Rethinking Tourism Sustainability Certification: a Circular Economy Approach - Analysis of the Circular Economy Criteria for Sustainability Certificates in Tourism

Abstract

The study aims to assess international tourism certifications and identify criteria for measuring circular solutions in them, thereby examining the applicability of the circular economy toolkit in the sustainability of tourism. The research conducted a kind of bibliometric analysis to examine available certifications and possible quantification of circular economy approaches: it analysed the criteria for tourism certification based on the 9R model. Our findings show that the “Reduce” category dominates in the standards analysed, as reducing resource use is the most accessible and cost-effective solution on the path towards sustainability. However, other elements of the circular economy, such as recycling materials and products, are not yet sufficiently emphasised. Our research has quantified that the current share of circular indicators in the standards studied is only 16.95%, highlighting the need for deeper integration of circular principles. The study makes recommendations to simplify the standards, increase their transparency and develop complex certification schemes that consider sustainability and promote the circular economy in tourism.