not so much linked to ecotourism – bit I just love the picture !

Enjoy !

Travel green in style with Ctrip and Greenovate !

Ctrip, the leading Chinese online travel agency, based in Shanghai, has just announced its support to GECKO (Greennovate Environmental Challenge for Kids Outreach), a program designed to bring environmental awareness to youth in rural China.

Greenovate, based also in Shanghai, has already brought to Ctrip.com the stylish Reuse.Bag, available to Ctrip members as a Green Rewards. Now they’re taking their
partnership with hip designers further, collaborating with Eno on Green Tee, a new line of creative environmental T-shirts.
So, if you are using Ctrip.com, get yourself a bag and a shirt, support environmental education in China and look good doing it!

Ctrip.com also annouced the start-up of a carbon offset widget on its website …
coming soon!

More details at www.ctrip.com

Dear readers,

I foward you an invitation for an international conference on sustainable tourism…

INVITATION TO THE INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS
“Sustainable tourism as a factor of local development” – 7th/9th Novembre,
On behalf of the Research Unit for Sustainable Development of University of Milano Bicocca I am pleased to send you an invitation to the international congress “Sustainable tourism as a factor of local development” that will be held in Monza(Milan), Italy on the 7th/9th November 2008.

The purpose of the congress is to promote an interdisciplinary debate about sustainable tourism to illustrate strategies, methods, tools and good practices. An occasion for comparing local experiences and national and international case histories, starting from the situation of Monza e Brianza region.The programme of the congress includes contribution of local administrators, tourism operators, national and international academic speakers from different faculty.
Italian is the official language of the congress. Simultaneous translation in English will be provided.

For information: www.griss.it and www.brianzaeturismo.it

The participation at the congress is free of charge. For information and registrations:

Valentina Castellani: phone +39 (0)2 64482824 mail: v.castellani1@ campus.unimib.it

Nomad Safaris, a safari operator based in Queenstown, New Zealand, has just become a Green Globe certified activity.

It is interesting to note that Nomad Safaris operates a fleet of a 4-wheel drive Land Rover Defenders and quadbikes, so , you would say, not very eco-friendly right ?

It is in fact a great means to access the spectacular Queenstown scenery, that you minght have seen in the “Lord of the Rings” movie.

Gatward- Ferguson, owner of teh Safari explains us how they have managed to become a Green Globe certified activity: “It’s a significant achievement because it’s focused on an issue that’s on the forefront of everyone’s mind – sustainability. People do not expect operators who run 4-wheel drive tours to be sustainable. However, it is even more important that we try to have as little impact on the environment, given what we do. We can’t eliminate, but we can mitigate and minimize. Green Globe certification offers the ultimate proof that we are achieving those ends.”

Some of their actions towards sustainability are:
– good driving practice to reduce emissions,
– switching lights off when not needed,
– recycling,
– buying biodegradable items,
– instructing drivers to pick up refuse when they see it
– choosing suppliers who shared their green commitment.

More info on http://www.nomadsafaris.co.nz/

The conference will be organized by the Lao National Tourism Administration together with with Malaysia’s DISCOVERYMICE mid July 2009.

The conference aims at creating greater awareness on the current ecotourism developments with more than 800 delegates.

Mr. Somphong Mongkhonvilay, the Chairman of Lao National Tourism Administration stated: “This innovative conference aims to present modern approaches to sustainable tourism development and management at World Heritage Sites, exchange lessons-learned regarding global best-practice in the ecotourism and community-based tourism sectors.

Laos is great country to host this event: it is a fast growing destination, well known for warm hospitality and wealth of cultural, natural and historic heritage – clearly to be conserved …

Another airline is trying to be more eco-friendly – and that’s good news since we all know airlines are consuming A LOT of fuel !

Air France – KLM has in fact gotten the ISO 14001 certification, a sign of its environmentally-minded, sustainable management systems, for all of its French domestic bases – and aboard its planes.

Some of the features improvements are regulation of gas emissions from aircraft as well as water and energy consumption when on ground.

Air France’s next ISO 14001 audit is set for July 2009, a process that takes place yearly. You can find more on the Air France Sustainable Development program at http://developpement-durable.airfrance.com/FR/en/local/accueil/Accueil_en.htm?

Dear readers

a group of students does a survey on ecotourism. Please take the time to answer their short questions, thanks !

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=_2feOMtK0_2fnz2axfDYLQrf0w_3d_3d

We will debrief you on the outcomes soon !

A number of prominent organizations, including Green Globe International, United Nations Foundation, Rainforest Alliance, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) have decided to launch the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria (GSTC).

Ted Turner, the CEO of the United Nations Foundation announced the first-ever globally relevant sustainable tourism criteria at the IUCN World Conservation Congress.

The new criteria will be based on best practices culled from the existing standards currently in use around the world. It will offer a common framework to guide the emerging practice of sustainable tourism. All that we know so far is that some of the key criteria will be energy usage, potable water consumption and waste to landfill.

It is certainly a great news. Lets just hope that the outcome be simple, efficient, and readable for both tourism providers and clients.

Sometimes pictures are worth 1000 words … a quick glance at this is enough to understand why we all have to do some efforts …

The Carribean Islands are adding much more information on green hotels, eco hotels and ecotourism opportunies throught the website responsibletravel.com (see our article http://blog.greenty.com/2008/07/responsibletravel-results-show-high.html)

The green tour operator has created a dedicated space on its website – a guide to the country of 32 islands told by the local people. There are stories of the islands plus tips on where to go and what to do also feature. Consumers can search by theme (holidays, activities, nature & wildlife, luxury, culture, events, weddings, honeymoons, families and sailing & diving), or by location, such as St. Vincent, Bequia, Union Island, Mayreau, Canouan, Mustique, Young Island, Palm Island and Petit St.Vincent.

You will also find there a selection of bed and breakfast accommodation, apartments, hotels and tours that have been selected due to their stated responsible travel policy. Prices start at US$72 a night for a double room …

Enjoy the Green Holiday !