The Indian state Kerala is positioned by Kerala Tourism as a sustainable tourism destination for domestic and foreign markets (cf. Jean-Francois 2011). Indeed sustainable tourism projects take place and are conducted either by NGOs like Kabani or Equations or private companies like The Blue Yonder or CGH Earth. However there are critical voices, expressed e. g. by Kerala Tourism Watch, whether Kerala may serve as a role model for sustainable tourism or whether this is still a far goal to reach. Based on that controversy this contribution evaluates the tourism activities of Kerala regarding sustainable tourism on a multilevel scale: the official tourism strategy, the grassroot activities of NGOs, sustainability standards of private companies, the use of sustainable tourism labels and training activities eg. by the Kerala Institute for Tourism and Travel Studies (KITTS) and the involvement of communities. All three dimensions of sustainability i. e. economy, ecology and social issues are examined.