What is ECO Certification?

The ECO Certification program certifies tourism products (tours, accommodations, attractions) with a primary focus on nature.

It assures travellers that certified products are backed by a strong, well managed commitment to sustainable practices and provides high quality nature-based tourism experiences.

The ECO Certification program is a world first and it has been developed to address the need to identify genuine nature and ecotourism operators.

ECO Certification is product-specific— this means that you will need to answer the criteria as it applies specifically to each of your products.  This also means that you are able to apply for ECO Certification even if not all of your products are nature-based. 

The ECO Certification Program is divided into three levels:

Nature Tourism

Tourism in natural areas that leaves minimal impact on the environment.

Ecotourism

Tourism in a natural area that focuses on optimal resources use, leaves minimal impact on the environment and offers interesting ways to learn about the environment with operators that use resources wisely, contribute to conserving the environment and help local communities.

Advanced Ecotourism

Australia's leading and most innovative ecotourism products that operate with minimal impact on the environment and provide opportunities to learn about the environment with operators who are committed to achieving best practice, using resources wisely, contributing to conserving the environment and helping local communities.

For more information, download our ECO & ROC Certification Essentials Guide.