Abstract:
Voluntary sustainability standards and certification schemes have proliferated in the tourism and hospitality industry. This has created what is referred to as “a fragmentation problem,” in which too many self-governing actors set regulatory standards and certifications for sustainable tourism. It eventually led to the rise of meta-governance, i.e., a means and mechanism by which to coordinate standards setting and certification processes for tourism firms and destinations. Within the framework of meta-governance as an increasingly important form of governance, this study focuses on the mechanism in which the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) plays a pivotal role as a private meta-governing body. Furthermore, it investigates how the private meta-governance system has been put in practice at the destination level by analyzing the multifaceted function of Green Destinations, one of the two private certifying bodies accredited by the GSTC. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with key informants in the Netherlands, Slovenia, and Japan. Along with the interviews, field observations were carried out in certified destinations which received awards to identify the factors that have contributed to enhancing sustainability of these tourist destinations. The findings revealed that the distribution of voluntary sustainable standards and certification programs is geographically skewed with more than half of the certification programs being located in Europe. Moreover, it was found that leading certification programs have obtained GSTC accreditation, which has enhanced their credibility and legitimacy as certifying bodies. Finally, but most importantly, the successful operation of meta-governance was found to be dependent on vital functions provided by private intermediary organizations such as Green Destinations, who work in close contact with local green coordinators.
