Best practises 

To show stimulate stakeholders to get involved in sustainable tourism and to show them that it is actually possible, many databases of best practices have been compiled. Paying tribute to the complexity of tourism these databases deal with different aspects of the sector. Grossly they can be divided in best practices in accommodation, touroperating and policies.

Some prudence is advised when looking at these databases of best practices. 

Sustainable tourism is a complex issue which can be interpreted differently and even conflictive by the various stakeholders. It is clear that the nature of the organization compiling the list of best practices determines what kind of best practices are included. A nature oriented initiative will pay less attention to the performance on empowerment of the local community than an initiative that is undertaken by a development organization. 

Then there is the matter of control and transparency. Who has checked the performance of the enterprise involved and how much transparency is requested from the entrepreneur in offering information.

Another issue is the more general effects of tourism. For most collections of best practices, a static research is carried out, on one moment in time, without looking at the long term chances of survival for this enterprise or the consequences of its actions for sustainable development on the longer term.

Another question that is often heard is: compared to what is this a "best practice". In other words, did anybody evaluate the alternative options for tourism development or non-tourism development and compare them with the sustainability performance of this particular enterprise. 

Recently another form of critical approach to "best practices" is heard. Approaching it from a negative perspective it states that the frantic search for best practices draws away the attention from the many cases that have failed. From a more positive perspective it states that it might be much more interesting to look for worst cases, since we can learn from them what to avoid.

Best Practises in the accommodation sector

Best practices in the tour-operating sector

Best practices of tourism policies