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Spread the Word ::
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Sustainable Travel Report
The Responsible Tourism e-Newsletter
A Message from STI's President
We're here to help - STI is focused on providing consumers and businesses with the tools they need to protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. Among these are advisory services and training programs.
STI's Co-founders have over 28 years of collective experience in the travel and tourism industry. We provide strategic planning, sustainable business development, technical assistance, and implementation support to travel and tourism businesses and related organizations of all sizes.
STI also offers a myriad of custom education and training programs for businesses and educational institutions, ranging from executive education programs focused on impact management to semester-long courses focused on educating students about sustainable tourism and related business models.
For more information, please read the following article, email us or call 800-276-7764 with your project timeframe and related goals. With is information, we'll prepare a project outline for your review and consideration. We hope to hear from you.
Eco regards,
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Sustainable Tourism Development:
Advisory Services
Sustainable tourism development embraces the triple bottom line of environmental protection, social responsibility, and economic health. Simply put, business practices that protect and enhance the environment and support community development are more profitable and competitive in the long-term. STI's sustainable business advisory service is founded on this well-proven principle, and we start with a single focus: to create and implement a sustainable path to profitability through immediate and long-term return on investment.
We help travel industry-related businesses rethink their products, processes, and organizational strategies in order to leverage untapped opportunities. And we employ a distinctive set of problem-solving methods that typically permit clients to improve their triple bottom lines and achieve substantial resource savings.
Our efforts yield a number of primary benefits and value-add benefits such as improved customer satisfaction, higher productivity, and positive publicity. By staying focused on high priority areas and improving your organization's positive impacts, you'll quickly discover that sustainability equates to profitability.
Benefits of Sustainable Tourism Development
Once you decide that sustainable tourism is right for your business, we help you measure your impacts and establish management systems, affording a number of benefits, including:
- Helping expand marketing reach by tapping into additional travel motivators, e.g., the desire for more authentic experiences;
- Enhancing customer loyalty by demonstrating best tourism practices;
- Increasing the appeal of travel itineraries through "special experiences" such as access to researchers, behind-the-scenes tours, or enhanced internations with local people;
- Reducing marketing costs, e.g., through the use of "affinity" programs or marketing alliances;
- Improving impact management, helping to ensure the preservation of destinations and cultures for future generations, which equates to more attractive environments and better products;
- Providing access to standards recognized as best innovative practices within the travel industry, helping businesses to meet higher standards through continuous improvement;
- Lowering costs through resource productivity and waste reduction while positively contributing to environmental conservation and the well being of local people;
- Adding value to local communities' economies, helping them to safeguard the livelihood of local and indigenous people.
Contact us to find out how we can help you solve problems, gain competitive advantage, and increase profits through the more productive use of resources.
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Community Tourism in Jamaica:
Bridging the Global Cultural Gap
Community tourism is socially sustainable tourism which is initiated and almost always operated exclusively by local people. Shared ledership emphasizing community well-being over individual profit, balances power within communities, and fosters cultural preservation and pride, conservation, and responsible stewardship of the land.
Communities at Work
Communities that embrace sustainable tourism as a tool for economic development hold the key to their futures. Every citizen is a potential partner to be trained in small business management, environmental awareness, product development and marketing. In addition to this, local people learn t he true value of their communities' most valuable assets - their culture, heritage, cuisine and lifestyle. This, in turn, assists them in preserving their culture while increasing their income and employment opportunities.
Community is a word that draws on several important elements, perhaps the most important of which is the concept of bringing people together for a common good. It is structuring a collective mind-set, which involves sharing and using resources in an equitable and sustainable way. Community development, therefore, in its ideal form, is mobilizing this force for the benefit of all involved, for the entire community.
This interactivity within our global village can improve people's quality of life around the world, and the travel and tourism industry can help to build these linkages and strong communities.
Community Tourism in Jamaica
Community Tourism as a means of development brings tourism into the context where it does not act as an exploiter of resources but as a motivation to sustain the environment as well as cultural authenticity. It changes the scope of tourism so that it's no longer characterized by a subservient host-visitor relationship, but as a tool to build cross-cultural bonds, mutual respect and understanding.
