Thesis title: “The development of community-based ecotourism - lumes

20The CST is mainly a performance-based certification system but it alsoincorporates process-based criteria. The programme consists of five different levels ofachievement and a single label, illustrated in figure 5, is awarded to the certifiedmembers:Fig.5 The label awarded by the Costa Rican CST programme(Source: Costa Rican Certification for Sustainable Tourism Website)Participation in the CST is voluntary and possible for all types ofaccommodation, regardless of their size and location, as well as for tour operators.The CST scheme takes into consideration a wide array of sustainability aspects,namely the physical-biological environment, the internal environmental managementpractices of hotel infrastructure, facilities and services, the interaction with customersand, finally, the socio-economic environment (Costa Rican Certification forSustainable Tourism Website, consulted on 3/11/2004).A considerable advantage of the Costa Rican CST is the extensiveincorporation of local concerns. This specific programme is particularly sensitiveconcerning the support of local stakeholders and businesses. Also, issues such astraining of local communities, cultural development, promotion of local health andinfrastructure are viewed as priorities by the CST scheme. Moreover, the Costa RicanCST scheme seems much more extensive in suggesting ways to promoteenvironmental conservation compared with the Green Globe 21 programme (EplerWood & Halpenny, 2001). Another strong point of this particular programme is thatit provides attractive incentives for the companies, including publicity and promotionboth on the national and international level, personnel training and participation toevents related to tourism. (Costa Rican Certification for Sustainable Tourism Website,consulted on 3/11/2004).As mentioned previously, the introduction of tourism certification constitutes,currently, one of the most discussed and controversial issues among tourism agenciesand institutions in Greece. Several agencies and organisations are favorable to theprospect of introducing tourism certification (Drakopoulos, 2004; Mintsidi, 2004,personal communications). This, none the less, is practically feasible only if the Statedecides to actively support certification as part of a serious and consistentgovernmental policy (Drakopoulos, 2004; Valerga, 2004, personal communications).In contrast, other agencies and institutions in Greece seem more skeptical with regardto introducing tourism certification in Greece. According to their perception, tourismcertification is not likely to deliver the desirable results unless it is preceded by anoverall change in mentality, which implies integrating codes of ethics in tourism, aswell as fostering a sense of environmental and social responsibility in the Greektourism industry (Petropoulos, 2004; Tziovas, 2004, personal communications).Out of the three tourism certification schemes that have been discussed in thischapter, namely Green Globe 21, NEAP and CST, the one most appropriate to serve