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Sustainable Travel Report
The Responsible Tourism e-Newsletter
A Message from STI President
The impact of global climate change is creating a sense of urgency in the tourism industry and in economies around the world as fuel and insurance prices skyrocket. Ominous signs are everywhere - melting polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and unpredictable weather patterns, including off-season hurricanes and more frequent 100-year storms.
Over the course of the last year, we've highlighted a number of ways in which our readers can offset climate change-related impacts. We've also offered suggestions for supporting grassroots and local community-based organizations working in Southeast Asia after the tsunami and in America's Gulf region after Katrina.
This month we'd like to focus on organizations that are working in South Asia on earthquake relief efforts and in Central America on flood relief that have effective in-country presence in these regions:
This e-Newsletter is designed to be both informative and educational, so please let us know if you have any other suggestions.
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Eco-living Company Exemplifies Growth in the Green Consumer Movement
63 million adult Americans or 30 percent of the U.S. adult population make purchasing decisions based on their personal, social and environmental values.1 This research dovetails with research undertaken by a number of organizations, the growth in the green consumer movement in general, and the growing number of responsible travelers.
Case in point, in just two months, more than 12,000 subscribers and more than a dozen advertisers and market research clients have turned to Ideal Bite. Subscribers come for free, daily advice on saving money and finding environmentally friendly products and services, while the clients come looking to access this coveted consumer group.
Ideal Bite touts itself as "the only online source of fun, free ideas that are good for both people and the planet." Their daily eco-tips topics range from food to travel to products, and then the editors' personal stories about using those tips are found in the corresponding daily blog.
To sign up for email tips, see past tips on travel, join the blog discussion and learn more about Ideal Bite, visit www.idealbite.com.
For more information on the growth of the green consumer movement, visit LOHAS.com, The Natural Marketing Institute, and The Organic Consumers Association.
1 Source: Understanding the LOHAS Market - Identifying the LOHAS Consumer & Business and Branding Opportunities, 2002.
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Freshwater Consumption Reduction
It's often been stated that water will become the most sought-after natural resource of the 21st century. Indeed, with 1.5 billion people without safe drinking water, the problem of water scarcity already is a reality throughout the world. The prospects of facing a global water crisis in the not-so-distant future underline the urgent need to be more resourceful with this finite resource.
Measuring Your Impact: Determining your Water Consumption Levels
Reducing your level of water consumption will help to reduce your operating costs while conserving this precious resource. Measuring this impact does not require much effort; your water bills are perfect indicators for determining your monthly and annual levels of consumption. However, if your annual levels of consumption are not available, you'll need to estimate your water consumption levels.
For potable water consumption, be sure to take alternate sources of water storage into consideration, such as rainwater, wells, and cisterns. Also, your overall water consumption figures should ideally be communicated in mega gallons as follows: 1 gallon = 0.000001 mega gallon.
Managing Your Impact
To reduce your water consumption levels, consider the following:
- Before managing your water consumption, measure how much water you're using at home or in your business. Identify the areas where waste is occurring, and address these areas accordingly.
- Set goals for conserving water and develop an action plan for limiting water use. Appoint an employee to monitor and execute scheduled water saving activities as well as review the results.
- Educate your staff and clients about water conservation measures they can take to help achieve your goals. For example, create a system whereby clients can request to use sheets and towels more than once. For meeting and conferences, provide water pitchers to your clients. These are just a couple of obvious examples. Be creative!
- Upgrade your plumbing by installing efficient indoor and outdoor drainage systems. Also, consider installing aerators, sensors, and low flow showerheads, taps, toilets and urinals. Low-flow showerheads alone can cut the energy costs associated with water heating up to 30 percent.
- When replacing major appliances, such as dishwashers and washing machines that consume large amounts of water, consider investing in more efficient Energy Star® models that will reduce water and energy consumption. Also, only run dishwashers and washing machines when they are full.
- Find and fix leaks. A great way to check for leaks is to turn off your water, check your water meter, and then after several hours re-check your meter to see if it has changed. If it has, then you have a leak or a drip that needs to be fixed.
- Track your performance by using current water consumption levels as a benchmark and compare future consumption levels to set targets or to similar businesses. Check monthly water bills to calculate savings and to ensure that you are not paying too much for the water that your business uses.
- Offset your impact and consider helping to restore wetlands. For additional information, please visit the EPA's web page on River Corridor and Wetland Restoration.
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2005 Sustainable Tourism Awards
Smithsonian Magazine and Tourism Cares for Tomorrow have partnered for the last five years to honor members of the travel and tourism industry who are committed to protecting our natural environment and cultural and historical treasures.
In deph descriptions of all the finalists in both the Preservation and Conservation categories are available at the 2005 Sustainable Tourism Awards website. We are also proud to note that Black Sheep Inn Ecuador, a member of STI, is one of three finalists within the Conservation category. The owners have vowed that if they win, they will use the prize money to completely convert to Solar/Wind power.
