Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria on cultural sustainability and interpretation in tourist destinations

     The Global Sustainable Tourism Council’s (GSTC) criteria were established to provide understanding about creating sustainable tourism by issuing operational guidelines for all stakeholders with various tourist attractions in managing various resources to meet economic, social, and environmental needs. There is a focus on and importance placed on visiting cultural attractions, which must be properly managed, including the interpreting process.    

     An appropriate interpretative management approach must be provided with accurate interpretive content in order to educate tourists on aspects of the tourist attractions that are culturally and naturally important; moreover, meaningful information must be culturally appropriate, prepared with the participation of people in the community, and be communicated in a language that is clearly appropriate to both tourists and people in the area.

Indicators for effective use of meaningful communication in tourist attractions are as follows:

• There is meaningful content communication and distribution in tourist attractions in a format that tourists can access before entering the tourist attraction;
• There is evidence that those interpretations have been thoroughly researched and are correct;
• The importance, sensitivity, and vulnerability of the attractions are addressed in the interpretive content;
• There is evidence that members of the community are involved in the creation of relevant interpretive content;
• The interpretive content is translated into a tourist-friendly language.

Source : Global Sustainable Tourism Council

Information as of 28 February 2023