The 2008 Responsible Travel & Tourism Forum will occur in Toronto, Canada on October 14/15 this autumn.

The forum will last for two days and feature both formal sessions and workshops.

The workshops will be on green commissions, green meeting and event planning, sustainable best practices, corporate social responsibility, emerging green travel trends.

The speakers will be both Canadian and international, from the private and public sectors (and university experts). A lot of case studies and resource guides will be used to show solutions.

Have a look at the event site http://rttf.ca/

A large and popular tourism destination, Australia is also home of a number of programs and labels of eco-tourism that promote eco-tourism, nature tours and green hotels.

A good example is Ecotourism Australia. They have set up their own criteria stated within the Eco Certification Program and they cretify more and more Tourism operators in Australia – that then have their tour, attraction or accommodation accredited under the ECO Certification Program and can genuinely claim to provide authentic ecotourism product.

They also edit a travel guide (see picture) : Ecotourism Australia’s Green Travel Directory launched at Australian Tourism Exchange, May 2007.

The directory lists more than 700 ECO Certified operators, and covers the whole nation.

More info at http://www.ecotourism.org.au/

A great push for eco-tourism in Australia !

Another government is investing in ecotourism, another great sign of dynamism in the field …

The NZ Government has decided to dedicate NZ$3m to Sustainable Tourism

The New Zealand government is committing an extra $2.83 million over the next year for the implementation of the New Zealand Tourism Strategy 2015, Tourism Minister Damien O’Connor announced Tuesday last.

The allocation of fund has been described as follows:

– tourism workforce initiatives,

– sector research,

– improving Maori tourism capability,

– environmental initiatives including the promotion of new Qualmark Green criteria to international and domestic visitors.

“Tourism’s future depends upon sustainability and delivering greater value from each and every visitor to this country. Its sheer size and its potential to help transform our economy into one which is more sustainable and of higher value means it is a priority sector for government attention”. said the NZ governement representative.

However there is some controversy on some of the items:

“Basically, we’re concerned it doesn’t go far enough,” Ecotourism NZ chair Brian MacKenzie said. “There’s nothing to distinguish ecotourism operators from mainstream Qualmark members, like hotels and camper van companies, or reflect the extra lengths they go to.”

“Qualmark’s new environmental criteria are a good first step but its standards aren’t far reaching or high enough for ecotourism”, added a representative at the upcoming Ecotourism NZ Conference.

So, again, eco-tourism is in a development stage and discussion is widely open !

The other day, I was in Bangkok, Thailand talking to a hotel owner. He is holding a weekly green committee in his team, to review the green practices of the hotel – hopefully to drive towards things that are more responsible and sustainable …

And why are doing this ? I asked openly … Because my customers ask for it , he replied … Quoting mainly B2B customers such as BMW or Unilever who do have to get some kind of guarantees from their travel suppliers in terms of their commitment to the environement …

Interesting, no?

I do believe firmy that, contrary to what some people still believe, being a greener, more responsible tourism operator can increase revenues, but also business efficiency, cut energy costs, increase customer and staff satisfaction …

Another reason to take good, positive, eco and responsible measures when looking at tourism …

Always good to hear that people who make efforts will be awarded…. nothing better than a good incentive to motivate people on eco-tourism and responsible travel …

90 companies have been nominated for the first Green World Travel Awards.

Awards are in different categories:

– World’s Leading Conservation Company

– World’s Leading Eco-friendly Airport

– World’s Leading Eco-Lodge

– World’s Leading Green Destination

– World’s Leading Green Hotel

– World’s Leading Green Resort

– World’s Leading Green Tour Operator

– World’s Leading Green Transport Solution Company

– World’s Leading Responsible Tourism Scheme

– World’s Leading Sustainable Tourism Scheme

There are also regional categories for Africa, Asia, Australasia, the Carribean, Central America, Europe, the Indian Ocean, the Middle East, North America and South America.

The event will take place in Slovakia, the gateway to the “Alps Of The East” and a region packed full of history, culture, sights and fun. The event is to be held at AquaCity Poprad, a luxurious resort, virtually self-powered using geothermal water and the suns energy.

We will announce more details as we get more information on the event …

More info at http://www.worldtravelawards.com/

Hi there,

Just a short note for you to not forget to pencil this date in your calendar: ESTC 2008 ~ Greening the Tourism Industry in the US and Canada will take place in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada October 27-29, 2008.

That is the leading Ecotourism & Sustainable Tourism Conference.

