Skip to content
The certification conundrum: Making responsible tourism marketing and sustainability standards truly effective
WebinarOnline

The certification conundrum: Making responsible tourism marketing and sustainability standards truly effective

  • 09:00–09:45 UK time45 minutes
  • Online, on Zoom, inside ScholardemiaRegister, then join on this page from 08:50. How to join
  • Convened by Prof. Eugenia WickensOrganised by Scholardemia

What makes a tourism certificate credible? This session examines standards, verification, access and honest marketing.

FreeRegistration not open

Registration isn’t open at the moment.

Follow the series to hear when registration opens.

Capacity not published

Save

About this event

Speaker update, 2 October 2026: Speakers will be announced once confirmed.
The number of environmental labels and sustainability certifications in tourism has expanded, creating uncertainty for travellers and businesses. This webinar examines what makes a certification credible. It considers measurable criteria, independent auditing, transparent results, effective complaints procedures and consequences for non-compliance. The session will distinguish certification of an organisation, property, product or process, since a badge can mislead when its scope is not clear or when consumers assume that it guarantees outcomes beyond those actually assessed.
Panellists will explore how operators, marketing agencies and booking platforms should explain the purpose, evidence and limitations of a scheme. The discussion will examine audit frequency, conflicts of interest, public reporting and the treatment of improvement over time. It will also consider the cost and administrative burden faced by smaller enterprises, especially when several overlapping standards are expected. The role of statutory regulation will be assessed in relation to false environmental claims, minimum requirements and the oversight of private certification markets.
Participants will gain criteria for comparing schemes according to governance, accessibility and verified operational change. They will learn to identify who sets a standard, who conducts assurance and how affected communities can raise concerns. The webinar will also consider how certification data might inform procurement and consumer choice without replacing direct assessment of performance. Delegates will leave able to distinguish a credible accountability mechanism from promotional branding and to judge whether certification creates meaningful incentives for environmental and social improvement. This supports standards that remain credible to businesses, communities, regulators and travellers.

How to join

This webinar runs on Zoom. You join it here on Scholardemia, where the meeting opens inside the page with the chat, questions and polls beside it. You do not need a Zoom account or a Zoom link.

  1. RegisterFree, with your Scholardemia account.
  2. Come back on the dayThe room opens at 08:50 on Friday 19 February. We email you reminders with the Join button 24 hours and 1 hour before.
  3. Press JoinSign in with the same account. The meeting opens here, with questions, polls and the group chat beside it.

Use an up-to-date Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Allow sound when your browser asks, and use headphones if you can.

Scholardemia
Sign inCreate account

The certification conundrum: Making responsible tourism marketing and sustainability standards truly effective

WebinarOnlineSession 13 of 29

What makes a tourism certificate credible? This session examines standards, verification, access and honest marketing.

  • 09:00–09:45 UK time
  • Online, on Zoom, inside Scholardemia · 45 minutesRegister, then join on this page from 08:50. How to join
  • Convened by Prof. Eugenia WickensOrganised by Scholardemia

About this webinar

Speaker update, 2 October 2026: Speakers will be announced once confirmed.
The number of environmental labels and sustainability certifications in tourism has expanded, creating uncertainty for travellers and businesses. This webinar examines what makes a certification credible. It considers measurable criteria, independent auditing, transparent results, effective complaints procedures and consequences for non-compliance. The session will distinguish certification of an organisation, property, product or process, since a badge can mislead when its scope is not clear or when consumers assume that it guarantees outcomes beyond those actually assessed.
Panellists will explore how operators, marketing agencies and booking platforms should explain the purpose, evidence and limitations of a scheme. The discussion will examine audit frequency, conflicts of interest, public reporting and the treatment of improvement over time. It will also consider the cost and administrative burden faced by smaller enterprises, especially when several overlapping standards are expected. The role of statutory regulation will be assessed in relation to false environmental claims, minimum requirements and the oversight of private certification markets.
Participants will gain criteria for comparing schemes according to governance, accessibility and verified operational change. They will learn to identify who sets a standard, who conducts assurance and how affected communities can raise concerns. The webinar will also consider how certification data might inform procurement and consumer choice without replacing direct assessment of performance. Delegates will leave able to distinguish a credible accountability mechanism from promotional branding and to judge whether certification creates meaningful incentives for environmental and social improvement. This supports standards that remain credible to businesses, communities, regulators and travellers.

How to join

This webinar runs on Zoom. You join it here on Scholardemia, where the meeting opens inside the page with the chat, questions and polls beside it. You do not need a Zoom account or a Zoom link.

  1. RegisterFree, with your Scholardemia account.
  2. Come back on the dayThe room opens at 08:50 on Friday 19 February. We email you reminders with the Join button 24 hours and 1 hour before.
  3. Press JoinSign in with the same account. The meeting opens here, with questions, polls and the group chat beside it.

Use an up-to-date Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Allow sound when your browser asks, and use headphones if you can.

Convenor

Prof. Eugenia Wickens

Convenor

OTS Academy

United Kingdom

Professor Eugenia Wickens edits the Journal On Tourism & Sustainability (JOTS) and the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (JTHE), and chairs Scholardemia webinar sessions. Her research covers tourist experience and typologies, tourism routes and rural development, volunteer tourism, and event and cultural tourism. Formerly Reader in Tourism at Buckinghamshire New University, she has helped plan tourism education in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Serbia, Greece, Ireland and Turkey.

Scholardemia profileORCIDGoogle Scholar

Organised by Scholardemia.

Committee

Organising Committee

Operational leadership and event delivery team.

Prof. Eugenia Wickens

Convenor

OTS Academy

United Kingdom

Professor Eugenia Wickens edits the Journal On Tourism & Sustainability (JOTS) and the Journal of Tourism and Hospitality Education (JTHE), and chairs Scholardemia webinar sessions. Her research covers tourist experience and typologies, tourism routes and rural development, volunteer tourism, and event and cultural tourism. Formerly Reader in Tourism at Buckinghamshire New University, she has helped plan tourism education in Malaysia, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Serbia, Greece, Ireland and Turkey.

Scholardemia profileORCIDGoogle Scholar

Scholardemia

Organizer

Event committee

Who’s going

The attendee directory unlocks after you join

Register, join the waitlist, or use the participant dashboard your event role gives you to browse attendees and start event messaging.

Next in this series

All 29 sessions
  1. Fri 26 Feb09:00Flying towards a greener future: The science, policy and practice of decarbonising aviation in tourismSession 14
  2. Fri 5 Mar09:00The emotional core of travel: Connecting psychology, inclusive marketing and socially responsible tourismSession 15
  3. Fri 12 Mar15:00Tourism disrupted: Future scenarios, design thinking and innovating for a climate-changed worldSession 16
  4. Fri 19 Mar09:00The future of movement: Reimagining tourism mobilities, transport logistics and urban design in a connected worldSession 17