The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) has published its first report from the R4MSEC – Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification, an initiative launched on 14 March 2025 to support the development of certification approaches that are more accessible and relevant for micro and small tourism enterprises.
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The R4MSEC initiative was established as a collaborative platform bringing together certification bodies, destination organizations, tourism experts, and sustainability practitioners to exchange perspectives and identify pathways to strengthen sustainability certification for smaller tourism businesses, which represent a significant share of the global tourism economy but often face practical barriers to engaging with certification processes.
The roundtable was convened to analyze the conditions of micro and small tourism enterprises, including their level of participation in certification and the limitations they face, and to explore ways in which certification frameworks can support the practical interpretation and implementation of the GSTC Standards for enterprises of this scale.
The report presents key observations and shared perspectives from the roundtable discussions, including:
- Micro and small tourism businesses are the backbone of the sector, but they are still underrepresented in certification not because they don’t care, but because the system often feels built for larger, better-resourced companies.
- Many MSEs already “do” sustainability in real life, through daily decisions and local relationships. The challenge is that they are often asked to prove it in paperwork-heavy ways that small teams simply cannot keep up with.
- The biggest hurdles are practical: audit costs, limited time and staff, complex language and technical terms (often in English only), and limited access to auditors, guidance, incentives, or financing, especially in smaller or remote destinations.
- Across the standards, one message came through clearly: proportionality matters. Certification and auditing need to reflect what small businesses can reasonably control, and allow flexibility where certain requirements are not applicable or depend on external systems.
- What MSEs need most is hands-on support, not more complexity: clear guidance in plain language, local-language resources, ready-to-use templates, and auditor training that values credible “real-world” evidence (like photos, observations, interviews, bills, and short explanations), not just formal documents.
- The report also highlights realistic pathways to scale participation without lowering ambition — such as phased or tiered certification routes, remote or hybrid audits, longer audit cycles for low-risk operators, and exploring group/cooperative models to share costs and learning.
“The Roundtable creates a space for stakeholders to exchange practical experiences and explore ways to make sustainability certification more achievable for smaller enterprises. This first report brings together the main challenges identified through those discussions. GSTC will take follow-up actions to address identified challenges and provide suggested solutions”, said Dr. Mihee Kang, Chief Assurance Officer at GSTC.
This first Roundtable Report reflects the discussions and contributions of participants who took part in the roundtable, including:
- Singapore Tourism Board
- Adama Bah, Responsible Tourism Consultant, Institute of Travel and Tourism of The Gambia & Ninki-Nanka Encounters
- Ann Wilkings, External Expert
- Ayşe Zeynep Sezerel, Hotel Owner, No11 Apartments Hotel
- Catherine Gilvarry, Head of Supply EMEA & Americas, HostelWorld
- Daniele Bettiati, Certification Manager, Vireo
- Federica Bosco, Sustainable Tourism Manager, ETIFOR
- Mahatma Windrawan, Strategic Advisor for Sustainable Development, CECT Sustainability, Universitas Trisakti
- Monique Chen, Co-founder and Chairwoman, Sustainable Travel Taiwan
- Peter Richards, International Partnerships Coordinator, Thailand Green Plan 2030, MUIC
- Tuğçe Tapan Ünlü, System Certification & Tourism Certification Manager & Business Development Manager, Control Union Türkiye
- Vicky Smith, Founder, Earth Changers / Global Ecotourism Network
- Dr. Mihee Kang, Chief Assurance Officer, GSTC
- Başak Bilgin, Assurance Coordinator, GSTC
- Mustafa Söğüt, Head of Accreditation Compliance Assessment, GSTC
- Sergio Aja, Former Senior Accreditation Manager, GSTC
By focusing specifically on micro and small enterprises, this roundtable initiative seeks to ensure that sustainability certification is not limited to larger or well-resourced organizations, but is achievable for SMEs as well. This first R4MSEC Roundtable Report represents an initial step in an ongoing process of dialogue and collaboration. Future editions of the roundtable will continue to gather input from a wide range of stakeholders and support the evolution of certification pathways that are both rigorous and achievable for smaller tourism enterprises.
