Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable Tourism is conscientious travel. It means being careful with the environment you explore, and respecting the communities you visit. Two overlaping components of sustainable travel are ecotourism and ethical tourism. The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improbes the well-being of local people.

TIES suggests that ecotourists follow these principles:

Minimize environment impact.
Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
Provide direct financial benefits for conservation and for local people.
Raise sensitivity to host countries` political, environmental and social climates.
Support international human rights and labor agreements.

It’s Not Easy Being Green

Unfortunately, the designation “eco-tourism” is much like the nomenclature “organic” – it means different things to different people. Everyone at least agrees on the objective: a “win-win” situation for the environment, the tourist, the travel industry and the local people. But whether it actually achieves its promise is another issue.

When traveling, it is very easy to slip into enjoying “eco-tourism lite,” a phrase coined by Ms Honey. In this mindset, we whiz through the forest canopy on high wires, neither appreciating the forest nor edifying ourselves – but having tons of fun. On a higher scale, hotel chains and tourism operations can claim they are green and benefit the environment because they use recycled toilet paper or biodegradable soap. That is not wrong in itself – every little bit helps – but it is not a particularly big part of the solution and shouldn’t be advertised as such. The “lite” experience tends to enjoy nature without being overly concerned about its preservation. So remember, if you are concerned, when accommodations are chosen, small is beautiful.

The Certificate of Sustainable Tourism

In response to the demand for more green tourism, Costa Rica’s government authorities developed a Certificate of Sustainable Tourism (CST) that they hoped would root out the “green washers” (businesses that abuse the concept of eco- or sustainable tourism). Costa Rica’s tourist board, ICT, awards Blue Flags to clean beach destinations and lists certified “green leaf” eco-friendly properties on their CST website (www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr). A hotel can receive a maximum of five green leaves after completing an extensive questionnaire. Unfortunately, their website’s arrangement is a little confusing. Select a list of hotels geographically and those with only one or two leaves are not distinguished from more ecologically sensitive properties with three or four. Only when you select a list by “green levels” does it distinguish the number of leaves.

A big flaw in the designation process, argues fellow author and environmental proponent, Beatrice Blake, is that the survey favors large businesses and fails to credit smaller, more environmentally conscious hotels with lower consumption per guest. This is also a common complaint by small hotels against the tourism board. Also, the survey does not give special consideration for those with private nature reserves. Many of the more rustic and ecologically friendly lodges don’t even make the list.

However, CST’s green leaf approval does help travelers choose hotels that are at least attempting to follow ecological practices, especially those located in urban areas. Let’s hope that, as the process is fine-tuned, the certification process will get better and even more hotels will respond to the demand for environmentally responsible practices.