[Photo taken at ITB Berlin 2026, from left to right: Christos Markopoulos, CEO of Royalcert, Roi Ariel, GSTC Stakeholder Engagement Director, and Matt Barrett, Managing Director of Intertek Cristal]
Christos Markopoulos, CEO of Royalcert, added: “As a GSTC-Accredited Certification Body, our role is to provide independent and impartial certification. This cooperation ensures hotels arrive at certification with a stronger understanding and alignment to GSTC Standards, resulting in more credible and robust sustainability outcomes. At RoyalCert, we call that Instilling Confidence.”
Matt Barrett, Managing Director of Intertek Cristal, said: “Travellers, investors, tour operators and country regulators are increasingly looking for hotels that demonstrate responsible practices. Hotels need practical guidance to navigate this complex landscape, and this cooperation provides a clear pathway by combining hospitality-focused training and advisory support with independent certification. This helps hotels embed meaningful sustainability practices and showcase their performance to key stakeholders.”
Together, Intertek Cristal and Royalcert provide hotels with a coordinated approach to sustainability, combining guidance, operational expertise, and global accredited certification to support long-term, market-acknowledged sustainability performance.
GSTC-Recognized Standard Owner and GSTC-accredited Certification Body (RSO-ACB) Framework
The GSTC-Recognized Standard Owner and GSTC-accredited Certification Body (RSO-ACB) (formerly known as GSTC Certification Scheme – Certification Body (CS-CB) Framework) outlines the process where a GSTC-Recognized Standard owner (RSO) partners with one or more GSTC-accredited Certification Bodies (ACB) to provide certification services against the RSO’s GSTC-Recognized standard.
The RSO-ACB Framework aims to facilitate accredited certification by leveraging the strengths of both RSOs and ACBs, while ensuring compliance with GSTC requirements set out in the GSTC Accreditation Manual that include international standards like ISO17065. RSOs who want to have an accredited certification program can enter into a service agreement with one or more ACBs to perform certification activities on their behalf. Learn more about this here.
What is GSTC Accreditation?
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) provides and manages accreditation.
Accreditation is a mark of quality that GSTC places on the certification bodies (CBs) that opt for our independent and impartial process to ensure they certify businesses, such as hotels, tour operators, or destinations, in a competent and unbiased manner.
Being ‘GSTC-Accredited’ means that the CB conducts certification in accordance with processes compliant with international standards and best practices. It stands as the most dependable means to ensure confidence and credibility in sustainable tourism certification. More information can be found here.
What is GSTC Recognition?
GSTC-Recognized Standards are sustainable tourism standards that adhere to and are equivalent to the GSTC Standards (formerly known as the GSTC Criteria). This means that the GSTC Standards are included within the set of standards owned by a Certification Body or a local, national, or specialized tourism organization.
The GSTC-Recognized status refers to the standard itself and means that a sustainable tourism standard has been reviewed by GSTC technical experts and the Recognition Decision Making Committee (RDMC) and deemed the standard equivalent to the GSTC Standards for sustainable tourism. More information about recognition can be found here.
About Royalcert GSTC-Accredited Certification Body
Royalcert is a reputable certification body based in Germany, operating in 25 countries globally. Royalcert offers assessment and certification services to a wide range of industries, including Tourism Industry, and serves thousands of customers. Royalcert’s core strength lies in its experienced auditors, who have over 20 years of auditing expertise. The company is committed to sustainable growth and adheres to high ethical standards, focusing on integrity and customer satisfaction. By partnering with Royalcert, customers can improve their operations, enhance business performance, and make a positive impact on society and the environment. More information here.
About The GSTC-Recognized EcoCheck Standard
The EcoCheck Standard is designed to enable hotels to demonstrate both a meaningful commitment and verifiable results in sustainability. The GSTC-Recognized standard is used in EcoCheck modules that combine the expertise of our global network of consultants with the ECristal online management system that allows clients to track continuous improvement and capture key sustainability data. For further information, click here.
About GSTC
The Global Sustainable Tourism Council® (GSTC®) establishes and manages global sustainable standards, the GSTC Standards, also known as the GSTC Criteria. The GSTC Destination Standard for public policy-makers and destination managers, the GSTC Hotel Standard for hotels and accommodations, the GSTC Tour Operator Standard, the GSTC MICE Standard for Venues, Event Organizers, and Events & Exhibitions, and the GSTC Attraction Standard for tourist attractions such as theme parks, museums, and national parks. These are the guiding principles and minimum requirements that any tourism business or destination should aspire to reach in order to protect and sustain the world’s natural and cultural resources while ensuring tourism meets its potential as a tool for conservation and poverty alleviation.
The GSTC Standards form the foundation for GSTC’s assurance role for Certification Bodies that certify hotels/accommodations, tour operators, and destinations as having sustainable policies and practices in place. GSTC does not directly certify any products or services but provides accreditation to those that do.
GSTC is an independent and neutral USA-registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization that represents a diverse and global membership, including national and provincial governments, leading travel companies, hotels, tour operators, NGOs, individuals and communities – all striving to achieve best practices in sustainable tourism. The GSTC is an ISEAL Community Member, a global membership organization for ambitious, collaborative, and transparent sustainability systems, as well as an Association Member of The International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and an Associate Member with the Inter-American Accreditation Cooperation (IAAC).
Information for media and the press: www.gstc.org/about/for-the-press/
