Thinking about how to spend what’s left of your summer vacation? Worried about its effects on the environment?
From treks in the Arctic Circle to luxury "eco-lodges" in Costa Rica, there are many types of vacations and holiday companies that highlight how much they care about the environment. There are a wide variety of activities and places that come under the umbrella of "ecotourism."
Community tourism is a new form of sustainable tourism seeking to keep the well-being of both local people and the environment in the highest regard, as well as being a model for sustainable development. Staying with local families in their villages and taking part in their everyday activities is as authentic an experience as many travelers can get.
A community based tourism initiative in northern Thailand is one model that has been working with fishing villages and hill tribes, building up their capacity to deal with tour operators and forge equal partnerships. "The advantage is that you pull the market towards you in these places," says Bodhi Garrett who runs Andaman Discoveries Tour Company on the Andaman coast of Thailand. "You get less of the resort types and more of the adventurous types. And the more of those that come, the more locals will perceive that as the profitable option."
Tips on how can you have an environmentally and ethically sound vacation
Do some research:
A myriad of resources and information is available on the Internet.
Ask questions:
Ask the tour operator what they do with local communities. Find out how the locals are involved and the more questions you can ask the better. They might be questions that they don't know the answer to but will have to think about, which will help prepare the operator even better.
Be fair:
Even where haggling is part of the shopping culture, Barnett suggests that the pursuit of rock-bottom prices is not the fairest option: "When you get to your destination you have to recognize that bargaining down to the last cent is not the most positive way of encouraging people to come out of poverty."
Go independent:
Independent travel can be wonderful and exhilarating. It can leave more money in the local community, you're more likely to stay locally and you're more likely to stay longer and get to know people.
To further explore some enviro-friendly vacation options check out http://www.infohub.com/travel_packages/eco_tourism.html or http://ecobookers.com/ for an international flavor.
Excerpts taken from cnn.com - Environment
Post new comment