CRITERIA

The World is Our Business 

The Geotourism Investment Fund evaluates all potential projects against the Geotourism Code of Good Practice to determine whether they are eligible for investment.  Developed by the National Geographic Society, the code represents the principles supported by the Geotourism Investment Fund and all projects developed through this mechanism.  Each project developed by the fund will adhere to the following principles: 

• Integrity of place: We will work to enhance [Place name]’s geographical character in ways distinctive to the place, reflective of its natural and cultural heritage. Our approaches to developing tourism will build on these resources and protect them.

• Share our story: We will work to engage visitors and residents in exploring [Place name]’s distinctive characteristics, so that tourists gain a richer experience and residents develop pride in the communities where they live and work.

• Enriching tourist experience: We will work to ensure that our visitors are satisfied, enthusiastic, and supportive. We will listen to their interests and concerns, so that they will make return visits and take home travel stories that encourage others to visit [Place name] as well.

• Community involvement and distinctiveness: We will conduct our tourism efforts in ways that support local businesses and civic groups to the greatest extent possible, encouraging partnerships that provide and promote a distinctive, authentic place for visitors and residents alike.

• Destination appeal: We will support efforts to sustain [Place name]’s natural habitats, heritage sites, scenic appeal, and local culture—and encourage our visitors to do likewise. We will support efforts to avoid tourist overcrowding. We will seek to minimize sprawl and urge that the design of any new development suit its locale environmentally, culturally, and aesthetically.

• Environment: We will work to minimize water usage, pollution, solid waste, invasive species, loss of habitat, and energy consumption.

• Human impact: We will support internationally accepted standards of tourism ethics and human rights in relations with our employees, customers, suppliers, and fellow community members. We will minimize unwanted social and cultural disruption from our tourism activities.

• Collaboration:  We will continue to promote geotourism principles by sharing best practices in our organizations and to collaborate on geotourism educational efforts and policy development.

• Commitment:  We will post this Code of Good Practice and the actions and policies with which we support it, and to the extent feasible, provide an open venue for others to comment.