Tourism certifiers welcome the EU green-claims rules
The Tourism Sustainability Certifications Alliance has welcomed the start of the European Union’s green marketing rules. The rules apply from 27 September 2026. The alliance describes the commencement as a milestone for consumer confidence, transparency and the reduction of greenwashing across global tourism.
What the rules stop
The instrument is Directive (EU) 2024/825, which amends the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive 2005/29/EC and the Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU. A trader may no longer display a sustainability label unless a public authority established it, or it rests on a certification scheme with independent third-party verification, publicly available terms, transparent and open participation conditions, and procedures to deal with non-compliance. Generic environmental claims are banned without recognised excellent environmental performance that is relevant to the claim. The directive names the type: environmentally friendly, eco-friendly, green, nature friendly, ecological, climate friendly, carbon friendly and biodegradable, among others.
What it changes for hotel marketing
A hotel that runs a green label on a booking page, or an eco claim in a brochure, now needs a documented basis for both. A label needs a public authority behind it or a certification scheme that meets the directive conditions. A claim needs evidence, and a general adjective such as green or eco-friendly does not qualify on its own. Operators that market to European guests, or that sell through European distributors and wholesalers, are reviewing the sustainability information they publish.
The welcome and the chair’s statement
TSCA Chair Elissa Keenan said consumers want confidence that the environmental and social commitments promoted by tourism businesses are genuine. She said EmpCo helps create a marketplace where transparency, evidence and credibility are rewarded, to the benefit of travellers and responsible operators.
Why the reach goes past Europe
TSCA says the legislation applies to tourism operators worldwide that market to European consumers or work with European travel distributors and wholesalers, and not only to businesses located inside the European Union. On that reading, a hotel outside Europe that sells through an EU-based wholesaler or tour operator falls inside the scope of the rules its partners have to apply.
The certification claim behind the welcome
TSCA says its members represent more than 19,000 certified tourism businesses, attractions and destinations worldwide. That figure is the alliance’s own. The alliance also says member schemes operate in alignment with ISO/IEC 17065, the standard for bodies that certify products, processes and services.
What the statement leaves out
The directive’s transposition deadline was 27 March 2026, and EmpCo also amends the Consumer Rights Directive and adds pre-contractual information duties on durability, reparability and the availability of updates. The TSCA statement mentions none of those. It carries no penalty figure, and Directive (EU) 2024/825 sets no penalties of its own. Enforcement sits with competent national bodies under the amended unfair commercial practices rules.