The new EU green claims rules are here: what does this mean for tourism stakeholders outside of the EU?

Sustainability has become a familiar part of tourism marketing. Hotels describe themselves as ‘eco’, destinations talk about being ‘green’ and tourism businesses increasingly promote the positive impact they have on the places in which they operate.

But the rules around what businesses can say are changing.

From 27 September 2026, EU Member States must apply the rules under the Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition Directive, known as EmpCo. The rules bring in much stricter requirements for environmental claims and sustainability labels used in consumer marketing. This applies to businesses based in the EU but also to businesses and organisations marketing products or services to EU consumers. 

At Acorn, we have been following these changes closely, including through our work with VisitEngland and other tourism stakeholders. In this blog we look at what the new rules mean in practice and what you can do about them.

What has changed?

Tourism businesses and destinations now need to be much more careful about the environmental claims they make. Generic terms such as ‘green’, ‘eco-friendly’ and ‘sustainable’ can no longer be used in marketing aimed at EU consumers without evidence to back them up.

Sustainability labels are also affected, with new requirements for the certification schemes behind them, including independent third party monitoring.

There are also tighter requirements around claims about future environmental performance. Statements about future targets need clear, objective and verifiable commitments, supported by a realistic plan.

None of this means businesses should stop talking about sustainability, but they do need to be more specific and able to back up what they say.

Only make claims you can evidence

The safest approach is to say exactly what you are doing rather than relying on broad sustainability language. Specific claims are easier to evidence and more useful to the customer too.

For example, instead of saying “we are an eco-friendly hotel”, explain the action behind the claim: “80% of our electricity comes from renewable sources” or “we have removed single use plastic water bottles from our guest rooms.”

The evidence should also match the claim. If you are talking about reducing water consumption, you should have data showing that reduction. If you promote local employment, keep records to demonstrate it. If you display a sustainability certification, make sure you understand what the certification covers and that the scheme meets the relevant requirements.

So avoid vague claims and stick to the specific actions and results you can show.

Review what is already out there

This is not only about future marketing. Businesses and destinations also need to look at what they have already published.

Old webpages, blogs, downloadable brochures, destination guides, campaign pages and other content can remain accessible to consumers long after they were originally published. A sustainability statement written several years ago may have seemed perfectly reasonable at the time, but that does not necessarily mean it should remain online unchanged today.

A good place to start is to audit existing communications for words such as ‘sustainable’, ‘green’, ‘eco’ and ‘carbon neutral’ and then ask a simple question: what evidence do we have to support this?

Destinations and OTAs need to be particularly careful

Destinations, online travel agencies (OTAs) and tour operators regularly publish information about businesses they do not own or operate. A destination website might describe a hotel as ‘eco-friendly’, promote a tour operator as ‘sustainable’ or display an environmental badge supplied by the business.

Just because the information came from another business does not mean you can publish it without checking. If an environmental claim appears on your website, platform or marketing, you need to be confident about what it means and the evidence behind it.

For destinations, this means looking beyond their own sustainability messaging. They also need to consider what they are saying about the businesses, awards, certification schemes and sustainability initiatives they promote. Our work for VisitEngland identified that destination umbrella programmes may face increased scrutiny where the underlying schemes cannot demonstrate alignment with the new requirements.

We also expect OTAs to become more cautious. Major platforms display information for thousands of tourism businesses, so they are likely to become more selective about the claims and certifications they show to consumers.

A useful warning from Thomas Cook

This ruling came from the UK Advertising Standards Authority rather than under EmpCo, but it is a good example of what can happen.

In September 2026, the UK Advertising Standards Authority ruled against a Thomas Cook Google advert promoting the ‘Sandos Caracol Eco Resort’, finding that ‘Eco Resort’ was understood as an environmental claim that had not been sufficiently substantiated.

The claim was about a third party property, which shows why you need to check what you say about the businesses you promote through your own channels.

Read more about the Thomas Cook case here.

What about certification?

Certification is becoming more important, but businesses still need to understand exactly what their certification covers and whether the scheme meets the new requirements.

One initiative to watch is Travalyst’s Certifications Initiative, which lets certification bodies declare how they align with the EU requirements. With major global travel platforms involved in Travalyst, it is likely to become an important reference point for OTAs.

This matters for businesses outside Europe too. If you rely on European tour operators or global booking platforms, you may increasingly be asked for recognised certification or evidence to back up your sustainability claims.

What should you do now?

There is no need to remove every mention of sustainability. Instead, businesses and destinations should:

• Review existing content, not just future marketing

• Identify broad environmental claims and check what evidence supports them

• Review certification schemes and understand how they are responding to the new requirements

• If certification schemes are not available to you right now, focus on the actions and results you can already evidence

• Check third party content, including sustainability information about businesses published on destination, tour operator and booking platforms

• Join associations and networks that offer advice and support in these areas

• Put a process in place so future sustainability claims are checked before they are published

For many organisations, this will not mean starting from scratch as the evidence may already exist. It is about making sure what you say accurately reflects it.

How Acorn can help

Over the past year, Acorn Tourism Consulting has been working with VisitEngland to understand what the changing European rules mean for tourism businesses, destinations and certification schemes.

Through this work, we have looked at how certification schemes, destinations, OTAs and other industry players are responding and what practical guidance the tourism industry needs.

We can help destinations and tourism organisations review their existing sustainability communications, identify gaps, understand the changing certification landscape and develop practical guidance and training for their businesses.

The main thing to remember is simple: know what you are saying, have the evidence to back it up and check what is being published on your channels about the businesses you promote.

If you would like support navigating these changes, contact Alice at alice@acorntourism.co.uk.

Disclaimer: This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. It is based on our current understanding of the regulations and their implications for the tourism sector. We recommend seeking independent legal advice where further clarification is required.