A Guide To Costa Rica’s Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST)
Costa Rica has been a pioneer in ecotourism and sustainable tourism practices since the 1970s.
In the early 1990s, the tourism industry in Costa Rica became the country’s biggest economic driver surpassing both coffee production and banana plantations in the countryside.
In 1997, the Costa Rican Tourism Institute (ICT) established the Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST) to provide guidelines for hotel properties and tourism service providers to build their business model based on the best sustainable tourism practices that protect the natural, cultural and social resources of the country.
The certification measures 152 factors within 4 main areas through yes or no questions when determining if a product, service, or facility meets their standards.
These 4 areas areas of sustainability for tourism businesses are:
1. Biological and physical surroundings (emissions and waste, policies and programs, green zones, and protection of flora, fauna and fungi.
2. Physical environment: management policies, water and energy consumption, waste management and staff training).
3. Customer service: guest facilities and instructions, management of groups, and feedback
4. Social-economic environment: direct and indirect economic benefits, contributions to cultural development and health and security.
The Costa Rica Tourism Institute also provides an official definition of what they consider to be sustainable tourism:
“The balanced intention is use appropriately our natural and cultural resources, to improve the quality of life of local communities and to obtain economic success in the activity, which wil contribute to the national development.
Tourism sustainability is not only the answer to the demand, but also an essential condition to successfully compete now, and in the future.”
These are the 9 main criteria that sustainable tourism businesses in the CST program must follow according to the Costa Rican Tourism Institute:
1. Avoid gas emissions, and damage caused to the environment by pollution or other chemicals.
2. Carries out actions of management and conservation of nature. Always protecting her.
3. Handles the waste it produces so that it does not create a negative impact on the environment.
4. Consumes natural, biodegradable products and recycles all those that can be reused.
5. Has a program for saving water and electricity in all the premises it has.
6. Invites you to know the natural wealth of our country and urges you to take care of it and protect it.
7. Complies with standards, specifically those referring to the environment, archaeological heritage and safety.
8. Employs and trains the residents of the community where it operates. Connoisseurs of the area and nature.
9. Promotes the traditions and customs of the country, the consumption of typical food and national crafts.
Costa Rica’s Certification For Sustainable Tourism (CST) is a GSTC-Recognized Standard, which is a globally recognized standard provided by the prestigious Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GTSC).
How The Certification For Sustainable Tourism (CST) Works:
The requirements for a tourism businesses to achieve the CST certification are rigorous.
The application process requires businesses to answer an extensive qualification questionnaire as well as provide supporting documents about their environmental, social, economic and cultural impacts.
Once an application is submitted, an auditor does an in-depth review and then they provide a certification report that helps the business with an action plan to achieve compliance with the standards.
The process often takes years to implement sustainable tourism practices and provide the supporting documentation to the point where the auditors award the CST.
When a tourism business earns the CST, it either achieves basic or elite status. The basic level requires fulfilling all the mandatory questions on the questionnaire while the Elite status goes further and requires a much higher level of compliance.
Here’s a breakdown between the basic and elite CST status:
1. The Basic Level Certification:
The Basic level is still a rigorous certification standard that requires compliance with 100% of the criteria as defined in the Standard as “Mandatory” in each scope.
Factors such as the sustainable management of the organization itself; the implementation, execution and monitoring of social, economic and cultural support programs; and the effects of the organization’s operation on the environment are important for achieving this certification.
2. The Elite Level Certification:
The elite level goes even further by requiring both the compliance of the Basic Level as well as 30% of the criteria as defined in the Standard as “Improvement and Continuity”, and 70% of the criteria defined in the Standard as “External Impact” in each of the scope areas.
Today, the CST program has only these two levels of certification but in the past, there was a designation of zero to five leaves, with the five leaves being the highest certification level.
In the country, there are less than 100 ecolodges, hotels and retreat centers with the Elite level of certification.
In total, over 400 tourism businesses in the country are participating in the Certification For Sustainable Tourism (CST) program.
How To Find Tourism Businesses With The CST Certification
If you’re planning a trip to Costa Rica, you may have noticed that many tourism businesses promote their commitment to sustainability and responsible tourism.
But how do you know which companies are truly dedicated to these values and that your vacation aligns with your own sustainable beliefs and goals?
When booking your ecolodge, nature retreat or ecotourism experience look for the logos below or you can find them in the official CST tourism business directory.
When planning your trip to Costa Rica, you may also want to be mindful of the country’s Ecological Blue Flag Program Awards, which are annual awards that recognize ecotourism areas and initiatives that strengthen public health and sustainable tourism across 10 categories:
- Beaches
- Communities
- Natural weather
- Education centers
- Community health
- Micro drainage basin
- Sustainable homes
- Special events
- Protected natural species
- Against climate change.
Costa Rica’s Blue Flag Ecological Program (Bandera Azul Ecológica is the name in Spanish) also helps protect both the environmental and social landscapes of Costa Rica. Look for the logo below on websites and signs across the country.
This awards program began in 1996 as an incentive for coastal communities to keep their beaches clean. Since then, it has grown to encompass a wide variety of destinations and categories.
Today, The Blue Flag Ecological program along with the Sustainable Tourism Certification helps sustain the Pura Vida lifestyle with healthy communities and vibrant ecosystems that have made Costa Rica a world-renowned ecotourism destination.
