Sustainable tourism
Sal Salis, Ningaloo, Western Australia © Sal Salis Ningaloo Reef
Tourism Australia is the Australian Government agency responsible for influencing international visitors to travel to and through Australia for leisure and business events to foster a sustainable tourism industry. In striving to achieve this goal, Tourism Australia places great importance on respecting and protecting the cultures, landscapes and wildlife that are integral to Australia’s appeal as a destination.
Starting your journey
Find out more about the National Sustainability Framework for the Visitor Economy and Sustainable Tourism Toolkit, which have been jointly developed by the Australian Government, and State and Territory governments.
Initial Assessment
Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard
Ecotourism Australia’s Strive 4 Sustainability Scorecard pathway program is designed for tourism businesses looking to take their first steps towards measuring their sustainability efforts. The scorecard measures where a business or tourism operator is at on their sustainability journey at a point in time and assesses the following four pillars: environmental, socio-economic, and cultural impacts and sustainable management.
Get accredited or certified
After you have made progress in implementing sustainability practices, you may consider undertaking formal training or seeking formal recognition by getting accredited or certified. Industry recognised programs can lead to many benefits, including:
- Increased credibility and trust: providing external validation of your commitment to sustainable practices.
- Competitive advantage: setting you apart from competitors by connecting you with like-minded customers.
- Improve operational efficiency: providing you with a framework to plan action that makes a difference to your business.
- Encouraging continuous improvement: through regular auditing requirements.
There are many accreditation and certification schemes available to tourism businesses in Australia. These programs can be either designed specifically for tourism businesses, or available to business across many industries.
Tourism-specific programs
The Australian Tourism Industry Council’s Sustainable Tourism Accreditation and Emissions Reduction Program is for small, medium and regional tourism businesses. The programs have been updated to reflect the National Sustainability Framework.
Specialist sustainability certification programs in Australia include EarthCheck and Ecotourism Australia, who both offer multiple certifications tailored to various business types and needs.
Other sustainability certification programs
- Sustainable architecture and building design standards such as NABERS.
- Cross-sector sustainability programs such as B Corp.
- Environmental and climate action certification programs, such as Climate Active.
- Industry programs for ESG (environmental, social, and governance) certification.
- ISO standards for a wide range of topics including quality standards, energy management systems and sustainable events.
Sharing your story
Tourism operators and destinations with existing sustainability plans in place who want to communicate their sustainability efforts are encouraged review the ACCC’s Making Environmental Claims: A Guide for Business. This straightforward and easy to understand guidance explains the obligations under the Australian Consumer Law which businesses must comply with when making environmental and sustainability claims.
Guides for effective sustainability storytelling
Learn how to effectively communicate your sustainability efforts to global audiences with our guides for tourism and hospitality operators, and destinations. The guides, which are aimed at those who already have sustainability policies, commitments, or action plans in place, have been developed by EarthCheck in partnership with Tourism Australia.
Sustainable Storytellers
Read about some of Australia’s great tourism operators and storytellers who are committed to sustainability, with chapter three dedicated to navigating the path to Carbon Zero.
Driving awareness of, and capability for, a sustainable industry is a defined strategic priority for Tourism Australia and is enshrined within our corporate values.
Our approach is shaped by the following principles:
- We keep our own house in order in living by our employee value: We Do The Right Thing.
- We honour our First Nations people from whom we have much to learn.
- We support others in our industry in adopting practises to operate more sustainably, with positive impact on our land, people and culture.
- We provide a voice for sustainability in our industry: a voice of advocacy and education.
- We prioritise doing business with those in our industry who support sustainability.
- We promote and share tourism stories that inspire sustainability.
- We partner with like-minded organisations to increase our impact and reach.
Sustainable tourism includes protecting and restoring our natural environment, and helping to conserve Australia’s natural wonders and cultures, so they can be enjoyed today and by future generations. It also means fostering a profitable industry that delivers employment opportunities and economic benefits to communities, and in turn helps improve the tourism experience for our travellers and the quality of life for Australians.
As the National Tourism Organisation, Tourism Australia recognises it has an important role to play in championing and elevating the importance, and the appeal, of sustainable tourism, through our voice of advocacy and education. Our marketing platforms can help Australian tourism businesses to better communicate their sustainability success stories; and, by doing so, help encourage others to follow their lead.
Key areas of focus for Tourism Australia
- Advocacy: showcasing sustainable and purpose driven tourism products, experiences and examples of best practice.
- Leadership: educating and enabling greater capacity for sustainability in our industry.
- Brand: integrating sustainability into Brand Australia to meet growing consumer demand and drive uptake of sustainable tourism experiences.
- Industry support: highlighting and encouraging industry best practice and raising awareness of Australian tourism’s sustainability credentials.
- Office footprint: reducing Tourism Australia's general footprint, including in the key areas of waste, energy, travel and procurement.
- Events footprint: reducing Tourism Australia’s events footprint and encouraging others in the industry to do the same.
- Procurement and partnerships: sourcing from sustainable suppliers and establishing sustainable credentials for our partners and suppliers.
- Culture: embedding sustainability as a core value within Tourism Australia’s culture, actions and behaviour.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tourism
Tourism helps to promote and preserve Australia’s Indigenous cultures by allowing travellers to share in the stories, traditions, art, music of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, while also educating them about Australia’s history, customs and values. This exchange benefits both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and visitors, making it an important pillar of our sustainability approach. Read more about Tourism Australia’s commitment to reconciliation here.
Animal Tourism Experiences and Encounters Guidance
Tourism Australia is committed to promoting animal tourism experiences that meet evolving consumer expectations and uphold Australia's international reputation as a highly desirable destination. Global consumer research shows that travellers are seeking experiences where: animals are treated with respect and care, there are learning opportunities about the animals and conservation, staff and facilities are trained and have expertise, and any personal interactions are conducted responsibly.
To support this, Tourism Australia has prepared draft guidelines for its staff and partners on how best to promote animal tourism experiences in materials or projects associated with Tourism Australia. The draft guidelines have been developed for further consultation with industry, which is currently underway. They are not intended to require action or enforce requirements on tourism operators or third parties. The guidelines will be made available at the conclusion of the consultation process in 2025.
For more information or inquiries about the guidelines or research, please email lcaverley@tourism.australia.com.
Modern Slavery Statement
To meet the requirements of the Modern Slavery Act 2018, Tourism Australia has developed and published a Modern Slavery Statement. This outlines our commitment to assessing the risks of modern slavery across our supply chain and putting in place appropriate controls, processes, and procedures to manage these risks across the business.
