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Sustainable Travel Report
The Responsible Tourism e-Newsletter
A Message from STI President
Sustainable Travel International (STI) is dedicated to helping travelers and travel providers protect the environments and cultures they visit. That's why we offer a number of complimentary services and tangible, fee-based programs so that you can do more than think about traveling responsibly.
Responsible travel providers are invited to get involved and learn how to integrate sustainable business practices into their operations. We also work with travelers, corporations and academics who are interested in sustainability. For more information or to get involved today, click here.
Keep in mind that STI is a non-profit organization. Your investments in both our complimentary and fee-based programs as well as your tax-deductible donations have a positive impact!
Eco regards,
Brian T. Mullis
President
brianm@sustainabletravel.com
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VolunTourism:
The Foyer in the Mansion of Global Service
By David Clemmons
VolunTourism, the integration of voluntary service and the best of travel and tourism - art, culture, history, geography, and recreation, is really a segue to the vista of service options that span the globe. Tourism presents the unique addition to volunteerism of providing an educational context from which a more comprehensive understanding of a destination and its residents can be developed. It is likely, in fact, that the voluntary service portion of these travel experiences will be significantly enhanced simply through having a greater perspective of the region, its people, and natural environment.
But how does a tour operator, incentive house, or nonprofit organization deliver the best possible VolunTourism experience for its clients? To fully answer this question, we will use an analogy - the analogy of a foyer in a mansion.
A foyer has characteristics and specific design features that set it apart from other areas in a mansion. Characteristics may include: 1) welcoming/inviting, 2) simply furnished, and 3) well-lit. Specific design features may include: 1) a closet or coat-rack, 2) access to other rooms, and 3) a larger, sturdier door. If a VolunTourism practitioner is to be successful, analogous traits and elements should be incorporated into the overall travel experience for VolunTourists.
Welcoming & Inviting - If you want to reduce anxiety and increase comfort level, make sure that your VolunTourism programs offer a friendly and supportive environment for guests. If local residents and community members can be involved in welcoming VolunTourists to the destination as part of a reception or "first-day gathering," this will set the tone for the entire trip.
Simply Furnished - This implies that the environment in which VolunTourists meet community members and participate in their volunteer activities may be quite different than the ornate surroundings of the four- or five-star accommodations in which guests may find themselves during their stay. Community meals, in contrast to the lavish cuisine of these establishments, may also be very simple and characteristic of the foods consumed by local residents.
Well-lit - Volunteer offerings should be clearly described prior to arrival on site at a work project or activity. Participants should know the type of labor, degree of social interaction, and skill-set expectations in advance of participation. Orientation to issues of cultural sensitivity - what to wear, how to introduce oneself in the native tongue, hand gestures and other idiosyncratic behaviors, as well as photography, and interacting with children, is critical to the success of the experience for all parties - residents and VolunTourists alike.
A Closet or Coat-Rack - VolunTourism experiences should give participants - residents and VolunTourists - a place to remove some of their prejudices, pre-conceived notions, judgments, and other "cultural & personal coats." Work projects are excellent for this purpose, but so are visitations to cultural centers and historic sites. Greater will be the level of acceptance as education and knowledge improves throughout the entire trip. Remember: VolunTourism is the "integrated combination" of BOTH voluntary action and tourism. The tourism aspect of the experience can prove to be the sandpaper that removes the splinters of indifference and ignorance.
Access To Other Rooms - VolunTourism is an opening to the possibilities of future voluntary service and world travel. It is possible that VolunTourists will choose to move to new adventures like volunteer vacations, "volunteer sabbaticals," service learning, or even "Peace Corps-like" options. It is also possible that VolunTourists will choose to visit different countries and destinations, or more remote locations as a result of their participation in VolunTourism. Having a glimpse of what is "adjacent" to the VolunTourism experience can prove invaluable in forming future life and travel habits.
A Larger, Sturdier Door - We all crave safety and security. Because VolunTourism experiences are taking us beyond our "comfort zone," it is important to maintain safety and security on the physical, as well as, the emotional level for VolunTourists and residents. This comes naturally over the course of time as partnerships with local communities flourish. Local residents become more secure in connecting with visitors and incorporating them into their lives - understanding that these visitors are here to assist them in improving their life situations. VolunTourists benefit from the "at-ease" nature of residents and information on how you, as an operator, are creating a safe and secure environment for them.
