What Is the Value of an Environmental Certification Label in Tourism Industry? Is It Worth the Effort?

The increasing awareness of environmental, social and cultural issues has highlighted the concept of sustainable certification. The aim of this study is to understand the main drivers and constraints for companies to join certification schemes and compare possible changes between the years 2021 and 2024 among tourism companies. A total of 417 online questionnaires were collected, and a comparative study was conducted. The findings show that the drivers for implementing certification schemes are improving the company’s image and customer-based brand equity, strengthening competitiveness, achieving eco-efficiency, cost reduction, and competitive advantage. On the side of the obstacles that discourage the adoption of certification schemes, there are difficulties in meeting the criteria of the certifications, adapting working methods, higher costs, and lower price competitiveness. The results also show that there was a significant increase in the number of certified companies and that women and young entrepreneurs are more sensitive to the implementation of good practices. It has been concluded that although there is greater demand and interest in implementing good tourism practices, people who know less about certification schemes and companies that are not certified have a weaker opinion regarding this topic.