A tourism that broadens hospitality into a wider vision for the entire country of Jamaica affords local people an opportunity to recognize that service is a constant that must be delivered t everyone at all levels. This holistic focus on equally recognizing the economic value of both tourists and citizens is helping local people in Jamaica reach out and build one other up as Jamaicans.
Here, Community Tourism seeks to shift the traditional mindset of tourism into an avenue where communities across Jamaica become empowered, educated and involved in tapping into the international tourism market, opening up new niches for Jamaica as a destination, most notably travelers interested in nature, culture, eco- and adventure travel. It is sustainable and seeks to build on the natural and cultural 'capital' of a specific area.
Community Tourism is about new levels of relationship between host and visitor; it seeks to market lifestyles and people that are authentic and natural. Community Tourism uses tourism as a community development tool. It views the tourism product of Jamaica not only as specific 'resort areas' or traditional tourism establishments but the entire country.
Countrystyle Community Tourism Network
Tourism clearly is a people industry and a nation's total hospitality offering can only be sustained at a high quality if the social needs of the masses are addressed and attended to. Community Tourism has been advocated for over thirty years, through the pioneering efforts of the Countrystyle Community Tourism Network team headed by Diana McIntyre-Pike & family and her partner Barry Bonitto who have paved the way for others and received the support of the International Institute for Peace through Tourism (IIPT), the Sustainable Communities Foundation through Tourism and Desmond Henry (former Jamaica Director of tourism).
Countrystyle Community Tourism Network is one of Jamaica's best on-island groups of hospitality professionals. They are Jamaica and the wider Caribbean's pioneers in Community Tourism, bringing visitors and citizens closer together.
Countrystyle enables visitors to experience Jamaica and the wider Caribbean close-up and first-hand, so that they will develop a greater appreciation of their rich culture, heritage, music, nature, ecosystems, foods, etc.
An example of a community tourism vacation is where in one week, a visitor can visit a least 11 communities to enjoy their lifestyle, foods, and community-based programs and projects. Countrystyle has created 'community experience' packages, including all-inclusive tours designed to suit a range of personal interests and budgets. Schools, churches, youth centers, and hospitals are all examples of income earners for community vacations.
In addition to this, through the Unique Jamaica Responsible Tourism and Product Network, visitors are encouraged to 'pick a project' and 'adopt a village' while on vacation, a travelers' philanthropy program which results in long lasting relationships between visitors and communities and encourages a high rate of repeat business.
Continue reading "Community Tourism in Jamaica: Bridging the Global Cultural Gap."
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Land Use Planning and Management
Exercising your influence to protect the environment and enhance the well being of local communities through land use planning and management will help to ensure your business positively impacts both. Establishing land use planning strategies and management plans in conjunction with stakeholders will help to reshape and guide community land use decisions toward sustainability and quality of life, benefiting everyone.
Measuring Your Impact: Land Use Planning and Management
Quantifiable variables used to measure land use planning and management include the following:
- Time spent meeting with stakeholders such as neighborhoods, developers, planning boards, and environmental groups to develop land use planning strategies and / or management plans.
- Annual value of resources allocated to developing land use planning strategies and / or management plans.
- Annual value of resources allocated to environmental and socio-cultural impact studies and assessments.
- Annual value of resources allocated to signage and educational materials related to proper land use on public and / or private lands.
Managing Your Impact
This section is broken down into three subjects - land use planning, soil and water management, and xeriscaping and alternative turf strategies:
Land Use Planning
There is a new movement toward smart growth that addresses sustainable development and land use planning and management issues. Consider the following when evaluating development and growth opportunities:
- Set up and lead an inclusive collaborative process between communities and other stakeholders, and ensure that local communities have control over how they want to grow.
- Set standards for development and construction that address community values, distinctiveness, and sense of place.
- Direct development towards existing local communities that are already served by infrastructure and utilize the resources that they already have to offer.
- Help to support and strengthen local communities’ economies and quality of life and guide new growth by conserving and preserving open space and irreplaceable natural resources, including farmlands, wetlands and other sensitive environmental areas.
- Support the integration of mixed land uses and provide local people with more choices in housing, shopping, communities, and transportation.
- Take advantage of green building design as an alternative to conventional, consumptive development.