Speakers are great , have a look at the list on ecotourismconference.org

To learn more about the conference sessions, please see the Conference tracks and themes here: program

We just another good read from travelmole.com.

The discovery of renewable geo thermal energy in the volcanic mountain range of Nevis is expected to transform the small Caribbean island’s tourism industry when supply begins early next year.

The clean energy source will enable the island to further develop its tourism product without damaging the local environment.

Drilling for steam, which will be harnessed to power generators, has already begun in the Spring Hill area of Nevis. The single site is expected to produce enough energy for Nevis and its sister island of St Kitts plus other neighbouring islands.

New head of the Nevis Tourist Board, Garcia Thompson-Hendrickson said the clean fuel would enable the island to develop high quality, low impact tourism.

Thompson-Hendrickson said two of her priorities were to maintain the island’s natural resources and develop high quality accommodation, such as the low-rise Mount Nevis Hotel and Beach Club.

The island will be focusing on promoting its natural lush environment and unique heritage over the coming months. A food festival, called the Nevis International Culinary Heritage Exposition, with cookery demonstrations and food prepared by Caribbean and international chefs, will be held from October 17 to 19.

That is certainly a great sign for eco-tourism since Responsible Travel is the leading OTA (online travel agency) providing green holidays. They are based in the UK.

More info below from http://www.travelmole.com/

Responsibletravel Sales Up 37%

Despite the gloomy economic outlook there’s a ray of sun for responsibletravel.com, reporting sales growth of +37% for Jan – Jun 2008 as the responsible tourism sector becomes better established. While the holiday market remains tough responsible travel & tourism is one of the few areas showing growth. The big winner is England – which knocks Thailand off the number 1 most booked country on the site (up from 14 with sales growth of +95%) as travellers look to stay closer to home. Other winners include Turkey, outside the Euro and good value, which is up from 10th to 5th most popular destination. Losers include Kenya – with sales down 40% and dropping from number 4 to number 20 after the (now resolved) political problems earlier in the year. Other, perhaps more surprising, losers include China down from number 7 to number 23 after publicity around pre Olympic human rights issues increases. The top 10 destinations in 2008 so far (with 2007 ranking in brackets) –

1. England (14) 2. Thailand (1) 3. Egypt (3) 4. Italy (2) 5. Turkey (10) 6. Spain (12) 7. Peru (5) 8. Malaysia (8) 9. Morocco (9) 10. Tanzania (6)

Justin Francis, responsibletravel.com Managing Director said – “Although a far newer category than say organic or fair trade food the responsible travel & tourism market is slowly becoming better established. As in the food sector increasing numbers of consumers want to know how products (holidays) are made, by whom and with what consequences for the environment and local people.” “However, perhaps the key to our growth is that tourists increasingly want locally distinctive holiday experiences rather than cloned resorts, and travellers are discovering responsible travel is a more enjoyable way to travel.” “Although only 25% of the companies that approach us end up meeting our criteria and joining our site we have increased our product range by 20% as more hotels and tour operators turn to responsible tourism. Over the past year we’ve focussed on growing our closer-to-home UK and European holiday offers”.

Eco-tourism in Japan thrives

In June 2004, efforts by the Japan’s Ministry of the Environment selected 13 areas of the country in which it started to start model projects to promote eco-tourism. This initiative is now in its second year. Through eco-tourism visitors can enjoy nature while caring for the environment. The Ministry of the Environment subsidised half the total project costs, such as costs for training eco-tour guides and publishing educational materials, up to ¥5 billion per model area per year.

Eco-tourism is a new form of travel in which a limited number of people, escorted by a trained guide, enjoy visiting a rich natural environment while causing the least possible environmental impact. While eco-tours have been gaining popularity around the world, they are still not well known in Japan, and few Japanese people have experienced an eco-tour.

In selecting project areas the Ministry of the Environment held an open competition in three categories: 1) areas for encountering primitive nature; 2) existing tourist spots that are introducing eco-tourism; 3) areas for experiencing eco-friendly activities, such as tree planting in semi-natural areas bordering rural villages, and agricultural areas located between population centres and foothills, where eco-tourism is being promoted by local communities.

Of the 53 areas that entered the competition, the following areas were selected: in category one, four areas including the Shiretoko Peninsula in Hokkaido and the Shirakami Beech Forest, located between Aomori and Akita prefectures; in category two, four areas including the northern foothills of Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture; in category three, five areas, including the Nanki-Kumano area, located between Mie and Wakayama prefectures.