About

Summary

Following on from the Sustainable Tourism Landscape in England research that we completed towards the end of 2023 for VisitEngland, we were commissioned to investigate the different structures and approaches a national tourism board can take in supporting the private sector with sustainable tourism certifications.

Our Approach

To help understand the different approaches national tourism boards could take when supporting the private sector with sustainable certifications, we identified three leading examples from other European destinations. These were used as case studies, in-depth online research into the structure and approaches, and understanding which certifications they recognised and why we considered important indicators.

To obtain more information not available online, a one-to-one call with the sustainability managers in charge of running the destination's certification recognition schemes was conducted.

In addition, the Acorn team also identified and introduced VisitEngland to a tech supplier, who will work to provide them with up-to-date data on the English-certified businesses.

Outcome

The two stages of this research provide VisitEngland with recommendations to support the development of their regenerative tourism strategy and provide the sector with guidance on sustainability certifications.

The research results were presented to the internal VisitEngland team through an online webinar and at an LVEP conference in Birmingham.