"A guide through the tourism label jungle" offers support in the choice of sustainable offers.

On the occasion of World Tourism Day on 27 September, the organisations arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung (akte), ECOTRANS e.V., Bread for the World – Tourism Watch and Naturefriends International (NFI) present an updated version of the "guide through the tourism label jungle". The brochure offers a concise overview to support consumers; it thus contributes to the promotion of sustainable tourism development.

"The label market is ever changing: over the past ten years, the number of environmental and sustainability labels in tourism has doubled to more than 150; new ones are created, others disappear," says Herbert Hamele of ECOTRANS who is responsible for the brochure's analyses. All this is a challenge for consumers who have to assess by themselves which labels to trust. Support is provided by "A guide through the tourism label jungle", the third updated edition of which has now been published. Interested travellers can find concise presentations and assessments of 50 international quality labels with independent examination that are awarded not only to hotels and tour operators, but also to camping sites, beaches, tourist attractions and entire destinations. The brochure is published by the organisations arbeitskreis tourismus & entwicklung (akte), ECOTRANS e.V., Bread for the World – Tourism Watch and Naturefriends International (NFI).

A guide towards environmentally acceptable and sustainable tourism
"Social and ecological criteria are becoming increasingly important to travellers, but they are sometimes difficult to assess. Recognised tourism labels can provide important guidance. This is also reflected in the high demand for our brochure, which has remained unbroken since the publication of the first edition in 2012," says Andrea Lichtenecker, executive director of Naturefriends International. Almost exactly one year ago, the world's governments adopted the Agenda 2030 which sets out 17 goals that describe how to shape the world's sustainable development. Tourism responsibility is explicitly mentioned. "The task now is to put into practice the reinforcement of sustainable production and consumption patterns in tourism, anchored in the Agenda. With this label guide, we want to make a contribution to the urgently needed tourism transition," says Antje Monshausen of Tourism Watch at Bread for the World.

Up-to-date information online
For those looking for the most recent information, there is an additional service online: "The ongoing revision and expansion of the global list, published on the independent platform DestiNet.eu, is the ideal companion to the label guide 2016 – it's for everyone who wants to be kept up to date," says Herbert Hamele.

"A guide through the tourism label jungle" can be downloaded free of charge – in English and German – from the websites of the publishing organisations: www.nf-int.org,  www.fairunterwegs.org, Destinet.eu and www.tourism-watch.de/en.

The updated edition of the brochure was funded by the Austrian Development Cooperation. 

Contact:
Cornelia Kühhas
Naturefriends International, Public Relations 
Tel.: +43 (0)1 89 23 877-41
E-mail: cornelia.kuehhas@nf-int.org