Voting runs through October 31, 2005, and winners in each category will receive US$20,000 at the United States Tour Operators Association luncheon sponsored by Smithsonian Magazine in Cancun, Mexico on December 4, 2005. So if you haven't already, please vote for your favorite finalist.
Tourism Cares for Tomorrow is a non-profit that preserves, conserves and promotes the responsible use of the world's natural, cultural and historic treasures and suppors education and research to help secure the positive future of travel and tourism worldwide.
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Responsible Travel:
The Villages of Loreto Bay, Baja
Discover authentic Baja: blessed with natural beauty, rich in history and home to The Villages of Loreto Bay, the largest sustainable community under development in the world. Travel to this magical destination to fish, golf, hike or watch whales swim in the azure waters of the Sea of Cortés.
Loreto Bay's goal is to become an international model for how a development can enrich an existing landscape and community while remaining economically viable. Their vision is an integrated stewardship process of conservation, protection, enhancement, and regeneration that balances the social, economic and environmental needs of the community.
To enhance the environment, they will produce more energy from renewable resources than they consume, harvest or produce more potable water than they u se, and create more biodiversity, more biomass and more habitat than existed when they started. Loreto Bay constructs homes with locally-produced compressed earth blocks, an efficient natural insulator. Homes are equipped with reduced-use fixtures and appliances in accordance to LEED standards in addition to utilizing wind and solar renewable energy. Loreto Bay will restore watersheds, use paspalum grass (a saline tolerant plant) in the golf course, and irrigate with storm water. In their designated 5,000 acre natural preserve, they will fence out livestock to re-vegetate and replenish the aquifer. Loreto Bay is also restoring 4 kilometers of estuary channels and planting thousands of mangroves to provide wildlife habitat. They are fully dedicated to composting and recycling using a Wet/Dry Recycling waste management plan.
Finally, to improve the social and economic welfare, they will implement a Regional Affordable Housing Strategy to ensure that people who work at Loreto Bay are able to afford to live in the area. In the process, they will create new jobs to enhance the local economy, and they will build a successful community that delivers a healthy rate of return to their investors, homeowners, and partners.
For more information or to learn more about Loreto Bay and how development is progressing, call 1-866-956-7386, email info@loretobay.com, or visit STI's Eco-Directory or the company's website.
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NGO Profile: International Galapagos
Tour Operators Association
The International Galapagos Tour Operators Assocation (IGTOA) is a nonprofit association of travel companies, conservation organizations, and other groups that are dedicated to the complete and lasting protection of the Galapagos. Their mission is to preserve the Galapagos Islands as a unique and priceless world heritage that will provide enjoyment, education, adventure and inspiration to present and future generations of travelers.
IGTOA supports a variety of projects that relate to the many challenges facing the Galapagos Islands. They carefully select from proposals by organizations involved in Galapagos conservation and tourism. And they support two types of funding:
- Conservation funding is for projects that directly impact issues like introduced species, patrol of the park, and scientific research.
- Professional Standards relates to boat safety; passenger care; training and treatment of captains and crew members; guide training; and other issues relating to health, safety, and the enrichment of both travelers and tourist industry personnel.
For more information on IGTOA or to become a member, please visit www.igtoa.org.
Please note: STI was founded on the belief that by partnering with like-minded organizations to "green" the global travel and tourism industry, we can strengthen both our individual and collective initiatives.
Any travel-related governmental or non-governmental organizations (NGO) interested in trading memberships, becoming partners, or taking advantage of cooperative marketing with STI are invited to contact us.
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Conference Corner:
Adventures in Travel Expos and the
Ecotourism Australia National Conference
Ecotourism Australia's 13th National Conference will be held in Hobart, Tasmania on November 28 through December 2 this fall. The theme is "Ecotourism: Creating Unforgettable Natural Experiences." For more information, please visit Ecotourism Australia's website.
The Adventures in Travel Expo (ATE) is returning to San Francisco on November 11-13, 2005. STI will be participating in the event. We will also be speaking on "Responsible Tourism Comes of Age: How It Is Transforming the Travel Industry" in conjunction with the Adventure Council, and we encourage you to attend or just drop by and say 'hi'.
ATE is the world's largest series of travel events serving adventure, active travel, eco, nature, cultural and outdoor tourism enthusiasts and professionals. In 2005-2006, ATE will lead the industry with six events that are strategically located in the top travel buying capitals in the United States - San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Southern California, Washington DC and Dallas. These six metro area "power markets" provide an unparalleled buying audience, representing over $180 billion in travel purchases with the highest disposable income levels and ideal active travel demographics. Last year, for example, the San Francisco ATE alone attracted more than 8,000 would-be adventurers.
These premier events give attendees the opportunity to see thousands of travel possibilities, from exotic safaris to luxury beach escapes. The best undiscovered experiences that you may not find otherwise.
Consumers that register today will receive $5 Off Expo Admission (full price: $15). Interested in exhibiting? Email Marilyn Harrington, visit ATE's website, or call 203-878-2577 ex. 117.
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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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