För naturens bästa : en studie av svensk kvalitetsmärkning av ekoturism

Abstract: Nature's Best is a quality-label for Swedish Eco-tourism. It is one of very few active ecotourism labels and the only one that claims quality as its main focus. The objective of this thesis is to evaluate the certification scheme Nature's Best with regards to the values the certification creates for the companies that certify their products. A secondary objective is to evaluate whether Nature's Best is constructed as a quality- or environmental label. The analysis is based on theory concerning service quality, labelling and marketing. The thesis also includes a short description of the eco-tourism market and competing labelling schemes. Nowhere on the Internet homepage or in the criteria documents is a definition of the quality concept used by Nature's Best stated. Therefore, the label lacks a clear basis for the claims on the high quality of certified products. There is also no indication that a thorough market survey has been conducted. My conclusion is that Nature's Best does not, to any great extent, promote development of service quality in the operators, nor does it seem to be able to communicate a service quality value to the consumers. The criteria for Nature's Best show an excess of environmentally related criteria considering the fact that it is a quality label. It appears that Nature's Best is a label striving to be an environmental label and a quality label at the same time. A more extended summary in English is presented in the Executive Summary at the end of the thesis.