The growing emphasis on sustainability in tourism has led to the proliferation of quality labels — a broad category of voluntary certification schemes and marks that aim to signal environmental, social, or cultural responsibility. These include eco- and bio-labels, as well as certifications for tourism businesses and thematic tourism services, such as glamping, agritourism, or locally recognized sustainability initiatives.

Quality labels, depending on their diverse legal status (voluntary vs. mandatory, public vs. private), may operate simultaneously as business assets, business-to-consumer (B2C) commercial practices, and inputs in market competition. In this context, they raise practical legal and regulatory challenges: What are the rights and responsibilities of label holders? How robust is the oversight of certifying bodies? And how consistent are such schemes across different jurisdictions?

This presentation seeks to unpack these dimensions through a legal-practical lens, focusing on how quality labels are regulated, implemented, and contested within real-world tourism contexts. Drawing on EU and national legal frameworks, it explores the intersection of liability, competition, and intellectual property concerns, and proposes pathways toward clearer governance, greater legal certainty, and better alignment with sustainable tourism policy goals.

In broad terms, the study demonstrates that the EU has already established a comprehensive legal framework for certification marks covering their validity, protection, and accessibility. The effective implementation of this system, however, depends on national measures — in particular, on the adequacy and suitability of monitoring mechanisms. The analysis is based on qualitative legal research.