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Sustainable Travel Report
The Responsible Tourism e-Newsletter
In this issue you will find:
1. Message from STI President, Brian T. Mullis
2. STI Membership Drive
3. Pilot Test Launched
4. Tips for Responsible Travelers
5. Featured Tourism Supplier
6. Travelers' Philanthropy: East Africa
7. Evaluation Committee and Auditors Wanted
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Message from STI President, Brian T. Mullis
This month is a landmark month for Sustainable Travel International. We have received initial approval for 501(c)(3) status from the IRS, and we have launched the Pilot Test for our Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Program™ (STEP).
With support from like-minded organizations and conscientious travelers, we have come a long way in a short amount of time. Our focus of creating a means for travelers to easily identify responsible travel companies has evolved into much more.
We are promoting responsible tourism, supporting sustainable development, and helping travelers and travel providers protect the cultures and environments they visit. Taking a holistic, global approach to sustainable tourism, will maximize our impacts in the market place.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported our efforts of the course of the last year and a half.
All the best,
Brian T. Mullis
President
brianm@sustainabletravel.com
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At STI, we promote travel companies worldwide who are pursuing sustainable tourism development. To eliminate the barriers to entry, we offer two options for travel companies who wish to join our organization.
Paid memberships are available for as little as $50 per year. Or opt to list your company on our web site with no upfront costs; if your company books a client from the leads you receive from STI, you pay us a 10% commission for each client booked. For more information, click here.
By joining STI, you will become part of a family of dedicated individuals committed to global sustainable tourism development. Join us today!
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We
are officially launching our Sustainable Tourism
Eco-certification Program™ (STEP) pilot
test with this announcement. Please sign
up today and provide us with your feedback!
The pilot test is open to all travel and tourism providers as well as governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and consumers. There is no cost for participating in the pilot test. However, participants have a unique opportunity to help STI shape the program for maximum impact in the market place.
Our
goal is to develop STEP as a useful tool in
a transparent manner - one that provides an
incentive to travel professionals within the
U.S. to apply for eco-certification and focus
on the triple bottom line of environmental
conservation, social responsibility, and economic
profitability. For more information on the
benefits of STEP, click
here.
The STEP pilot will be tested for two months through June 30, 2004. Following that, we will carefully assess the pilot results and performance before making final modifications and releasing the program within the U.S. travel and tourism market place later this year.
For additional information, call 800-276-7764 or email STI.
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Tips for Responsible Travelers: Green Lodging
Accommodations worldwide are initiating programs that save water, energy and money while reducing solid waste. Both business and leisure travelers are becoming increasingly aware of the more responsible hotels and lodges, giving their business to the ones demonstrate environmental conservation and social responsibility.
Those interested in supporting Green Lodging initiatives should support the following:
Hotel Linen Reuse. Let the hotel staff know that it's only necessary to replace linens and towels that are left on the floor.
Amenities. Also, let them know that it's only necessary to replace consumable amenities that are empty, and that the use of soap and shampoo dispensers is optimal.
Energy Efficiency. When leaving or spending time in your room it's best to shut your blinds, turn off lights and TV (when not in use), and turn the heat/AC down or off. Better yet, recommend hotel staff to consider an automatic shutoff or key activated electrical system.
Recycle. Instruct the hotel staff to recycle paper, plastic and metal products left in your room, and request that they provide an option to recycle throughout the hotel if unavailable.
Water Conservation. Reduce the amount of water used for bathing or showering just as you do at home, keeping in mind that natural resources in the area you're visiting may be limited. Check for low flow shower heads and toilets.
Hotel Policy. Request information from the hotel staff about their commitment to environmental conservation and social responsibility, and let them know why it's important to you.
For more "Tips for Responsible Travelers",
click
here.
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Featured Tourism Supplier
Boojum Expeditions
This month, we're proud to feature a special tour operator who has a particular focus on Asia. Boojum Expeditions began operating trips to Sichuan, China in 1984. They soon expanded, offering the first mountain bike tours in China and horse treks in Inner Mongolia, Tibet, Manchuria and Xinjiang.
Boojum's success stems from the personalized nature of their business. The organization has a strong emphasis on their personal relationships with host country partners. To them, the most important component of tourism is that it can build people to people understanding, one friendship at a time. In a world where such friendships are fostered, handling the associated environmental and cultural problems is much easier.
The secret to their success, however, may run a bit deeper. In the words of co-founder Kent Madin, "we were eco before eco was cool. Perhaps it comes from being a third generation Sierra Clubber." Maybe so, but we think their success stems not only from their personalized approach but also from their inspiring business model:
- Go places which capture our imagination and travel in mode and manner of the local people.
- Pick up after ourselves.
