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Spread the Word ::
If you want to spread the word about sustainable travel, refer us to your friends, contact us or link to us!
MyClimate™ :: Offset the greenhouse gas emissions associated with your client's and your businesses' air travel and earn revenue while helping to protect the planet!
Eco-directory ::
Visit our online eco-directory - a unique destination guide designed to help you make responsible travel choices, so you can book and buy with confidence.
Unsubscribe ::
If you prefer not to receive info and updates from STI, just reply to this message with "unsubscribe" in the subject line. And you will be removed from our list.
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Responsible Travel Report
The Sustainable Tourism e-Newsletter
A Message from STI's President
Changes in public attitudes are essential for changing business practices. The public has responsibility for responsible business behavior, and vice versa. The fact that we're all empowered to change the world for the better is cause for hope.
Seeing major shifts in public and business attitudes toward a more sustainable future occurring everywhere is extremely encouraging. In the last year alone, addressing global warming went from being an obscure grassroots initiative to becoming a mainstream phenomenon, with the likes of even Walmart pursuing sustainability and addressing climate change. Hybrid vehicles are starting to become commonplace on our highways. And conscientious consumers and travelers are increasingly looking for eco-friendly products and services.
At STI, we feel the momentum of the so called green movement on a daily basis. The number of inquiries we receive from consumers and the media about sustainable tourism, and the volume of carbon offsets we sell continues to exceed our expectations, as does the demand for our other programs and services.
In summary, we're decidedly optimistic about the future and want to take this opportunity to thank our audience for making the world a better place and all of our supporters for helping STI to become a going concern.
Most sincerely,
Brian T. Mullis
President
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Climate Corner:
Proactively Addressing Global Climate Change
The travel and tourism industry is catching on quickly about how to neutralize its own global warming related impacts from greenhouse gas emissions. In doing so, many providers have already joined STI and now support our carbon offset initiative. One industry, however, has remained relatively silent, so much so that recently we asked, "Where does the cruise ship industry stand on all of this?" Well, one expedition cruise company in particular stepped up to the challenge and answered us.
Adventure Smith Explorations offers expedition cruises and wilderness adventures in a pioneering approach that utilizes small ships and yachts to explore nature and wildlife up close. The company is the first North American-based small cruise ship operator to offset it passengers' fuel consumption related emissions through MyClimate. Equally important, the company is working toward implementing a system wide program focused on educating its guests about global warming and related impacts on the regions they visit. So a big thank you to Adventure Smith Explorations for answering our challenge and best of luck!
We would also like to acknowledge another adventure travel industry leader, Austin Lehman Adventures. Austin Lehman is offering MyClimate carbon offsets on it's home page, affording travelers with an opportunity to learn about greenhouse gas / carbon offsetting and neutralize their impacts. Austin Lehman offers multi-sport, active travel packages for adults and family adventure vacations throughout North America. Way to go guys!
MyClimate Carbon Calculator
Did you know that STI's MyClimate carbon calculator now allows you to offset all of your global warming impacts? Our air travel calculator was so successful that we upgraded it to now include air and automobile emissions, as well as your household related emissions, hotel stays, and even an option to select an offset gift package. So, what are you waiting for? Go climate impact neutral at www.my-climate.com or offset directly here.
Evaluating Offset Options
There seems to be a lot of confusion these days over different carbon offset programs. When we began offering offsets almost two years ago, few alternatives existed, so finding the best, most credible program in the market was relatively easy. Now there are numerous start-up companies offering offsets. Some are scams, whereas others are offered by incredible organizations trying to promote a truly sustainable future.
Both businesses and consumers want to support credible programs, but admittedly it can be quite confusing. We know as well as anyone; in expanding our portfolio of offsets, we've had to do our own research and due diligence to find the best programs. To make the search easier, we've compiled a synopsis of programs, including some of the benefits and pitfalls of each. Please contact us to receive a copy of this document.
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Travel Philanthropy
Stay Connected with the Places You've Visited
GlobalGiving is shaping the future of international aid and philanthropy. Through its Internet-based marketplace, GlobalGiving offers direct contact between donors and locally-run projects around the world.
