The GSTC criteria for tour operators are now the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's Tour Operator Standard version 4, published on 30 December 2025 to replace the Industry Criteria v3 for tour operators. It sets 35 criteria in four sections, and a GSTC-accredited certification body, not GSTC itself, certifies operators by auditing the office and a sample of real tours.
This guide is for inbound operators, destination management companies, domestic tour operators and the sustainability leads preparing them for certification or for the move from version 3.
What replaced the GSTC Industry Criteria for tour operators?
From December 2016 until the end of 2025, hotels and tour operators shared one document, the GSTC Industry Criteria v3 (later renamed the Industry Standard), with a separate set of indicators for each. GSTC announced the end of its revision in December 2025. The single standard became two: the GSTC Hotel Standard and the GSTC Tour Operator Standard. GSTC now says "standard" where it used to say "criteria", so you will see both names.
The document on GSTC's Tour Operator Standard page is labelled v.4.01 and dated 30 December 2025. It is free for non-commercial use and comes with performance indicators, guidelines for smaller operators and a change map from version 3. If you also run accommodation, our guide to the GSTC Hotel Standard v4 covers the hotel side.
What changed from version 3 to version 4?
GSTC's change map and its transition guidance of January 2026 point to five changes that matter for an operator already working to version 3:
- Audits now test the indicators. Certification bodies audit against the numbered indicators under each criterion, not only the criterion itself.
- Procurement is a criterion of its own. The new A8 Procurement absorbs the old environmentally preferable and efficient purchasing criteria from Section D.
- Three version 3 criteria are gone: buildings and infrastructure, land, water and property rights, and destination engagement. Access for all moved into Section B as B5.
- B6 Code of Conduct is new, and the exploitation criterion, now B7, names human trafficking.
- Section D lost its three sub-groups and now runs from D1 to D14. Wildlife interactions became D12 Close Proximity with Animals.
Several criteria were also renumbered. Staff engagement is now A6, customer experience A7, accurate promotion A4 and information sharing A5. An evidence index built on version 3 will point to the wrong places.
What do the 35 criteria cover?
Each criterion says what the operator should achieve. The indicators under it say what evidence shows it. The table counts the criteria per section. The evidence column is AGS's interpretation of what a certification body usually asks to see, not GSTC's wording.
| Section | Criteria | What it covers | Typical evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| A. Effective sustainable management | 8 (A1 to A8) | Management system, legal compliance, reporting, accurate promotion, information for customers, staff engagement, customer experience, procurement | Policy and management plan with annual targets, legal register for every country of operation, annual sustainability report, customer briefings, training records, supplier evaluations |
| B. Social and economic benefits | 9 (B1 to B9) | Community support, local employment and entrepreneurs, livelihoods, access for all, code of conduct, exploitation and trafficking, inclusion, decent work | Community contribution records, local hiring and purchasing figures, accessible tour information, code of conduct with training records, wage and child labour records |
| C. Cultural heritage | 4 (C1 to C4) | Visits to cultural sites, protecting and presenting heritage, artifacts | Cultural site visit guidelines, community feedback channel, permissions for cultural experiences, artifact policy |
| D. Environment | 14 (D1 to D14) | Energy, water, greenhouse gases, transport, wastewater, waste, harmful substances, pollution, biodiversity, invasive species, natural sites, animals, wildlife trade | Energy and water logs, carbon footprint per operating day, transport choices, waste records, natural site and wildlife viewing guidelines, supplier animal welfare checks |
Four Section D criteria deal with natural sites and animals. Wildlife, adventure and safari operators carry the most specific obligations there.
What does the standard expect from a tour operator's suppliers?
A hotel controls most of its own impacts. A tour operator sells a product made of other businesses: hotels, transport, guides, restaurants and activities. Version 4 puts that supply chain at the centre.
A8 Procurement alone has 15 indicators. You need a written procurement policy that prefers local, fair and environmentally preferable goods and services, and community-owned tourism businesses where they exist. Supplier evaluations must include sustainability indicators. Contracts should carry sustainability requirements where they apply, and supplier compliance is reviewed at least at selection and at each renewal.
