Sustainable Tourism Cooperative Research Centre (STCRC),was an Australian Cooperative Research Centre, headquartered in Gold Coast, Queensland, established by the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centers Program to establish a competitive and dynamic sustainable tourism industry in Australia. It ceased to operate on 30 June 2010. STCRC is a not-for-profit company owned by its industry, government and university partners. STCRC stands as the world’s largest travel and tourism research center.

History

STCRC was established under the Australian Government's Cooperative Research Centres Program to underpin the development of a dynamic, internationally competitive, and sustainable tourism industry. Since its inception the STCRC has supported over 170 PhD scholars through a suite of scholarships and the provision of a Career Development Program. STCRC currently supports over 90 postgraduate students. All are of exceptional academic standard. Most hold a first class honours degree and many have also received university awards for excellence. All supplementary scholarship holders also hold an APA or university-equivalent scholarship.

Organisational Aims

The STCRC's aimed to develop and manage intellectual property (IP). They claimed to deliver innovation to business, community, and government enhancing environmental, economic and social sustainability of the tourism industry. STCRC's self-proclaimed goal was to develop Australia's long-term tourism research capacities through a postgraduate research education programme.

Commercialisation Unit

The Commercialisation of STCRC research, sustainability oriented technologies and certification programs is done through EC3 Global (now called EarthCheck) which is wholly owned by the STCRC. EarthCheck provides an array of programs and services for companies, communities and other interest groups to set and achieve sustainability targets. With origins leading back to 1987, EarthCheck's research encompasses 250 tourism and environmental sustainability leaders in 16 universities. EarthCheck's influence has grown to encompass hundreds of projects, creating a strong market presence in over 50 countries.

University Partners

There are currently 16 Australian universities who are partners with the STCRC, these are listed below.