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Volume XX |

Certification and promotion of sustainable tourism: consumers attitude towards EU Ecolabel

Abstract: The potential of ecotourism certification system has a promising development, considering increasing demands for environmentally friendly accommodation facilities for tourists on their vacations. The importance of the certification system and its impact or influence on the economic, social environment but also on the natural environment is a very big one. The opportunities offered by the certification activity are very wide, offering a number of advantages to the local communities, but also to the tour operators in the areas where such a system is implemented. That is why the standards regarding the ecological labeling have been developed and have been introduced in the national and regional systems of life cycle analysis of the products.The goal of the paper is to highlight the current situation, possibilities and approaches to ecological certification in tourism in Romania and to bring to the fore some fundamental elements regarding the ecological label. To determine the current attitude of the Romanian consumers towards the ecological labeling of the products, an questionnaire was carried out. It focused on identifying the perception of Romanian consumers towards the ecological label and how it influences their buying behavior.Based on the results of this research, we could observe the high level of notoriety of eco-labels among Romanian consumers, but also a nebulosity regarding the notion of eco-label, the uncertainty making its presence among our respondents.

Volume XVII |

The connection between sustainable tourism and certification systems

Abstract: The subject of certification and standards is vast, complex and at the same time topical, so the best is to begin by clarifying the terms. A “standard” by definition is a set of guidelines that helps organizations to develop, manage and control everything, from processes and products to services and systems. These guidelines meet specific requirements in areas such as efficiency, quality and safety. On the other hand, the certification is the process that verifies whether an organization, product or tourist service meets the specific standards of providing a written guarantee (the commercial logo), the latter representing a good way to allow customers to identify products that deliver higher quality service levels. At the same time, it participates in increasing the confidence in ecotourism products both nationally and internationally, but also in promoting the concept and principles of ecotourism at local, regional and national level; it contributes to the sustainable achievement of destinations and to the growth of shared knowledge with regard to a certification system, resulting in the benefits brought by it. In order to certify an organization, product or tourist service that meets certain standards, accredited third-party certification bodies must verify that the requirements are met through an audit process. Only after the successful completion of the audit process, an official certificate of an organization can be issued, and the admitted company agrees to maintain the systems according to the standard requirements of the continuous improvement. But why do you need to submit to the certification process activity and to all its expenses? What are the benefits of a company or its customers? The third-party certification shows to current and potential customers that an organization is committed to quality and has taken enough time to build and maintain a culture in its processes to give customers the same thing, i.e. the quality of the travel product.