For Businesses

• Help consumers and the community recognize the positive contributions you make to Hawaiʻi.
• Benefit from the marketing efforts that Qurator and HTA are putting behind this program.
• Learn more ideas about responsible tourism and how you can contribute.
• For more information, see our Benefits of Certification section at the top of this page.

Any travel and tourism business with a physical presence in Hawaiʻi. For more information, see our Criteria and Requirements

• No! The program is designed to recognize any and all positive contributions to Hawaiʻi and is designed for businesses of all sizes. Even if you don’t meet all the criteria, you can still be recognized in any of our six areas of excellence.
• The program takes anywhere from 30-90 minutes to complete and is designed so that any manager level employee can answer nearly every question without needing to reference external resources.
• The entire process can be done online, and you’ll have your answer in a matter of days

A partner can earn a badge through excellence in any specific and narrow category, but to earn certification, they need to score well across all criteria. 

Minimum passing scores are quite low because the program is built for all businesses regardless of size or type. What you contribute may be very different than your competitors, so we don’t expect you to answer yes to all of the questions.

• Even if you don’t pass the overall certification, you might still be acknowledged for your efforts in a specific category.
• The criteria are designed for all businesses of all sizes and tasks to be successful. If you don’t meet the standards the first time through, Qurators will help you to find things you can do to raise your score and help put more good into the community

• You’ll normally get an initial answer in a week or less, but sometimes longer
• One of our team will follow up to schedule a quick welcome and audit
• If you clear the audit, you’ll be provided with digital and physical collateral to display, and Qurator will send a press release welcoming you to the ʻohana, and notify our distribution partners that you’ve been approved.

• After your initial scoring, we’ll contact you to set up a quick 25 question audit. The questions are a joint effort: we’ll verify some public records, we’ll ask for proof from some randomly selected questions, and we’ll ask a few follow up questions over the phone.
• Qurator works on the honor system, and the program only has credibility if it can be trusted. So, we take truthfulness very seriously. Depending on the discrepancy discovered, actions range from clarification to correction, up to removal of certification and dismissal from the program for repeat violations and especially egregious lapses.
• Some audit questions may be asked where we think you should be getting credit, but arenʻt. Have no fear!

One year from the date you’re certified. To requalify, you don’t need to answer all the questions again, just answer a few refresher questions, and any new questions which have been added.

Qurator is a program funded and managed by Hawaiʻi Tourism Authority. The program was designed by Kilohana with input from over 100 different industry and community groups. Administration of the program is handled by Kilohana.

Global Sustainable Tourism Council currently certifies limited sectors of the travel industry. Qurator certifies all travel and tourism businesses, thereby exceeding the scope of GSTC. Qurator criteria are in line with those of GSTC, but also cover areas other certification bodies don’t cover, like executive pay, human trafficking, bereavement leave, and supporting ‘olelo Hawaiʻi