Soil and Water Management
Begin by developing a soil and water management plan that addresses land use impacts such as erosion, run-off, and sediment control. If you don't own the land you use, be sure to learn about the related management plans of relevant parks and public land agencies and support their initiatives.
Consider the following when developing a plan of action for soil and water management:
- Prepare and implement a soil and water management plan focused on controlling sediment and minimizing point-source pollution as well as runoff and erosion.
- Ensure that your operations do not cause any soil loss, soil contamination, or negative impacts, such as erosion and sediment pollution, to lands and waterways that are downstream or slope on your property, adjacent property or leased land.
- Consider having your soil and water management plan approved and / or certified by a recognized environmental consultant and / or the local governing body every two years.
- Reduce the water necessary to maintain your exterior grounds through the implementation of xeriscaping and alternative turf strategies as detailed below.
Xeriscaping and Alternative Turf Strategies
Consider the following when evaluating xeriscaping and alternative turf strategies:
- Use only naturally occurring and / or native species that are tolerant of local climates, soils and natural water availability in your landscaping.
- Use only organic insecticides, fertilizers and biocides, and / or integrated pest management techniques in maintaining your landscaping.
- Water landscaping as necessary in the early morning or at night to minimize evaporation.
- Water plants using soaker hoses or drip irrigation systems, and mulch them to retain water.
- Limit grasses that require irrigation to high priority, client activity areas.
- Take advantage of natural composting in landscaping.
Useful Links
- Smart Growth Online addresses anti-sprawl development that is environmentally, fiscally, and economically smart and involves innovative land-use planning techniques and neighborhood conservation initiatives.
- The Sustainable Communities Network provides the resources you need to implement innovative processes and programs to restore the economic, environmental, and social health and vitality of your community
- The Smarter Land Use Project details how land use planning and management can be used to reduce environmental impacts and enhance existing neighborhoods. A free guidebook for achieving effective collaboration among conflicted neighbors, developers, environmentalists, and boards is also available.
- Scorecard - The Pollution Information Site provides in-depth reports on community, including air pollution, water quality and chemical emissions.
- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Green Communities site provides tools and resources for those who want to help 'green' their communities.
For more useful ideas, purchase a copy of our Guide to Sustainable Tourism or view it on-line.
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Best Practices for Saving Paradise:
A Teacher's Guide Now Available
If you're looking for a sustainable tourism case study, or wanting to focus more on tourism best practices, Carol Patterson has just completed a publication that you may want to add to your library.
Best Practices for Saving Paradise: A Teacher's Guide is a companion to the book, Saving Paradise: The Story of Sukau Rainforest Lodge that Carol co-wrote with Albert Teo. This E-book is designed to help instructors bring the concepts of sustainability to life in a classroom setting.
To order your copy of the book, visit Kalahari On-line, and then click on the "Book" link.
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Responsible Travel:
Carpe Diem Travel
Carpe Diem Travel is a new kind of travel company - created from the outset as a social enterprise, using best business practices to improve lives in areas of need. It w as founded by Debbie Watkins and her partner who met in Cambodia while undertaking voluntary work for local organisations and became captivated by the country, and in particular the warmth and sincerity of its people who have triumphed over the tragedy and heartbreak inflicted during the genocidal regime of the Khmer Rouge.
During their time in the country, Debbie and her partner became aware that many local people - despite obvious intelligence, integrity and initiative - were unable to find anything but the most menial work. And yet the outside world had yet to appreciate the beauty of the country - not just Angkor Wat, but the off-the-beaten track destinations that give a real insight into one of the most beautiful countries in South East Asia, its history and people. They decided to combine the two aims - providing work, training and a sense of purpose to local people, while offering responsible travelers the kind of up-close, personal experiences rarely encountered in 'package' tours.
Since their inception in 2001, Carpe Diem Travel has stayed true to their philosophy of directly benefiting the people of Cambodia, providing much-needed employment, a stronger sense of community, opportunities for development, and direct support to humanitarian and conserv ation projects. Rather than just donating to existing charities, of which up to 75% can disappear in administration costs, they consult with NGOs on local requirements and directly manage the purchasing of material and implementation of programs, thus ensuring that 100% of the funds they manage go directly to the people who need it.
