Impartiality Committee

The Impartiality Committee is responsible for evaluating the impartiality management activities of the GSTC accreditation program, advising on issues that may affect GSTC’s impartiality and confidence in assurance, and analyzing sources of risks to impartiality along the accreditation process of Certification Bodies.

This committee is an example of the enormous effort that the GSTC accreditation program makes to maintain the highest quality standards in its accreditation processes, following ISO/IEC 17011 – Requirements for accreditation bodies.

The committee members were selected to ensure a balanced representation of experts from diverse tourism backgrounds, fostering a holistic and impartial perspective. The committee includes professionals from certification bodies (industry and destinations), academia, civil society, and the tourism sector.

The impartiality committee is composed by:

Dr James Hanrahan 
(Committee Chairperson)
Director, Atlantic Sustainable Tourism Observatory and Lecturer, Atlantic Technological University

Connect with Dr James on LinkedIn

Loic Dujardin
Head of Sustainability,
Traveloka

Connect with Loic on LinkedIn

Shaun Mann
Tourism Specialist,
IFC/World Bank

Connect with Shaun on LinkedIn

Dr Mihee Kang
Chief Assurance Officer,
GSTC

Connect with Dr Mihee on LinkedIn

Christos Markopoulos
General Manager,
RoyalCert International Registrars

Connect with Christos on LinkedIn

Hugo De Jong
Head of Destination Certification,
Green DestinationsConnect with Hugo on LinkedIn

The committee’s first meeting was held on February 11, 2025. At this meeting, introductions were made, and the work plan and methodology were shared. The Impartiality Committee will meet again in July 2025 to start their evaluation.