Tourism has long been hailed as an ideal way to satisfy a country’s thirst for economic prosperity without destroying its natural environment. In recent years, the concepts of sustainable tourism and responsible travel have become increasingly popular – not only in academia but also among policy circles and tourism planners. Governance is at the core … Continue reading
“Bill Clinton should have stayed here, I’ll tell him this afternoon”, reads a year 2000 guest book entry by East Timor President Jose Ramos Horta. Right he is. Few places make it more difficult to leave in the morning and such a pleasure to come back at night than Ponsonby’s great art hotel bed&breakfast. Only … Continue reading
In my last post on environmental consciousness and sustainability in the hospitality sector, the Rydges hotel in Rotorua pretty much served as a telling example for how much some hospitality businesses still have to do in order to please the environmentally conscious consumer. On the other end of the scale, Solscape, a self-declared eco-retreat off … Continue reading
There has been a whole lot of talk (and writing) about sustainability in the travel and tourism industry in recent years. And rightly so, as more than most other sectors, travel and tourism lives from happy people and a healthy environment. After all, it’s not shelter anymore that tourists expect from a hotel, but lifestyle, … Continue reading
It’s not easy being green – especially when planning your eco-friendly holidays. Although many travel agencies and eco-tour operators will be happy to help you plan a sustainable vacation, how do you know the travel agent, hotel, cruise or destination you dream about really passes the green test? To help you overcome this dilemma, the … Continue reading
Sometimes, if you want to change something and get your message across, you gotta get out there and – exactly: tour the world. Guim Valls Teruel, 35, a Catalan adventurer, did just that. Aimed at promoting renewable energies, his two-year long journey on an electric bicycle brought him to 15 different countries, finally arriving in … Continue reading
Sustainable tourism - an oxymoron? Not necessarily, if we – the tourists – make sure we minimise the impact of our trip on the environment, writes New Zealand sustainability website Celsias. How? ‘The International Union for Conservation of Nature IUCN has devised a list of ten handy tips for eco-tourists. The tips accompany a recent … Continue reading
Just came across this short presentation on ecotourism and climate change by Professor Wolfgang Strasdas from Eberswalde University (Berlin, Germany). I know there are many presentations, essays and books out there on the issue, but I find his slides particularly down to the point and easy to grasp for those that are new to the … Continue reading
In the last two decades, environmental threats and the challenge of sustainability have moved to the very centre of political, business and, increasingly, personal agendas. Ever since its beginnings in 1988, Earthscan, the world’s leading publisher on environment, development and sustainability, has put environmental issues, social and economic development and the commitment to innovative solutions … Continue reading
The 4th International Conference on Responsible Tourism in Destinations will take place in Muscat, Oman, from 10-12 October 2010. It aims to explore the application of the principles of Responsible Tourism, which originated in the UNWTO’s Global Code of Ethics and the 2002 Cape Town Declaration on Responsible Tourism in Destinations. This will be the … Continue reading
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