The Sustainable Tourism Partnership – Urban Agenda for the EU, which aims to empower local authorities and destination management organizations (DMOs) in supporting the green transition of tourism SMEs, has launched two new publications.
The first, Greening Tourism SMEs: A Practical Handbook, provides detailed insights into certification pathways and enabling conditions for uptake. The second, Financial Tools for Sustainable Tourism SMEs, offers a structured overview of available funding instruments and support mechanisms. Both documents were done with case-based research from across Europe and can serve as actionable tools to guide cities and tourism actors in navigating sustainability challenges and opportunities.
Greening tourism SMEs: a practical handbook
This handbook, in which the GSTC Framework is mentioned several times, offers a comprehensive analysis of sustainability certifications such as GSTC Certification and support mechanisms currently operating across the European Union. Including eleven detailed case studies from a range of destinations illustrating how local governments and destination marketing organizations are actively supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in engaging with certification programs. One of the examples is the “Türkiye Environmental and Cultural Sustainability Program,” which was launched alongside GSTC in 2022. Read more about the insights from the Impact Evaluation of GSTC Certification in Türkiye here.
The handbook also features destination-led initiatives, practical support tools such as technical assistance, training programs, and digital platforms, alignment with national and EU-level schemes, and analytical insights into the key enabling conditions for effective certification uptake, including policy coordination, resource allocation, local facilitation, and performance monitoring.
Financial tools for sustainable tourism SMEs
This second report offers a structured mapping of available financial instruments and support mechanisms tailored to sustainable tourism SMEs.
This guide presents an overview of financial instruments for sustainable tourism, including grants, loans, blended finance, and guarantee schemes focused on environmental investments. It summarizes key EU programs such as InvestEU, Cohesion Policy funds, the LIFE Program, and EIB support mechanisms, and provides concrete examples of how these tools are applied at the local level, including cases where public authorities act as intermediaries to unlock funding. Designed for city officials, regional authorities, and tourism coordinators, the guide supports SME access to finance for investments in energy efficiency, climate action, waste reduction, and innovation.
Both documents use structured analytical tools, including summary tables of each case, rating interventions across multiple criteria (scope, instruments used, level of public support, type of SMEs involved). The financial tools guide also includes visual mappings and categorizations that enable fast reference by type of actor and investment need.
These outputs are part of the broader implementation of the Sustainable Tourism Partnership’s Action Plan, aiming to translate strategic objectives into actionable, replicable tools across the EU. For more information on the Sustainable Tourism Partnership and its outputs, visit its dedicated webpage.
To download both handbooks, kindly click here.
GSTC R4MSEC Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification
Last year, GSTC launched the initiative ‘R4MSEC’ Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification, a dedicated platform to analyze the conditions of tourism MSEs, their level of participation in certification, and their limitations, and to propose activities that contribute to the correct interpretation of GSTC Standards and their appropriate implementation based on the scale of these operations. The results of the R4MSEC discussions will be announced this year through a comprehensive report.
GSTC Acknowledgements
Being featured in both publications highlights GSTC’s role as a global reference in sustainability standards, reinforcing the organization’s long-standing commitment to advancing responsible, sustainable tourism practices worldwide. GSTC aims to become a key driver of the sustainability transition of SME’s within the international tourism policy landscape.
We thank Dr. Ioannis Pappas, GSTC Regional Director for Europe, for his contributions to initiatives such as the Sustainable Tourism Partnership – URBAN Agenda for the EU, and for his continued leadership in strengthening GSTC’s engagement with European institutions and stakeholders, as well as his commitment to advancing sustainable tourism practices across the region.
