The Cultural Sustainability Audit

Tourism and local culture are deeply interdependent: culture shapes the destination, while tourism can strengthen or place pressure on its long-term vitality. Yet few tourism organizations have a structured way to understand and manage that relationship.

The Cultural Sustainability Audit fills that gap. Grounded in cultural sustainability principles and internationally recognized best practices in cultural tourism, it helps organizations assess current practices, recognize strengths, and identify where their approach can be strengthened.

Designed for both individual tourism organizations and destinations, the audit provides a clear starting point for putting cultural sustainability into practice.

A Practical Tool For Assessing Cultural Sustainability Practices

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Inform Better Tourism Decisions

Use your insights to inform decisions about:

  • Destination planning and development – Ensure tourism growth supports the cultural identities and priorities of local communities.

  • Product and experience development – Create visitor experiences that are culturally respectful, accurate representations, and mutually beneficial.

  • Community engagement – Strengthen relationships with cultural practitioners, community organizations, and residents.

  • Marketing and storytelling – Represent local cultures accurately, respectfully, and inclusively.

  • Partnerships and funding priorities – Identify where collaboration and investment can have the greatest cultural impact.

  • Policies and internal practices – Align organizational decisions with recognized best practices in cultural sustainability.

  • Monitoring progress over time – Establish a baseline, measure improvement, and demonstrate your commitment to cultural sustainability.

Choose The Right Offering

Destination Organization

For destination management organizations, regional tourism organizations, destination partnerships, and tourism authorities.

Evaluate how cultural sustainability is reflected across destination planning, partnerships, policies, and management.

Includes:

  • Destination Cultural Sustainability Self-Audit

  • Review and interpretation of findings

  • Customized Cultural Sustainability Insights Report

  • Strategic recommendations

  • Strategy session

  • The Destination Partner Badge

Ideal for destinations seeking a baseline to inform planning, investment, and long-term destination management.

Destination-Wide Program

For destinations seeking a broader understanding across their tourism ecosystem.

Combine the destination's internal perspective with participation from tourism businesses throughout the destination.

Includes:

  • Destination Cultural Sustainability Self-Audit

  • Sponsored operator participation

  • Individual Results Summaries and Reflection Guides for participating organizations

  • Aggregated operator findings

  • Destination-wide benchmarking

  • Customized Destination Cultural Sustainability Insights Report

  • Strategy session with destination leadership

  • The Cultural Sustainability Destination Partner Badge

A comprehensive understanding of how tourism supports cultural sustainability across the destination.

Individual tourism Organization

For tour operators, hotels, attractions, museums, cultural organizations, and tourism businesses.

Understand how your own operations support cultural sustainability.

Includes:

  • Online Cultural Sustainability Self-Audit

  • Overall score and maturity level

  • Domain-by-domain results

  • Automated Results Summary

  • Reflection Guide to help interpret your results and identify next steps

  • The Participating Organization Badge

A practical starting point for organizations looking to strengthen their cultural sustainability practices.

Audit Features

Designed from Principles of Cultural Sustainability and Best Practices in Cultural Tourism

The Cultural Sustainability in Tourism Self-Audit consists of structured questions organized across essential domains of cultural sustainability in tourism:

  • Community Participation & Leadership

  • Cultural Representation & Narrative Integrity

  • Cultural Experience Design

  • Local Benefit & the Cultural Economy

  • Consent, Rights, & Accountablity

  • Planning and Governance

  • Visitor Engagment

  • Impact Monitoring

Operationalizing International Best Practices

The Cultural Sustainability Audit is informed by leading international standards and guidance, with questions mapped against relevant criteria and principles, including:

  • GSTC Destination Standard v2.0 (2019)

  • UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (2003) and Operational Directives (2008, amended 2024)

  • ICOMOS International Cultural Heritage Tourism Charter (2022)

  • UN Tourism: Tourism and Intangible Cultural Heritage (2012)

Rather than measuring compliance, the framework helps organizations turn best practices in cultural tourism into action.

What Our Partners Are Saying

  • “The Cultural Sustainability Audit was highly relevant to our work in regenerative and community-based tourism in Tanzania.

    It encouraged valuable reflection on cultural sustainability, community engagement, and long-term cultural stewardship. The reflection guide was especially useful in prompting new ways of thinking about assessing and documenting cultural impact."

    — Wolfgang, Kijani Tours, Tanzania

  • “It was a simple and practical process that helped us identify our strengths and opportunities for growth.

    The audit encouraged us to reflect on how we can create a positive impact on local communities and cultural heritage.”

    — PUSHAQ Tours, Ecuador

Founding Partner Opportunity

A limited number of destinations and tourism organizations are invited to participate during the initial implementation phase.

Founding Participants receive:

  • Preferred introductory pricing

  • Early access to the framework

  • Opportunity to help shape future development

  • Recognition as an early participant (optional)

  • Additional implementation support, depending on the engagement.

Become a Founding Partner

Ready to Put Cultural Sustainability into Practice?

Whether assessing a single tourism organization or an entire destination, the Cultural Sustainability Audit provides a practical framework for making more informed decisions that help the cultures that shape communities remain living and meaningful parts of their future.

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