In addition to providing local people with well paid jobs and training, Carpe Diem Travel also actively follows a responsible travel policy. All operating materials are sourced or produced in-country, with some productio n contracted directly to local non-profit organizations. All marketing information and brochures are online. Their in-country guides and tour leaders all receive training on environmental awareness, which they share with both travelers and the local communities in which they work. They also work closely with local conservation organisations to ensure that their operations positively impact the undeveloped areas they visit.
Carpe Diem Travel's knowledge of the country enables them to offer much more than just a 'vacation.' In addition to small group scheduled departures, they specialize in 'special interest' trips, providing customized tours to independent travelers as well as groups that cover a diverse array of subjects, including but not limited to art, history, nature, social welfa re and photography.
Carpe Diem Travel has recently expended into offering trips in Laos, and is planning to add further countries within the next year. They are currently looking for local, non-profit partners in developing countries, especially in South East Asia, with whom they can work to develop trips and training programs.
For more information or to learn more about Carpe Diem Travel, call +44 845 226 2198, email, or visit STI's Eco-Directory or the company's website.
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Responsible Travel:
Experience Bhutan Travel
Imagine a travel destination where cyber cafés and mail carriers to remote places coexist, where horseback riding is still a primary mode of transportation and few local people in its remote regions have seen Westerners. Dream of a place where you can experience the exotic around every corner, where there exists a seemingly endless wilderness of unclimbed peaks as far as the eye can see, where medieval fortresses sprout from the top of cliffs. This is not an imaginary destination. This is Bhutan, a modern day Shangri-La set in the heart of the Himalayas between China and India.
Known as Druk-Yul - the dragon kingdom - this small (46,000 km²) mountainous nation has begun to attract the world's attention for its unique economic development policy - Gross National Happiness, an indicator of measuring development that's challenging the conventional Gross Domestic Product parameters. In an age when "democracy" is perceived by many to be the pinnacle of sociological order, this young country, which emerged out of its self-imposed isolation just forty years ago, certainly seems to have its priorities in order, placing the highest value possible in its people.
In Bhutan, like many other developing countries, tourism is one of the largest industries. But Bhutan is cautious. The national target is to attract no more than 15,000 tourists by 2007, the highest number ever to be allowed into the kingdom. Given its small size, the precariousness of its culture, and its fragile natural environment, the country's leadership has opted for a judicious national tourism policy - what it calls 'high value' 'low volume.' The translation - a Visa for entry  costs around US$200 per person per day not including travel expenses and the fact that you must travel with a registered tour operator. Fortunately, there are a good number of tour operators in the country, mostly banking upon reaping a profit even if only a few people travel with them per year. But travelers visiting Bhutan get what they pay for, a rare glimpse into a country where little has changed in centuries.
Bhutan's philosophy of Gross National Happiness rests on four important pillars: Economic Growth and Development, Preservation and Sustainable use of the Environment, Preservation and Promotion of Cultural Heritage, and Good Governance. This four-pronged development goal encompass most everything that the proponents of sustainable travel and tourism advocate.
At the operational level, the components of this grand vision are being translated into specific actions. For example, if you are a tour operator, you have to use liquid petroleum gas to cook and for heat during all of your tours so as not to put pressure on timber resources. The country has ambitiously sworn to keep its present forest cover of 72% to a minimum of 60% for all time. As a result, Bhutan's forests act as a massive carbon sink for carbon dioxide, and leaders are seriously evaluating the benefits of carbon trading.
Animal husbandry is still a predominant activity amongst the rural population in Bhutan. Horses are not only a primary form of transport, they also are responsible for transporting traveler's gear and equipment on backcountry tours, the reby enhancing the income of local communities. The purchase of fresh dairy products like cheese, butter, and milk as well as meat and produce are purchased from local people as well. In addition, traditional handicraft makers and artisans form a big bulk of the Bhutanese population. And the sale of their products is being encouraged to visitors, ensuring local people benefit from tourism. Similarly, entertainment program that are arranged during cultural tours generate income for women performers, contributing to their gain from the tourism industry
Annually, cleaning campaigns are being organized to promote a clean, litter-free environment. And it is mandatory for all tour operators to practice leave no trace ethics, leaving places better than they find them. Other awareness campaigns address pollution, cultural erosion, health education, and sustainable livelihoods, many of which are included as part of package tours.
