In tourism and hospitality service industry numerous are the voluntary ecolabels that have
been developed by individual companies, industry associations, voluntary organizations
and government agencies. Their scopes can range from single villages to worldwide, or
from single activities to entire destinations; and they may include voluntary codes, awards,
accreditation and certification schemes. However, the Ecolabels are a controversial topic in
tourism as the degree to which they affect tourists’ planning processes and corporate
environmental performance is largely unknown. This paper focuses on the European
Ecolabel the voluntary environmental policy instrument established by the European Union
which since 2000 is addressed not only to particular product groups but also to the services
of tourist accomodation and campingsite. In particular, the paper presents an analysis on the
application of the European criteria in the context of the Italian mountain huts.
