全球永續旅遊委員會（Global Sustainable Tourism Council, GSTC）訂定的永續旅遊準則（GSTC Criteria）是全球旅行和旅遊業永續性標準的基準。 該準則用於教育和推廣旅遊業對友善環境、永續發展的認知，協助企業、政府機構及各類型組織的政策制定、衡量和評估，並作為綠色標章認證的基礎。 該準則植基於四大面向的考慮：永續性的經營管理（Sustainable management）、社會經濟衝擊（Socioeconomic impacts）、文化衝擊（Cultural impacts）及環境衝擊（Environmental impacts），環境衝擊包括了資源的消耗（consumption of resources）、減輕污染（reducing pollution）與保護生物多樣性及地景（conserving biodiversity and landscapes）。
全球永續旅遊準則分成三種：
1.全球永續旅遊旅宿業準則（GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels）
關注四個主要主題：有效的永續性計劃，為當地社區帶來最大的社會和經濟利益，增強文化底蘊以及減少對環境的負面影響。
2.全球永續旅遊旅行業準則（GSTC Industry Criteria for Tour Operators）
關注四個主要主題：有效的永續性計劃，為當地社區帶來最大的社會和經濟利益，增強文化底蘊以及減少對環境的負面影響。
3.全球永續旅遊目的地準則（GSTC Destination Criteria）
希望這準則可以發揮的作用是：
- 讓旅遊目的地可以更永續營運的基本準則
- 幫助消費者認定何者是永續旅遊目的地
- 作為旅遊目的地向公眾宣示其永續價值的信息媒介
- 協助加入GSTC認證系統的其他目的地相關認證計畫確保其準則達到普遍可以接受的基準
- 提供政府、非政府和私營部門制訂永續旅遊計畫的基點
- 作為餐旅學校和大學等教育與培訓機構的基本準則
GSTC以英文版為基礎，提供了24種語言版本的準則內容（Criteria Translations）供全球業者參考，中文部分包含正體中文及簡體中文二種版本，歡迎點閱與下載參考、學習、實踐。
The GSTC Criteria is Translated into 24 Languages
The GSTC Criteria serve as the global baseline standards for sustainability in travel and tourism. The Criteria are used for education and awareness-raising, policy-making for businesses and government agencies and other organization types, measurement and evaluation, and as a basis for certification.
They are the result of a worldwide effort to develop a common language about sustainability in tourism. They are arranged in four pillars:
Sustainable management
Socioeconomic impacts
Cultural impacts
Environmental impacts (including consumption of resources, reducing pollution, and conserving biodiversity and landscapes)
GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels
The Hotel Criteria are organized around four main themes: effective sustainability planning, maximizing social and economic benefits for the local community, enhancing cultural heritage, and reducing negative impacts to the environment. The Criteria for Hotels are the same as for Tour Operators, both are identical to the GSTC Industry Criteria, but the Performance Indicators vary between Hotels and Tour Operators.
GSTC Industry Criteria for Tour Operators
The Tour Operator Criteria are organized around four main themes: effective sustainability planning, maximizing social and economic benefits for the local community, enhancing cultural heritage, and reducing negative impacts to the environment.
Some of the expected uses of the criteria by tourism management organizations include the following:
- Serve as basic guidelines for destinations which wish to become more sustainable
- Help consumers identify sound sustainable tourism destinations
- Serve as a common denominator for information media to recognize destinations and inform the public regarding their sustainability
- Help certification and other voluntary destination level programs ensure that their standards meet a broadly-accepted baseline
- Offer governmental, non-governmental, and private sector programs a starting point for developing sustainable tourism requirements
- Serve as basic guidelines for education and training bodies, such as hotel schools and universities
延伸閱讀：
全球永續旅遊旅宿業準則 GSTC Industry Criteria for Hotels
GSTC徵求「全球永續旅遊目的地準則」修訂意見-20190228截止
