ASF Tourism
Frequently Asked Questions
Twenty honest answers, including to the question “has this actually started yet.”
Has this actually started? Is any facility verified yet?
No. This is a new initiative. The draft standard and process are built and published; no facility has been assessed, no partner organisation has signed on, and no pilot has run anywhere yet. Every page in this section says so plainly, and this one is no exception.
We’re already classified by our national tourism authority. Why would we need this too?
National classification (star ratings, bronze/silver/gold schemes) measures quality and comfort — things like room size, amenities, and service level. It generally does not independently verify water safety, food hygiene, pest control, or fire safety with on-site evidence. ASF Tourism is built to sit alongside that classification, not replace it, covering the specific ground it doesn’t.
Is this mandatory?
No. ASF Tourism is a voluntary programme, the same way ASF’s healthcare accreditation is voluntary. Local legal licensing and safety requirements always come first and are never replaced by this.
WTTC’s Safe Travels stamp is self-assessed — a facility fills in a form. GSTC’s own Hotel Standard states explicitly that health, safety, and security are outside its scope. Ecotourism Kenya’s Eco-rating is a genuine, independent scheme, but its focus is environmental and socio-cultural performance, not safety. ASF Tourism is the one built specifically, and independently, around health and safety verification.
Can we just do the free self-assessment without committing to anything?
Yes. The self-assessment is free, requires no account, and carries no obligation to go any further. Plenty of facilities may use it just to see where they stand.
What happens if a facility doesn’t pass the on-site visit?
Because the pre-assessment roadmap happens before the on-site visit, most gaps should already be known and addressed by the time the verifier arrives. Where something is still missing, the expected outcome — consistent with how ASF’s healthcare accreditation works — is a specific corrective action and a path back to re-assessment, not simply a closed door.
Who actually does the on-site verification?
This is one of the open questions the local-partner model is built to answer — verifiers would likely be trained either directly by ASF or by the local partner organisation under ASF’s methodology, the same way ASF trains Coordinators and Monitors in healthcare. Nothing is finalised yet.
We’re a very small property — five rooms, family-run. Is this really for us?
Yes, deliberately. The smallest membership tier and the free training model exist specifically so a small, resource-limited property isn’t priced out the way research shows has happened with comparable schemes elsewhere.
Is our self-assessment data kept private?
A facility’s self-assessment answers are its own and are not intended to be published. What ASF does publish, once a facility is actually verified, is the outcome and the registry listing — not the internal self-assessment responses themselves.
We already have a Green Globe or GSTC certificate. Do we have to redo that work for ASF?
No. Wherever a recognised national authority or credible international certification body has already certified something — a fire safety certificate, a water test, a Green Globe or GSTC sustainability certificate — ASF accepts it directly as evidence. Submit it, and that item is done. ASF’s role is to check what nobody has checked yet, not to repeat work someone else already did properly.
What’s the difference between the “Essentials” and “Full Standard” tracks, and which one applies to us?
Essentials (44 criteria) keeps every genuinely safety-critical item but drops the formal documentation-system requirements — logged schedules, written management reviews — that make sense for a large hotel with shift staff but not for a small, owner-operated property. Full Standard (59 criteria) is the complete set, recommended for larger properties with the staff and systems to run it. Roughly: under 20 rooms, Essentials is likely the right fit; above that, Full Standard. Either way, the self-assessment tool has a filter to show you only the track that applies.
Why does a safety standard cover things like bed bugs and accessibility — isn’t that outside the scope?
Both are genuinely health and safety issues, not scope creep. Bed bugs are one of the most common, reputation-destroying incidents in hospitality, and the standard checks prevention and response, not just “has this ever happened” — a property can’t be penalised for something a guest brought in from elsewhere if it handled the incident properly. Accessibility is scoped narrowly and realistically: one accessible room, one bathroom, one common area, where a facility’s physical layout allows it — not whole-building compliance.
If a guest gets food poisoning or has a medical emergency, does ASF take responsibility?
No. ASF verifies that a facility’s practices and protocols meet the standard — it does not operate the facility, treat guests, or assume liability for what happens there. What the standard does require is that a real medical emergency protocol exists, with a named nearest hospital and a real evacuation method, and that food safety’s two leading risk factors (cold chain, raw/cooked separation) are compulsory, not optional. The goal is a facility genuinely prepared for these situations, not a transfer of legal responsibility to ASF.
How much does this actually cost, and why is it priced per room?
A monthly membership, tiered by room count — from $15/month for the smallest properties up to $239/month for larger ones, with custom pricing above 450 rooms. Per-room pricing exists because a 5-room guesthouse and a 150-room hotel are different businesses and shouldn’t pay the same fee. The membership includes unlimited staff training, the self-assessment tool, the roadmap, and the on-site visit itself — see the Membership & Pricing page for the full breakdown. These numbers are a draft starting point for discussion, not a fixed price.
Could ASF eventually cover sustainability or environmental certification too?
Possibly, in future, and only where a local partner actually wants that broader scope — never built into the mandatory core, and never a shortcut. If it happens, it would work exactly like the health and safety standard does now: a real certificate (Green Globe, GSTC) accepted directly, or ASF’s own direct verification where no certificate exists. ASF is not becoming Green Globe or GSTC and does not issue their certifications — this is about a possible future option, not a current offering.
Why these six countries specifically — what if our facility isn’t in one of them?
Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Georgia, Moldova, and Turkey are where ASF has identified a strong candidate local partner organisation worth naming — not an exclusive list, and not a sign that any of them have agreed to anything. The standard and process are built to work the same way in any country, including ones not listed yet. If your facility is elsewhere, the honest answer is that ASF Tourism doesn’t have a path to you yet — but the email below is exactly how that could change.
What’s the actual timeline — when could a facility realistically get certified?
Honestly: not yet, because no local partner has been confirmed anywhere. Once a partner is in place, the sequence is free self-assessment, a pre-assessment roadmap, training and preparation at the facility’s own pace, then a half-day-to-one-day on-site visit. There’s no fixed timeline being promised beyond that, because it depends on a real partnership existing first.
Who actually decides if a facility passes — is it the same person who visited?
No, and that separation is deliberate. The verifier who visits reports evidence; a separate decision step reviews that evidence and issues the outcome. This mirrors exactly how ASF’s healthcare accreditation already works — the person who checks a facility is never the same person who decides its fate, which is what makes the result mean something.
What happens after certification — is it a one-time thing?
No. Certification is valid for three years, not indefinitely, with a light annual check-in in between — a short self-report, not a repeat of the full process. Quality is treated as something that has to be maintained, not a badge earned once and forgotten. Full re-verification happens every three years.
How do we get involved, or ask a question not covered here?
Email info@accreditation.ge. This programme is still at the proposal and partner-search stage, so an early question is genuinely useful — it can still shape the standard and process before anything is finalised.