Under B7, suppliers directly involved in your tours must follow your policy on exploitation and trafficking, written into selection, contracts and evaluations. Under D13, contracted animal facilities must meet species-specific welfare standards and the Five Domains model. D14 rules out suppliers that keep or breed animals without authorisation.
In practice, an auditor will ask for your supplier register, completed evaluations, the clauses in your contracts and proof that you acted when a supplier fell short.
How does GSTC certification work for a tour operator?
GSTC does not certify operators. It accredits certification bodies and recognises other standards as equivalent. An operator is certified by a GSTC-accredited certification body, either to the GSTC standard itself or to a GSTC-Recognized standard. GSTC lists the accredited bodies on its become a certified tour operator page.
The steps GSTC describes are a self-assessment, choosing a certification body, an optional preliminary assessment, a document review and an on-site audit. The audit covers your office and a sampled tour with its key service providers. You see a draft report and can raise factual objections before it is final. The certificate is valid for three years.
Outbound operators should check one point first. In April 2024 GSTC suspended certification for the outbound tour operator scope until further notice. We found no notice lifting it at the time of writing, so confirm the position with a certification body. If you want to become an auditor rather than be audited, read our guide on becoming a GSTC-accredited certification body.
How many tours will the auditor sample?
GSTC's guidance on sampling tours, version 1.0 of May 2024, is still linked from its certification page. The number of sample tours is the square root of your number of multi-day tours, or of day excursions, multiplied by factors for business type and size. Its worked example is a destination management company with 120 staff and 25 multi-day packages, which gives three sample tours. One scope is capped at ten sample tours and an audit of around five days.
About 75% of the sample is chosen on purpose, from your most-used suppliers and best-selling products, and 25% at random. High-risk tours come first, and suppliers under investigation, for example after complaints, are included. Surveillance audits sample different tours from the initial audit.
One consequence is easy to miss. Sampling a supplier does not certify it. Your marketing must not say or imply that your hotels, guides or excursions are certified unless they hold their own certificate. This links directly to A4 Accurate Promotion.
When does version 3 certification stop being valid?
GSTC has set a transition period that ends on 30 December 2028. Until then, surveillance and renewal audits may still use version 3, unless you and your certification body agree to move earlier. After that date, all audits use version 4 and only version 4 certificates are valid. Where the deadline cuts a certificate short, the certification body may offer an early transition audit, which can start a new certification cycle.
Owners of GSTC-Recognized standards have two years to revise their own standards to match version 4. GSTC recommends that operators run a gap analysis, train their staff and agree transition timing with their certification body early.
How AGS can help
The GSTC Tour Operator Sustainability Management System contains 81 editable Microsoft Word documents. It includes a sustainability manual, a scope document, a sustainability policy and 24 procedures, among them supplier due diligence, tour product sustainability, and wildlife and animal welfare. There are 22 forms, 13 registers, 7 checklists including a GSTC Tour Operator Standard self-assessment, 6 guidance notes, 5 training documents and a document index. More kits are in the Environment, Sustainability and Occupational Safety collection.
Frequently asked questions
Are the GSTC Industry Criteria still valid for tour operators?
Version 3 certificates remain valid during the transition, which ends on 30 December 2028. New work should follow the GSTC Tour Operator Standard version 4.
Can a small operator meet the standard?
Yes. The standard asks for a management system proportional to the operator's size and scope, and its annex gives guidance for micro, small and medium-sized operators.
Does GSTC certification cover health and safety on tours?
Only in part. The standard's risk assessment covers sustainability risks, and GSTC states that health, safety and security belong to the specialised authorities. Legal compliance under A2 still includes health and safety law, and GSTC clarified in September 2025 that its audits check legal documents and staff awareness but do not replace official inspections.
Does buying documentation mean the operator will be certified?
No. Documents are a starting point. Certification depends on how the system is run and on the certification body's audit findings.
AGS provides independent documentation toolkits. This guide and the referenced documents are prepared to support GSTC Tour Operator Standard requirements. They are not affiliated with, endorsed by or approved by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council or any certification body, and they do not guarantee any certification outcome.
Reviewed October 2026. Facts checked against the sources current at publication.
