Public Consultation
August 12, 2021, till October 12, 2021
Draft Ecotourism Certification Standard is open for Public Consultation
NCCF is developing Certification Standard for Ecotourism through a multi-stakeholder Standard Development Group (SDG) , chaired by Mr. AK Varma, ex PCCF & HoFF, Karnataka. The certification standard will promote responsible tourism and contribute to improving the quality of the ecotourism destinations in India.
Zero Draft of Ecotourism Standard (V01), finalized in active consultation with the esteemed Members, following an open, transparent and consultative process, is hosted on the website for public consultation, which is a mandatory requirement of the Standard Setting Procedure. The stakeholders involved in the process include WWF India, Responsible Tourism Society of India, Asian Adventures, The Corbett Foundation, Weldon Tours and Travels Private Ltd., TOF Tigers and state government organizations – Karnataka Ecotourism Development Board, and Uttarakhand Biodiversity Board, etc. The Draft Standard comprises 5 themes, 9 principles, 29 criteria, and 114 indicators, addressing diverse environmental, legal, economic, and social aspects of ecotourism.
The certification standard of Ecotourism developed here, efforts have been made to align this standard with other certification programs and at the same time making the Indian Ecotourism Sector compete at the global level and accepted widely. NCCF Ecotourism standards would be internationally acceptable and nationally implementable. The international endorsement would be sought from Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC).
NCCF invites all stakeholders and members of the public to submit their comments on the Zero Draft Ecotourism Certification Standard during the 60 days public consultation period. All sections of the draft are open for comments, review, and suggestions for modifications, as per the following instructions:
Email: ecotourism.mail@nccf.in
Consultation Period: August 12, 2021, till October 12, 2021
Public Consultation documents can be downloaded from here:
Document Library