Ecotourism is big business. From local attractions, to world tours, to luxury resorts, business owners are lining up to be included on ecotourism lists and to win awards.
Criteria for ecotourism usually encompass the triple bottom line: Economic sustainability, environmental sustainability, and social responsibility. That means that part of business practice must include business ethics, contribution to conservation, and cultural respect and sensitivity etc.
In Australia, a good site to log onto is www.ecotourism.org.au
Ecotourism Australia certifies tourism products (attractions, tours and accommodation) and has a database of these. So if for instance you’re visiting the Blur Mountains and want to find an eco-friendly attraction, you can search for exactly that on the website. They also host an international ecotourism conference in November every year.
When you’re looking at tourist products generally in Oz, all products with the certification of ecotourism will carry their logo.
If you’re traveling further a field, a good international site is www.responsibletravel.com/. You can search for any holiday or accommodation on any budget, right from the home page. The site includes travel hints, a shop and an
e-zine. They also host the First Choice Responsible Travel Tourism Awards each year, voted by travelers. There are awards in different categories, however this year’s (2006) joint overall winners were Intrepid Travel (Australia) and Ol Malo Lodge & Trust (Kenya).
Another large international ecotourism forum is the Annual Summit of the World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development (DestiNATIONS), held in Brazil. You can check out the recent third annual forum at www.worldtourismforum.org/
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
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