VolunTourism offers a balanced approach to service and travel. There is plenty of room for expanding one's view of the world, and improving the conditions of that world and its people, while incorporating a comfortable and leisurely approach to it. We are not all servants of the masses like Mother Teresa - ready to combat the forces of poverty, leprosy, and class struggles. But we can be introduced to these societal issues and challenges in a way that is non-threatening and respectful of our relative levels of understanding and want to address them. Wisdom-guided exposure to the destination AND its needs through this foyer in the mansion of global service is the essence of VolunTourism.
For more information, please visit www.voluntourism.org or contact David L. Clemmons, Director of VolunTourism, via email.
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Responsible Travel: Protecting Heritage in
Miklósvár, Transylvania
Count Kalnoky's Guesthouses in Miklósvár, Transylvania, Romania, are located at the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains. The castles, dating back to the 1500s, are part of a renaissance style of the Szekler-Hungarians who live in the eastern part of Transylvania. Under communist rule, most members of aristocracy had to leave the country. During those difficult years, many Hungarian noblemen's castles and manors were used in inappropriate ways or deliberately destroyed.
The Kalnoky family returned to Miklósvár four years ago and began rebuilding their two ancient castles. Using profits from the guesthouses, the Kalnoky family also now restores other buildings in the picturesque village, as well as furniture, textiles and artifacts. Brick, tile and lime used in the restorations are purchased locally. The family's efforts have created an authentic Transylvanian experience for tourists and villagers who are reclaiming their heritage.
The hospitality and tourist experience offered is a concerted effort between Count Kalnoky's Guesthouses and the villagers. Guests live among the villagers and buy locally distinctive crafts and handmade artifacts. Their interest in local culture, history and lifestyle rekindles the villagers' awareness of their heritage.
Each guestroom features antique Transylvanian furniture, wool mattresses and a wood-stove heating system. The garden, which does not use pesticides or chemicals, provides most of the vegetables served in the dining room. Meat and milk come from the animals raised in the village's pastures.
 In addition, visitors can explore the miles of uninhabited hills, pastures and streams and may be able to follow bear and wolf tracks. Birds, including black storks, night-jars, bee-eaters, kingfishers, wall-creepers, corncrakes, lesser-spotted eagles and ural owls, are abundant in the area.
Based on authenticity, tradition and heritage, Count Kalnoky's Guesthouses evolve carefully to provide a destination somewhere between the past and future. The Kalnoky family hopes to help build villagers' future on the awareness of their valuable heritage.
For more information, email Count Kalnoky's Guesthouses or visit www.transylvaniancastle.com and / or visit the Kalnoky Trust's website, www.kalnoky.org.
Please note: This article appeared in the May 2005 issue of Eco-Structure Magazine. Photos by Peter Kelih, Austria.
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Business Opportunity:
Invest in an Eco-lodge
Giroux & Company, Fall River, MA is offering a portion of a 230 acre riverfront tract located in St. George, New Brunswick, Canada as a possible site for an eco-lodge. This property is located on the Magaguadavic River, an unspoiled, major river, which rises in the northern reaches of New Brunswick and terminates in the Bay of Fundy. The land is located near the Canal, access to Lake Utopia, a large, cold water lake. The property is 1.5 miles west of St. George and Canada's Route 1, part of the Fundy Coastal Drive Route. The commercial airport at St. Johns, New Brunswick is one hour away.
There are four season possibiities here: hiking, cross-country skiing, biking, kayaking, canoeing, fly and sport fishing, swimming, golf at St. Andrews-by-the Sea, etc.; the property has a unique topography and exceptional environmental characteristics. Giroux & Company is interested in discussing a possible venture with an experienced developer of eco-lodges.
For more information, contact Bernard P. Giroux, Giroux & Company, 150 Purchase Street, Fall River, MA 02720, Tel.: 508-677-9500, Fax: 508-677-4291.
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Conference Corner:
Ecotourism in the U.S.
This September, The International Ecotourism Society and the Bar Harbor Chamber of Commerce are joining forces to bring you the first ever Ecotourism in the  U.S. Conference. This long overdue gathering of industry stakeholders will bring together practitioners, policy-makers, academics, NGO's and communities to examine the challenges and successes of the ecotourism industry here at home. World-renowned marine biologist and National Geographic Explorer in residence Dr. Sylvia Earle will be featured as a keynote speaker.
The conference is being held at the historic Bar Harbor Club in scenic Bar Harbor, Maine September 14-16, 2005 and will be followed by several field trips in and around the Mount Desert Island area.
Major sponsors include L.L. Bean, National Geographic Adventure Magazine, The Adventure Council and the Ford Foundation.
A special discount is being offered to those who register before July 31, 2005. For more information and to register, please email or call Christine Tinker at 202-3479203 ext 223. And be sure to tell her that STI referred you.
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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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