Standards and Accreditation

Tourism accreditation is a voluntary process designed to establish and continually improve industry standards for tourism businesses. Accreditation helps all tourism businesses improve the way they operate. An accredited tourism operator is committed to quality business practices and professionalism in all aspects of the enterprise.

Accreditation is ongoing, with an emphasis on business planning, operating systems and performance measurement. Accreditation is voluntary because the demands of a constantly changing marketplace can best be met through agreed industry standards rather than government imposed regulations. Voluntary systems also enable those operators who devote the time and resources to achieving accreditation standards to be recognised and distinguished from those operators who don’t.

Accreditation programs are usually managed by industry associations. Operators must achieve the standards outlined in their relevant program to become accredited and show that their business practices ensure their services and products are of a consistent quality and meet or exceed the expectations of their customers. The Queensland Government, through Tourism Queensland, supports, encourages and acknowledges industry-led tourism accreditation.

Benefits of accreditation for tourism businesses include:


  • customer assurance of continued quality - improved customer relationships

  • business improvement - quality management involves documentation of operational and management procedures, improved business knowledge, competence, sustainability, management and predictability

  • competitive advantage - increased market share, profitability, official promotion on government sponsored programs, tourism publications, websites and publicity materials; and

  • improved staff relationships, training and communications.

The whole tourism industry benefits from accreditation because it provides travel retailers and wholesalers with an assurance of professional service. This commitment to quality means a quality experience for the visitor and subsequent repeat visitation.

There are a number of accreditation programs available to the tourism industry in Queensland. These include:


www.qualitytourism.com.au is an Australian Government funded site that is designed specifically for Australian tourism operators. The Quality Tourism portal is an online gateway to all the business improvement information, and tools that operators need to improve their profitability, credibility and sustainability.

There are three main sections of the portal designed to help businesses become more professional, sustainable and profitable. These are Business Improvement, Quality Systems and Success Stories.