“While a core principle of sustainability is local benefit, in practice, small businesses and local communities are finding themselves in an increasingly tough situation, under double pressure from the impacts of unsustainable development and the challenges of increasingly sophisticated and strict sustainability standards. It was a pleasure to learn from colleagues, and contribute ideas and experience in the GSTC’s ‘R4MSEC’ Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification. I hope that the outcomes will benefit tourism MSME’s.” said Peter Richards.
Ann Wilkings added: “I enjoyed participating in the R4MSEC and contributing to thoughtful discussions with such knowledgeable people, all united by a common commitment to inclusiveness for MSEs.”
“What made this Roundtable particularly meaningful was its focus on how sustainability is practiced on the ground, and how visual, real-life proofs can help make auditing systems more realistic and inclusive for small businesses,” mentioned Ayşe Zeynep Sezerel.
“Through my work with Etifor, I have seen firsthand that micro and small enterprises (MSEs) are the backbone of global tourism, particularly in Italy. However, they face significant structural barriers, such as high certification costs and heavy administrative burdens, which often make formal recognition inaccessible. To ensure a truly inclusive transition, we must move toward proportionate and practical certification pathways that prioritize tangible impact over bureaucratic complexity. The findings from the R4MSEC roundtable serve as a key reference for empowering small-scale hosts to demonstrate their vital role in territorial stewardship, ensuring they are not sidelined by systems designed for large corporations. I look forward to the future developments of the R4MSEC in making GSTC standards more accessible and widespread.” Added Federica Bosco.
Mahatma Windrawan also reflected on the roundtable: “R4MSEC shows that credible sustainability can be practical and accessible for micro and small tourism enterprises—turning good intentions into measurable improvements.”
Vicky Smith also stated: “The Roundtable for Micro & Small Enterprises Certification conducted a thorough review of the GSTC Standards criteria for Tour Operators and Hotels. MSE’s form 80-90% of the organisational backbone of tourism, and whilst many practice responsible tourism naturally for their local people and places, and want to improve their sustainability, their engagement in proactive monitoring and reporting is vital for the sector. Most MSEs don’t have resources, time and/or sustainability specialist support for certification – they need easy, accessible ways to engage and learn. The Roundtable thoroughly reviewed every point of the standards’ criteria for MSE potential, likelihood and barriers of engagement. Some criteria needed just language clarity for MSE understanding, for other criteria, operational procedures differ more. No criteria passed without discussion, few without challenge. What resulted is a thorough assessment of every criteria with suggested adaptations for MSEs.”
The GSTC 2026 Global Sustainable Tourism Conference in Phuket will have a session dedicated to Micro and Small Enterprises Certification
The Conference, held from the 21st to the 24th of April at the Royal Phuket City Hotel and Courtyard by Marriott Phuket Town, aims to bring together global leaders, industry professionals, destination representatives, and experts committed to advancing sustainable tourism worldwide.
As part of the GSTC2026 Program, the Conference will feature a dedicated session titled Micro and Small Enterprises Certification, which will explore GSTC-Accredited Certification for smaller players, reframing it from a burden into a tool for operational excellence and market differentiation. The discussion will demystify the certification process while highlighting benefits such as improved resource efficiency and increased visibility. Showcasing scalable solutions and group certification models designed to make certification accessible to enterprises of all sizes. Through this and other sessions, GSTC2026 will foster a collaborative environment that facilitates knowledge exchange, strengthens partnerships, and inspires collective action toward a more sustainable and resilient future.
Registration is open with multiple categories available, and special discount rates apply to GSTC Members, ASEAN citizens, and Thai residents. More information about the Conference can be found here.