GlobalGiving works with corporations, organizations, and individuals to enhance the impact of their philanthropy while creating a support network for the world's m ost innovative social entrepreneurs. The vision is to create a vibrant global community of social entrepreneurs and donors working together to make positive world change happen.
In 2005, GlobalGiving was able to generate over $2 million dollars in project funding, which touched over 300,000 lives around the globe. During that year, almost four hundred projects received funding in sixty countries from twenty-seven hundred donors.
GlobalGiving's impact is already tangible in communities worldwide. For instance, through $400,000 in funding for five projects, GlobalGiving donors have efficiently brought safe water to more than 40,000 people in India and Sri Lanka, rescued 1600 girls from bonded labor in Nepal and given each of their families piglets as a source of income, provided free education for 118 AIDS orphans, equipped 500 families with vegetable seeds, supplied produce for 200 families, and given access to quality health care to more than 10,000 Kenyans.
Sustainable Travel International (STI) and GlobalGiving are collaborating to enable direct-to-project travel philanthropy, so travelers can efficiently and powerfully give back to the cultures and environments they have visited. Together, STI and GlobalGiving are supporting the work of entrepreneurial leaders making travel more sustainable around the world.
Travelers interested in staying connected with areas of the world they've visited and want to support can find projects on STI's website that are focused on improving lives in 18 countries that are popular with tourists.
To learn more about how GlobalGiving supports travel philanthropy, please contact John Hecklinger or visit www.globalgiving.com where you can find a wider range of projects in over 60 countries.
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How to Find a Green Hotel or Eco-lodge and Avoid Greenwashing
Have you ever been to a hotel that claims to offer a linen and towel reuse program only to find new linens and towels in your room the following day? 'Green hotel' and 'eco-lodge' are commonly used terms for marketing responsible lodging options to conscientious consumers, but many don't practice what they preach.
Greenwashing - presenting an environmentally responsible public image when engaging in unsound practices - is a problem many conscientious consumers have encountered in their travels. So how can you tell if an accommodation is dedicated to protecting the environmental, benefiting local communities, and / or helping guests learn about the local surroundings as they experience them?
Since most accommodations have not had their business practices verified by an independent third-party, we've developed a list of questions for consumers to ask hoteliers before booking:
- Ask the hotel or lodge that you contact if they have an environmental or sustainability policy. If they don't know, or if it's not in their marketing materials or on their website, then it probably means they don't have one.
- Ask them how they identify, measure and manage their contributions to environmental conservation, socio-cultural preservation, and community economic development? What specifically have they done to protect the environment? Do they work with any local non-profits? Which ones?
- Ask them how they benefit the local communities where they operate. Do they only hire local people for entry level as well as managerial positions? Do they purchase locally grown or organic food from local farmers? Do they hire local guides?
- Ask them how they reduce waste and conserve electricity. Do they have a recycling program? Do they use non-corrosive, biodegradable laundry detergents and cleaning products? How do they treat waste water?
- Ask them if they have any information on how their guests can support local conservation efforts? Do they have any information on local cultures and customs? Do they have a trip philanthropy program in place?
Useful Links
For more information on booking green hotels and eco-lodges in North America and beyond, check out the following useful links:
For More Information
Can't find a green hotel or eco-lodge in the area you're traveling next? Contact STI ... we can help!
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Responsible Travel:
Adventure Life's commitment to
Sustainable Travel in Latin America and Antarctica
Adventure Life specializes in travel to the Galapagos Islands, trips to Ecuador, Machu Picchu, the Inca Trail, the Amazon and Andes, as well as a number of tours to Costa Rica, Belize, Guatemala and Antarctica. Their tours are carefully designed to offer the best of each region, while at the same time ensuring a positive impact on the local culture and environment. This is the spirit of Adventure Life's travel philosophy - sustainable travel.
Company founder, Brian Morgan, explains: "travel entails an invaluable relationship between visitors and hosts. We do our best to try and give back to the places and people that have inspired our company from the very start. Their success is our success. From the very beginning, we introduced a number of self-imposed guidelines to ensure that each Adventure Life itinerary has a positive impact on the local culture, environment, economy, promoting sustainable tourism."
