Central Coast has beautiful and natural assets, however, the destination came to the realisation that these are not a priority in their tourism marketing. To solve this a collaborative, long-term, well-managed approach was needed to grow visitors interest in these assests and protect them at the same time, which is why Central Coast decided to join the ECO Destination program and community. Along the way a lot of different steps had to be taken and a lot of new projects were created. In the end, after 2 years of hard work, the destination became a certified ECO Destination.
Keywords: Stakeholder involvement, Destination Management Policy or Strategy, Stakeholder contributions, Sustainability standards, Sustainability information to visitors Ecotourism certification program, stakeholder training, becoming a certified destination, destination management, sustainability projects, Green Destinations Standard
