4 February 2026 – New guidance to support a sustainable tourism sector has been published by BSI.
The standard (BS ISO 18060), published this week by BSI in its capacity as the UK national standards body, sets out how organizations can enhance their sustainability performance, contribute to the conservation of destinations, and meet the growing demand for responsible tourism practices. It looks at the negative and positive impacts generated by tourism activities, and covers environmental, social, human and economic aspects.
Research from VisitBritain shows that a third of Britons (33%) strongly agree that sustainable travel is “really important” to them, rising to nearly half for those aged 25-34 (48%) . The standard aligns sustainability management with measurable outcomes, enabling organizations to track impact in a consistent, comparable way. It defines and establishes methodologies for a set of indicators to steer and measure the performance of organizations in terms of sustainability.
From an environmental perspective, the standard aims to help operators measure areas including water consumption, energy use, management of waste, food loss, single-use plastic, impact on biodiversity, as well as more location-specific impacts such as the contribution of the tourism organization to soil contamination, or to actively supporting the protection of marine ecosystems.
It also provides guidance on indicators related to the social and human impacts of tourism activities, including number of actions to support the promotion of local culture, and the percentage of workers employed from local communities. It is designed to help tourism organizations measure everything from action taken to prevent exploitation and discrimination, to the percentage of local suppliers of products and services, as well as success in protecting and enhancing cultural heritage, local identity and assets.
It is applicable to any organization in the tourism value chain that wishes to assess its sustainability performance and monitor compliance with applicable legislation.
The standard aims to provide a structured set of sustainability indicators, support evidence based sustainability management, rather than ad hoc initiatives, and facilitate benchmarking and reporting, including alignment with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). It is also intended to help organizations reduce negative impacts and enhance positive impacts on destinations and communities.
BS ISO 18060 applies to everything from accommodation providers to tour operators and travel agencies, attractions and visitor services, transport providers and more.
Sebastiaan van Dort, Director of Sustainability and Energy, BSI said: “Tourism is a key part of the global economy, creating huge opportunities for local communities and bringing great joy to travellers looking to explore new places. Considering its environmental, social and human impacts is therefore vital in enabling progress towards a sustainable world. This guidance aims to help the sector effectively measure and manage its environmental, social, human and economic, by providing clarity on what sustainable tourism truly entails.”
For further information, visit: https://standardsdevelopment.bsigroup.com/projects/2022-02487
