SUSTAINABLE MANAGEMENT PLAN APPLICABLE FOR ECOTOURISM CERTIFICATION SYSTEMS

The purpose of this study is to introduce the certification procedure of ecological tourism as well as the criteria that have to be fulfilled by the lodging units whose desire is to voluntarily adhere to this new form of tourism. In Romania, the Certifying System in Ecotourism is used by the AER (Romanian Association of Ecotourism) and that adjusts the international experience into the national context. This is developed as the same as the Accreditation Program in Nature and Ecotourism promoted by the Australian Association of Ecotourism (NEAP is the first accreditation system in ecological tourism) and in conformity with Nature’s Best of the Swedish Association of Ecotourism (the first accreditation system in Ecotourism in the northern hemisphere). An important element in the certification procedure consists of drawing up a plan of sustained development which has to respond to the entirely certification requirements. The hereby study allows to see a model of sustained development plan that maybe used by managers and directors of lodging units which wanted to acquire this certification of tourism.