There are a number of things that Adventure Life does as part of their everyday operating standards, such as the use of expert local guides, family-run hotels, and local transportation infrastructures. But it goes far beyond that; Adventure Life also supports non-profits and  other organizations that encourage cultural and ecological awareness and conservation. The company is dedicated to supplying its travelers with the literature, the information and the means to be active participants and advocates of responsible travel. One example is their involvement with the International Galapagos Tour Operators Association (IGTOA). Every time a guest of Adventure Life visits the Galapagos, the company donates a passenger fee to IGTOA, amounting to thousands of dollars each year that are used for scholarships and conservation efforts within the Islands. Adventure Life has also helped founder Morgan to create his own non-profit, the Earth Family Fund, which seeks to involve Adventure Life's travelers in the long-term support of the communities visited during their tours.
Adventure Life's motto is that travel should be unexpected and fascinating. It should awaken questions and encourage answers. This is the company's focus - to make travel easier while also making it important, rewarding, and precious. By taking this approach, Adventure Like makes travel better for all parties involved. And their strategy has proven to be very effective, as they're now one of the largest tour operators in Latin America.
If you are interested in traveling with Adventure Life, you can learn more about their tours and travel philosophy on STI's Eco-Directory, visit their website, or email them directly with your questions or comments.
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Responsible Travel:
Community-based Tourism in Venezuela
Since its incorporation six years ago, Angel-Eco Tours has been supporting special community-based tourism projects in Kamarata Valley (Canaima National Park), allocating a substantial percentage of its revenues on an annual basis to help the indigenous Pemón tribe. Now Angel-Eco has gone a step beyond and has been instrumental in the formati on of a new non-profit organization and eco-lodge, both of which support community-based tourism in rural areas.
Angel-Eco has found that sustainable tourism alone is not the solution for all that confronts the natives of Kamarata Valley. Now that the company has a better understanding of the needs of the local people, they founded Angel Conservation’, a 501(c)(3) non-profit which was established to further extend their efforts, so the company can make more of a difference.
The non-profit's vision is to support indigenous peoples worldwide and aid the recovery and preservation of their endangered cultures. Their first two projects, fittingly, are slated for Canaima National Park. Funding is currently being sought for a film documentary, delving into the culture of the Pemón before it disappears, and for a WiFi-based Telemedicine project that will allow the Pemón to reach out to the outside world so others may experience their culture and help facilitate international and national ecotourism to the region.
Meanwhile in La Cienaga, a lagoon on the edge of Henri Pittier's National Park surrounded on three sides by mountainous rainforest and only reachable by boat, Angel-Eco's sustainable development initiatives are also making a difference within the community. With partners De La Costa Ecolodge, the company has introduced a sustainable development plan to the area. The plan aims to define a clear set of rules for the bays users, measure the present flow of visitors to the bay in order to establish a carrying capacity of the area, as well as to determine and execute measures to prevent further damage and to recuperate the affected environment.
With funding obtained from its commercial activities, Angel-Eco has already placed environmental education notice boards in the key transit points used by visitors to the bay, set up 20 collection refuse collection points around the bay (with 20 more planned), and has finalized an agreement with local boatmen to collect the refuse.
In addition, the company has established its lodge - The Coral Lagoon Lodge - as a communications centre for medical and security emergencies and to report illegal fishing activities in the bay. The lodge itself is located within a stilted timber building dating from the 60's. All refurbishment work of the lodge was carried out by local residents and maximized the us e of local building materials. Angel-Eco also recycled where possible the existing timber elements of the building.
The Eco-Lodge is self sufficient. All freshwater comes from rainwater collection and toilets flush with saltwater. Power is presently generated through a generator, but the company is currently switching to Solar power system with a generator as back-up to reduce noise, increase operational efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. The lodge's operational workforce is all comprised of local residents, and peripheral services are subcontracted to local providers.
To further protect this pristine region, non-toxic cleaning agents and detergents are used, and all organic refuse is composted and serves as food supply for local wildlife, whereas non-recyclable refuse is returned to civilization for appropriate disposal.
Planning a Trip?
Chick on the following links if you're interested in traveling with Angel-Eco Tours or staying at Coral Lagoon Lodge. For more information on the company's commitment to sustainability, please visit their listing in STI's Eco-Directory. To support Angel Conservation, contact Paul Stanley.
