Europe Sets New Sustainability Requirements for Destinations and Event Organizers
The European Travel Commission (ETC), together with GDS-Movement and NECSTouR, has updated its practical guide on communicating sustainability in the tourism and events sector. The new edition includes guidance on the implementation of European regulations in different countries, the use of climate declarations, environmental certifications, and the obligations of destinations, convention bureaus, and event organizers.
The European Travel Commission (ETC), the Global Destination Sustainability Movement (GDS-Movement), and NECSTouR have published a new edition&of Proof, Not Promises: A Practical Guide to the EU Empowering Consumers Directive for Destinations, a guide designed to help the tourism and events sector interpret and apply European requirements regarding environmental claims.
This update follows the implementation, as of September 27, 2026, of the Directive (EU) 2024/825, which strengthens consumer protection against misleading environmental claims.
Unlike the first edition, published in the spring, the new document incorporates insights gathered from advisory and training projects with tourism organizations, as well as an updated legal analysis.
Differences in the Implementation of European Regulations
One of the main new features is the analysis of how Member States are incorporating the new provisions into their national laws.
The guide identifies differences between countries that have integrated the requirements into their consumer protection laws and those that have distributed them across various laws on advertising, contracts, and unfair competition.
It also clarifies which organizations are subject to these obligations. Although the directive is primarily aimed at commercial communications directed at consumers, its scope may include public bodies when they market or promote tourism products.
This clarification is particularly relevant for destination management organizations (DMOs), convention bureaus, event venues, and tourism companies.
Greater rigor in climate-related claims and certifications
The new edition devotes special attention to expressions related to climate neutrality and net-zero emissions, explaining the risks of using these claims without adequate justification.
It also delves into the restrictions on environmental claims based on emissions offsets and the conditions that future climate commitments must meet.
Another section addresses the reliability of sustainability labels and certifications, providing guidance on assessing the independence of verification systems, their accreditation, and the robustness of the criteria used.
The guide notes that the regulations do not require all organizations to obtain certification, but they do establish stricter requirements for using environmental labels in their commercial communications.
Eight Principles for Communicating Sustainability
Notable among the new additions is a framework of eight principles, called CREDIBLE, which complements the six practical steps included in the first edition.
These principles address the clarity of messages, the limitations of generic claims, the need to provide evidence, the specificity of commitments, independent verification, and consistency between what organizations communicate and the measures they actually implement.
The document emphasizes that the new requirements should not cause destinations and companies to stop reporting their environmental progress out of fear of noncompliance.
On the contrary, it proposes improving the quality of the information, explaining both the results and the limitations, and strengthening collaboration between the sustainability, operations, data analysis, and marketing departments.
For the meetings and events sector, these guidelines provide a framework for reviewing the environmental messaging used in the promotion of destinations, venues, and services, and for strengthening the credibility of ESG initiatives among clients and attendees.