- Meet an energetic and honest local person with vision and partner with them to create trips for business and a business for them.
- Don't be all things to all people
- Operate trips that require more from the participant than a valid credit card.
- Emphasize and encourage a positive and introspective attitude in clients.
In terms of low-impact business practices, though Boojum has a focus on reuse and recycling, they take things to a much higher level. Kent explains, "We work on educating our local staff and partners on the simple notion that if they are proud of their own culture and stand up for it, travelers will respect them." They do not require a set of environmental standards. The company instead encourages their staff to see their actions through the traveler's eyes, and encourage their travelers to see themselves through the local's eyes.
Boojum also has an innovative take on sustainable tourism. Kent suggests "If (for example) Mongolians want to preserve their culture and their environment, they need to make it artificially scarce by raising the bar for entry. What if travelers had to take a test and pass on arrival before they clear immigration, proving that they had actually taken the time to learn something (before departure); that would be an important paradigm shift in tourism."
Kent feels that the underlying message of all tourism to "underdeveloped" cultures is "tourists not only have lots of money but lots of time". He emphasizes that cash and the free time to travel half way around the world to spend it are simply not a part of local people's experience. But requiring some kind of non-monetary input, an attitude shift on the part of the tourist, would be a real switch in how the tourist sees and is seen.
We agree and encourage all travelers to seek out travel experiences that provide opportunities to make meaningful connections with local people and foster a greater understanding of their cultural and environment.
For more information about Boojum Expeditions, please visit www.boojum.com. For more information about the company's community projects in Mongolia, visit www.hovsgol.org/camp.html.
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Traveler's Philanthropy: East Africa
Guerba World Travel has been operating tours in Africa since 1980. While their primary aim has been to provide adventure travel at exceptional quality and value, they are also very aware of the problems in Africa. Simply taking visitors to a destination provides some economic gain to the host country, but Guerba feels they should do more. To this end, they have set up Guerba Kenya, which is now operated 100% by local people; there are no expatriates involved. Guerba also employs African crews on the trips; most of their leaders are now African as are trainees and cooks. Though this strategy provides meaningful employment, their feeling is that they still could, and indeed should do more.
To address this, Guerba has been operating trips that embrace the concept of Traveler's Philanthropy since 2002. In 2005, Guerba will be sponsoring a Kilimanjaro climb for the Amani Children's Home. Amani is a refuge for street-children, who are homeless children living on the streets of Moshi. Some are AIDS orphans; some come from families so impoverished that to beg on the streets offers more hope for survival than living at home. These children lack education, food, care, and a place to sleep; they are also vulnerable to physical and sexual abuse as there is no one to defend them from night predators. Amani rescues such children of all ages.
Unlike most other charity events, 100% of the money that participants raise will go to the Amani Home. Guerba and local suppliers will provide the entire trip, including air flights, absolutely free of charge. Put simply Guerba is looking for 10 participants to raise at least $4,500 each for a total of $45,000. This sum will be enough to start building a basic facility for Amani. Any surplus will be used to continue the building project - installing electricity, running water, long-drop toilets, animal sheds, etc. The total cost of the home will be somewhere in the region of double the minimum amount Guerba is looking to raise. This amount, however, will be a great start and will get the project underway.
The first 10 who successfully raise their target of $4,500 will be invited to climb Kilimanjaro from September 27-October 7, 2005. Additional support welcome. For further information, please contact Guerba World Travel.
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Evaluation Committee and Auditors Saught
for Eco-certification Program
STI is looking to form a team of Auditors to undertake on-site audits for the Sustainable Tourism Eco-certification Program™ (STEP). These individuals will be responsible for verifying applicant's performance and documenting and comparing their findings with the information contained in applicant's application(s).
Interested parties must possess in-depth professional experience, education and training in relevant fields of environmental design, natural resource management, and science. An in-depth understanding of sustainable tourism certification and the principles of sustainable development will also be required.
We are also forming a separate voluntary Evaluation Committee who will review the Auditor's reports and make a determination of whether or not to certify an applicant and at what level. And we seek to attract a diverse group who have strong credentials and are well-recognized within the travel and tourism, environmental, and sustainable development fields.
If you or anyone you know would be interested in these opportunities, please contact us. Resumes and cover letters may be sent to info@sustainabletravel.com.
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3,900 conscientious consumers, travel companies, governmental agencies, and conservation-based organizations receive the Sustainable Travel Report each month. During the month of March 2004, STI's web site received 20,064 unique visitors. Please help us to expand our outreach by telling your friends about us.
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For More Information
Please
visit
our web
site, email
or call 800-276-7764. If you want to spread the word about
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SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL INTERNATIONAL
2060 FLORALDRIVE
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PHONE 800-276-7764
EMAIL info@sustainabletravel.com
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