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Green Tip:
When you go camping, does your list of things to pack include your sleeping bag AND your mobile phone?
The Bite: Soak up the sun with solar powered camping gear that gives you the power to light your tent, charge up a digital camera, and even power a laptop without leaving a trace.
The Benefits: Click here to learn how to minimize your environmental impact when camping.
Submit a Green Tip
Do you have any green tips? If so, submit them to us, and our friends at Ideal Bite will include you name along with the tip in their e-Newsletter and on their website.
Tips on giving good tips:
- You did it and liked it
- You bought it and liked it
- You remembered that this service is not called "Tips for Millionaires." Keep it real.
- You can show how it is good for the environment or society
- You tried to quantify the environmental impact
- You can show that it is positive and not preachy .
Sign up for the Ideal Bite
By joining the Ideal Bite community, each weekday you'll receive an eco-living tip.
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Conferences and Continuing Education
This month we'd like to highlight the upcoming 2006 Adventure Travel World Summit in Seattle on October 19-21, 2006. Hosted by the Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA), the overarching themes of this year's trade-only event will mirror pressing topics in the news today, many of which have a direct impact on the viability of adventure and eco-travel: global warming and climate change; rural economic development and poverty alleviation through responsible, community-based tourism; and cultural and heritage conservation.
Special concentration will be placed on the industry's business tactics that help lead to a positive, sustainable bottom line for adventure travel as a whole, and positive changes for each constituency involved: businesses, travelers, and the people, cultures and natural environments visited around the globe.
Registration is accessible on-line. Registration fees are US$750 for ATTA Members and US$950 for non-members. Email info@adventuretravel.biz or call 360-805-3131 for more information about the Summit.
Additional upcoming conferences, events and continuing education opportunities include:
- 'Of Asian Origin' - Rethinking Tourism in Contemporary Asia is an International Conference organized by the Asia Research Institute and National University of Singapore. The event, scheduled on September 7-9, will examine the social, cultural and political implications of Asia's transformation from mere host destination into a region of mobile consumers.
- The Adventure Council is hosting the first Adventure Travel Professional Symposium on September 8-9, 2006 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida in conjunction with THETRADESHOW, the premier event of the American Society of Travel Agents (ASTA) and The Travel Institute's National Forum.
- The TourismAfrica2006 conference in Geneva, Switzerland is scheduled for September 10-15.
- Watchable Wildlife will hold its annual conference in Anchorage, Alaska October 3-5. The theme of this year's conference is Preserving Communities through Sustainable Wildlife Tourism Programs.
- Tourism 2006 is a unique new forum for the commercial development of the tourism, hospitality and related sectors in the 14 countries of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. It is going to be held in Windhoek, Namibia on October 3-6.
- The IH&RA's 43rd Annual Congress, Hospitality Takes Center Stage, that was scheduled from October 26-29 in Buenos Aires, Argentina has been cancelled.
- Ecotourism Australia and their major sponsoring partners - the Townsville City Council and Townsville Enterprise Limited - are hosting Ecotourism Australia's 2006 International Annual Conference on October 30-November 3.
- Green Globe 21 and the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism are hosting the International & Caribbean Green Tourism Conference on November 1-3 in Montego Bay, Jamaica.
- Destinations2006, World Tourism Forum for Peace and Sustainable Development, 3rd annual Summit, will be held in Porto Alegre, Brazil from November 29 through December 2.
- The 5th National Tourism Futures Conference will be held in Melbourne from December 4-6 2006 at the Sofitel Melbourne. This year's conference theme - 21st Century Responses to 21st Century Reality - focuses on the challenges and opportunities over the coming decade. It examines new approaches to achieve growth and sets action agendas relevant to business and government alike.
- The Green Meeting Industry Council's 2007 Greening the Hospitality Industry conference is scheduled for February 6-8, in Portland, Oregon.
- The 6th International Symposium on Aspects of Tourism - Gazing, Glancing, Glimpsing: Tourists and Tourism in a Visual World - will be held at the University of Brighton, Eastbourne Campus in the UK from June 13-15, 2007.
- Heritage and Tourism: Community, Enterprise, Government & Tourists is an international conference scheduled for July 8-10, 2007 at Sun Yat-Sen (Zhongshan) University in Guangzhou, China.
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