The Transformation Journey to Sustainable Tourism with GSTC Standards

Becoming sustainable is a transformative process. You keep improving how you run your business, engage people and communities, preserve culture, and care for the environment. GSTC Standards give you the direction. TavaSIS facilitates the transformation.

GSTC Standard Insights

Six standards. What's distinctive about each one — and what to watch out for. Pick the one you want to read.

H

GSTC-H — Hotel Standard

v4.0 · 205 performance indicators · Hotels and accommodation providers

Full guide →

What's distinctive

  • →Twelve performance indicators carry mandatory baseline requirements — sixteen numbered requirements in all, set separately for Initial certification, First Renewal and Second Renewal. Most tighten as the cycle advances and three do not apply at initial certification at all, though five stay identical throughout. These are minimum performance floors, not suggested targets.
  • →GHG measurement was already required under the previous GSTC Industry Standard — its D2.1 indicators had emissions “monitored and managed”. What v4.0 adds is precision and disclosure: the old “calculated where possible” qualifier is gone, Scope 1 and Scope 2 are named explicitly, annual reduction targets are required, and emissions must be reported in the annual sustainability report — Scope 1 and 2 at minimum, Scope 3 where feasible.
  • →A three-year transition period runs to 30 December 2028, after which only certifications to v4.0 are valid. GSTC’s transition guidance recommends making the switch during a scheduled surveillance or recertification audit rather than as a separate exercise.

Watch out for

Hotels transitioning from GSTC-I may find that evidence which satisfied the previous standard falls short of v4.0's quantified performance thresholds. We would start with the 12 baseline requirements, because they are the only part of the standard with published numbers attached and the only part that changes between certification cycles — that is our reading of where preparation bites, not a statistic.

Read the full Hotel Standard guide — 205 performance indicators, Q&A, and visuals →

Full guides available for all six GSTC standards — Hotel, Tour Operator, Food & Beverage, Attraction, Destination, and MICE. View all standards →

Check your readiness for GSTC Standards now

All six GSTC standards

Readiness Check

Create a complimentary self-serve account and get the full Assessment Checklist in your own Readiness stage workspace.

Invite your staff and assign them specific indicators to work on, then review and validate what they submit. You can also invite an external project reviewer — your consultant or a counterpart at another firm — to review alongside you. Download your Checklist Trail Report on progress, any time.

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GSTC Hotel Standard only

Hotel Gap Analysis

Find out where your hotel stands against the GSTC Hotel Standard’s 16 baseline performance requirements, covering 12 indicators across 4 criteria.

Create your complimentary self-serve account, let our AI Assistant analyse your responses, and download your Hotel Gap Analysis Report once you’re done.

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