When contacting the founder of a travel agency in my small, Upper-Austrian hometown that specialises in sustainable and responsible tourism, I did not only get some valuable insight from him, but he also referred me to multiple different NGOs in Austria and Europe specialising on the topic of sustainable tourism. I want to use this blog post to take a closer look at a few of them and at the work they do.
Naturfreunde / Amis de la Nature / Naturefriends
On their page Naturfreunde cites the definition of sustainable development, created in the course of the UN Earth Summit of 1992, as “a development which satisfies the current needs without risking future generations not being able to satisfy their needs anymore”. This definition has been adapted into developments in travel and tourism since then and has lead to the emergence of sustainable tourism.
In comparison to ecotourism, which is mostly associated with nature-focused travel and also sustainability approaches, sustainable tourism is a wider idea and concept about how travel should be approached. Thus, sustainable tourism can also be applied to mass tourism as well as different other forms of tourism.
Sustainable tourism must meet social, cultural, environmental, and economic compatibility criteria. It should be ethically and socially responsible, culturally appropriate, environmentally sustainable, and economically viable, both for present and future generations.
The Naturfreunde page also highlights the importance of the social aspects of sustainable travel next to environmental factors and how, if done right, tourism can also help improve the lives of travellers and locals alike (Naturfreunde, 2025).
All in all the page offers some interesting insights and information on the topic as well as links to further resources.
Natrufreunde have also founded a project called “RESPECT” specifically focusing on sustainable tourism. Respect also offers events and talks on the topics as well as on specific countries and destinations and how one could plan sustainable journeys there.
Tourism_Log
Also run by RESPECT, the tourism log is a place for exchange on the topic of tourism in general, trying to offer some specific insights into the environmental impact it can have and also offering information on how we could design travel to be more sustainable in the long run (RESPECT, 2025).
On the page one can find various different travel journal entries about travels to many different destinations and about travellers experiences with the countries, cultures and locals there. Furthermore, there are entries on different topics and issues connected to tourism, aiming to raise awareness for the problems that might often go unnoticed. The page’s goal seems to be to sensitise readers to the world around them and to the consequences and effects travelling can have on the host countries in order to make travel a more conscious effort.
Roundtable – Human Right in Tourism
The Roundtable Human Rights in Tourism, as the name already suggests is a NGO focusing on the issue of human rights in tourism. Funded by member fees and donations, the organisation provides training and expertise to travel operators in order to help them recognise their impact on human rights issues in their travel destinations. Their aim is to help organisers and travel providers implement the human rights due diligence in planning their travels. Next to knowledge exchanges, the roundtable also offers networking opportunities as well as teaching materials and funding for pilot projects (Roundtable, 2025).
Conscious Tourism Group
The Conscious Tourism Group also offers workshops and information events on the topic of sustainable tourism and sustainability in general. They provide expertise and direction to companies trying to become more sustainable, those trying to figure out what the term sustainability means for them and also those trying to market sustainable products to the right consumers. The three pillars of the organisation are “Consulting, Education and Community”, highlighting their conviction that education and knowledge are some of the most important tools in sustainability. They also stated on their page that they believe the classical three dimensions of sustainability – economical, ecological and socio-cultural – should be expanded by adding consciousness and community (Conscious Tourism Group, 2025).
While there are still more organisations to explore and more in depth information to collect for the ones I presented here very briefly, one can already tell that the overall consensus between them is that sustainable tourism is not just en ecological issue but also encompasses social and cultural issues as well as questions of human rights, and that spreading information and knowledge on the topic will be the best way to promote positive developments.
Literature
- Naturfreunde –
https://www.nf-int.org/themen/nachhaltiger-tourismus - Respect Tourism_Log –
https://tourismlog.respect.at/about/ - Roundtable – Human Rights in Tourism –
https://www.humanrights-in-tourism.net/association