In short, eco- and sustainable tourism is gaining greater momentum in Bhutan, and leading companies like Experience Bhutan Travel company are working hard to ensure they meet sustainable tourism standards.
In visiting Bhutan, you can almost feel the mysticism of the East in its many myths and legends, songs and dances, history and mystery, meandering roads and serpentine rivers, precipitous cliffs and spine-chilling gorges, rich biodiversity and amazing customs and cultures that have interwoven our existence and civilization itself.
You will feel the difference in this small country, a great difference from the Western world, a difference in the air you breathe and above all, a difference in the people you meet - a difference absolutely unique to Bhutan. When you travel to Bhutan, expect a holistic experience harmoniously blended of economics, environment, culture and social responsibility.
Companies like Experience Bhutan Travel are guided by the Buddha's Middle Path teachings. In striking the balance between these often unbalanced forces, lies their secret. They say seeing is believing, and they insist feeling is experiencing.
For more information or to learn more about Experience Bhutan Travel, visit STI's Eco-Directory, email the company, or visit their website.
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National Geographic Adventure
Special Advertising Opportunity
One last opportunity to reach 525,0000 Adventure Enthusiasts for an exceptional price! National Geographic Adventure and STI are collaborating with one another to offer a special "Responsible Travel" advertising section on the first page of National Geographic Adventure's Travel Directory.
Space is limited! And the cost is only $875 for a 1/12 page, full color ad. The special section will appear in the May 2006 issue which is on sale April 25th and in homes around April 18th. For only $200 more, $1,075 total, you can also receive a classified ad in any 2006 issue of choice (i.e., June/July, August, September, October, November, or Dec/Jan). And as an added value, receive free reader service, both in the magazine and online as well as a Travel Directory listing on the National Geographic Adventure website.
National Geographic Adventure was named Best Travel Magazine of the Year by the Society of American Travel Writers, so take advantage of this offer by contacting Kathleen Kertesz and mentioning this offer and STI. This issue closes within two weeks, so don't hesitate, contact Kathleen today!
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STI will be presenting at the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association 2006 Ecotourism Conference on March 1-3, 2006 in Seward, Alaska and at the Caribbean Tourism Organization's 8th annual Sustainable Tourism Conference in Puerto Rico on April 25-29, 2006.
A reminder that the 2nd annual Business-NGO Partnerships conference is taking place in New York City on May 9-10, 2006. The brochure and latest program are now available to download. High level executives from major businesses and NGOs will be presenting, including Visa, Timberland, Merck, Intel, Pfizer, Dupont, Nokia, Rainforest Alliance, Future 500, PETA, Oxfam America and many, more!
Topics to be discussed include finding the right partner, how to measure progress and address key measurement challenges, strategies for minimizing risk and conflict, what makes a partnership succeed or fail, and how to set up and maintain clear communication between the business and NGO. Register now - this event is sure to sell out. Save $400 if you register before January 30th.
Interested in learning about making your business more profitable while supporting environmental conservation? Carol Patterson of Kalahari Management and Dr. John Hull of Intervale Associates will be offering another of their highly successful Greening Your Business Workshops.
Other conferences and events that are on the horizon include:
- The Educational Travel Conference which is scheduled for February 21 to 24, 2006 in Baltimore, MD. As part of this event, a one day Responsible Travel Forum will be held on February 22, 2006;
- The ICTE 2006, an international conference on Tourism, Environmental Certification, and Eco-Labels is scheduled for February 16-17, 2006;
- The Middle East Travel and Tourism Summit, an international conferece, whose theme is Sustainable Tourism: Building Strong Partnerships, is scheduled for February 26-27, 2006;
- FTTSA in partnership with the UNISA Centre for Corporate Citizenship is offering a two-day seminar on Sustainable Tourism on March 27-28, 2006 in Johannesburg and on April 11-12, 2006 in Cape Town, South Africa. For more information, contact Asanda Madikizela.
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High Moon Cartoons
If you would like to purchase any one of High Moon's six cartoon books, you may order them directly from the Japan Environmental Exchange via email or JEE's website.
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This e-Newsletter is brought to you as a free public service by Sustainable Travel International, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization. And we need your support! Become a Member, volunteer your time or make a tax-deductible donation.
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