• ICT (Costa Rica Tourism Board) and UCR (Universidad de Costa Rica) will extend the ability of certifiers
A total of 33 companies achieved to be accredited in the Tourism Sustainability Certification program (CST), created in 1999 by the Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT). Its purpose is to implement measures that allow a tourism development with less impact on the environment that guarantees the quality of services and a sustainable growth of the activities.
Hotel companies and tour operators received the certificate from the President of the Republic, Oscar Arias Sánchez and the Minister of Tourism, Carlos Ricardo Benavides, during the ceremony carried out in the Supreme Court of Elections.
This year we have achieved to incorporate to the program a total of 16 new hotels and 8 tour operators. Moreover, it is very satisfactory to see that other companies who where already in the CST obtained the re-evaluation, which allowed to increase the standard in the quality seal of the program. There are a total of 92 certified companies, including those that entered recently, said Carlos Ricardo Benavides, Minister of Tourism.
The certificate allows the differentiation of tourism companies that should be very close to a sustainability model in terms of less impact towards on natural, cultural and social resources of the country.
Thus, the program allows establishing changes that foster the liability policy in the companies through training programs and even of bio-literacy programs related to sustainability.
When our tourists see the quality seal on the “sheet” they will understand that they can find companies who reduce emissions, damages and pollution. They will know that companies take concrete actions for the conservation and adequate use of natural resources by handling the waste they produce and by using biodegradable and recyclable products.
The Minister also stated that these hotel companies, as well as the tour operators, have a program for water and electricity saving, and they also promote it among the communities where they are located or where they interact, as well as with the tourists themselves, so that they take care of the place that surrounds them, added the Minister.
The companies that expect to obtain the quality seal in tourism sustainability must comply with 108 parameters distributed in areas related to physical-biological environment, which includes aspects such as impact prevention, protection of natural environment, emissions, wastes, efficient management of resources and consumption of products.
There is also a special program for service operations, which incorporates products design, service rendering, human resources and trainings based on the client. In such a way, the tourist is invited to participate in the implementation of sustainability policies. The fulfillment of security measures with emergency plans and first aid is another important aspect that is taken into account.
This certificate represents a new source of competitiveness for the tour operators and hotels, because it allows them to reach a differentiation in the tourism industry in relation to our competitors, due to the fact that it is the first certification that is offered at worldwide in tourism sustainability matter.
The program will have external evaluators
On the other hand, during the ceremony to grant the CST certificates, the minister of Tourism, Carlos Ricardo Benavides along with representatives of the University of Costa Rica (UCR), took advantage of the activity to formalize the hiring of this university center for the training of evaluators in CST Standard.
Through this mechanism, it is expected to provide this program with tools that allow it to be more competitive and effective for the process of new requests from tourism companies that would like to obtain the CST Standard.
The UCR main objective is to design training modules and academic contents for professionals in different disciplines, in order to educate the new evaluators of the program according to a Master level. The evaluators will have the opportunity to be accredited and be part of the External Evaluation Organ that will monitor the tourism companies incorporated in the program.
The Costa Rica Tourism Board (ICT) reserves rights over these products, as well as it keeps its authority, monitoring, audit and research functions inside the framework of this certification program.
