Abstract
Tourism certification has emerged as a tool to reduce environmental impacts and gain competitive advantage, and been promoted on the basis of efficiency-based eco-savings. This paper explores the successes and challenges of five programs operating partly or wholly in developing countries that have introduced socioeconomic criteria to complete the triple bottom line of sustainability. The analysis suggests that social standards are ambiguous; the assessment methodologies are inconsistent and open to interpretation; there is considerable variation on what is understood as sustainable depending on the type of tourism companies targeted; and the programs working more intensely on social issues will have the greatest challenges to expand. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.