Today’s tourism industry features a significant presence of micro and small enterprises (MSEs). Micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises are essential to the tourism and travel sector, representing approximately 80% of all tourism enterprises worldwide and up to 98% in select G20 nations (International Council for Small Business, 2024*).
Tourism MSEs play an important role in economies by creating employment, requiring low investment for production, increasing product diversity, and rapidly adapting to technological developments. They contribute to regional economic balance, encourage personal savings, and enable innovation. Beyond the economic benefits, MSEs support local communities by promoting economic stability and regional and social development. However, various challenges to obtaining certification often constrain their capacity to realize these benefits fully. Many tourism MSEs continually embrace sustainable practices. However, only a limited number of them engage in certification processes. To bridge this gap, the GSTC is launching a dedicated platform to analyze the conditions of tourism MSEs, their level of participation in certification, and their limitations, and to propose activities that contribute to the correct interpretation of GSTC Standards and their appropriate implementation based on the scale of these operations: Roundtable for Micro and Small Enterprises Certification (R4MSEC).
The first meeting of the R4MSEC took place on February 19, 2025, via Zoom, bringing together key stakeholders from various organizations, including HostelWorld, ETIFOR, Earth Changers, Sustainable Travel Taiwan, and the International Trade Centre, Fundación Ecologista Verde, and the Institute of Travel and Tourism of the Gambia & Ninki-Nanka Encounters, among others**. During the session, participants examined the challenges and barriers that MSEs face in obtaining GSTC certification and discussed the definition of MSEs in the context of sustainable tourism.
The kick-off meeting laid the groundwork for ongoing collaboration with plans to further examine the GSTC Standards in the next session, which will be held in March 2025. Seven meetings are expected to be developed by October 2025, depending on the progress and outcomes achieved throughout this new initiative.
The results of the R4MSEC discussions will be transferred to the Public Consultation to agree on the criteria/indicators of the GSTC Standards that require specific certification requirements for MSEs.
*International Council for Small Business (2024) – ICSB annual global micro-,small and medium-sized enterprises report. https://www.un.org/sites/un2.un.org/files/globalmsmesreport2024.pdf
**Participants of the Roundtable include: Catherine Gilvarry, Head of Supply EMEA & Americas, HostelWorld, Peter Richards, International Partnerships Coordinator, Program Management Unit for Competitiveness Enhancement (PMUC), Federica Bosco, Sustainable Tourism Manager, ETIFOR – Destination Management and Sustainability Certifications, Vicky Smith, Founder, Earth Changers / Global Ecotourism Network, Monique Chen, Co-founder and Chairwoman, Sustainable Travel Taiwan, STB-Sustainable Tourism Office, Ayşe Zeynep Sezerel, Hotel Owner, No11 Apartments Hotel, Ann Wilkings, Independent Consultant, International Trade Centre, Adama Bah, Responsible Tourism Consultant, Institute of Travel and Tourism of the Gambia & Ninki-Nanka Encounters, Tuğçe Tapan Ünlü, System Certification & Tourism Certification Manager & Business Development Manager, ACB – Control Union Türkiye and Daniele Bettiati, Certification Manager, ACB – Vireo.
