The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism (ECST) is a practical tool, similar to a certification process, to better manage protected areas in order to develop sustainable tourism.
A core element of the Charter is working in partnership with all public and private stakeholders wishing to develop a common tourism strategy and an action plan.
At European level, ECST is coordinated by EUROPARC Federation, which manages the procedure to award the Charter and coordinates the network of certified Parks. So far, 131 protected areas in 16 European countries have been awarded the Charter, which is based on 10 key principles.
Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park was awarded the Charter in December 2015, at the end of a process that involved private actor, entrepreneurs, associations, public authorities.
Operators’ ideas and Park projects in the field of sustainable tourism have been translated into a five-year (2015-2019) action plan for sustainable tourism, in which 6 public authorities and 22 private actors participate, and which is structured in 43 actions: the Park directly takes care of 13 of them, 30 are managed by other actors.