Putting the `ECO' in Tourism - ecotourism-related services and package tours offered by travel industry and environmental organizations

10 JOURNEYS THAT JUST MIGHT CHANGE THE WORLD ... OR AT LEAST YOUR VIEW OF IT

Swimming with dolphins. Bicycling on back roads. Trekking a 2,000-year-old trail. Crouching in the sand to measure a giant sea turtle. Sipping chai and savoring chapati prepared at a local Indian restaurant. However diverse the modern vacation, there's a common thread that ties each together: the traveler's thirst for discovery, passion for authenticity and interest in helping preserve and protect the planet.

"We're longing for gung-ho, do-something, learn-something, give-back-something vacations that will exhilarate us and leave us feeling good," write Daniel and Sally Wiener Grotta in The Green Travel Sourcebook, eloquently capturing the sentiment of the globe-trotting environmentalist. "We want vacations that will allow us to experience intimately the people and places we visit, while not inadvertently polluting the environment or contributing to an oppressive political regime, and perhaps make the world a better place."

Defining Green Travel

Ecotourism, or ecotravel, strives to do just that. "Ecotravel helps conserve fragile ecosystems, support endangered species and habitats, preserve indigenous cultures and develop sustainable local economies," sums up Megan Epler Wood, president of The International Ecotourism Society. "By looking at travel alternatives and making informed choices, you can minimize your impact and positively contribute to the conservation of natural environments, local economies and cultures."

That's something the mainstream travel industry has yet to accomplish. In popular resort areas like Cancun and Hawaii, overbuilt waterfront hotels have contributed to beach erosion, flooding and the disappearance of natural wetlands, while generating mountains of garbage without adequate means of disposal. The rapid growth of the trekking industry in Nepal has increased pollution in Kathmandu and caused dangerous crowding and destruction of trails; logging for hotel building materials and cooking fires has led to deforestation, flooding and landslides as far away as Bangladesh.

More than 500 million people travel for leisure each year, making tourism the world's largest industry at $425 billion and climbing, according to the World Tourism Organization. Tourism provides 10 percent of the world's income and employs almost one-tenth of its workforce. Ecotourism, although growing by 20 to 30 percent a year, still represents less than one-tenth of the total tourism industry.

Although "ecotourism" attempts to recognize the incredibly complex interactions among the environment, culture, economy and travel, it often eludes a clear definition. Guidelines are offered by such diverse groups as the United Nations Environmental Programme, Conservation International, the American Society of Travel Agents, Sierra Club and Mountain Travel*Sobek. "Certified ecotourism" has recently been introduced in Australia, offering consumers a "Good Housekeeping"-type seal like those used for certified organic produce and sustainably harvested wood.

Touring with a Purpose

Ultimately, however, the responsibility for the impact of your travel rests not with a label, but with you. Be an activist--traveling the world as a dedicated ecotourist is not a spectator sport. "Ecotravelers ask lots of questions," says M.J. Kietzke, team coordinator of Co-op America Travel Links, which matches members requesting ecotravel with the operators or destinations that meet their needs. "Because ecotourism is consumer driven," she says, "these questions help create a green demand for responsible travel options."

If you choose all organized ecotour, ask about the trip fee. Besides responsibly sourced food and lodging, it can also help defray the cost of fieldwork, support local education or health programs and leave economic dividends with the host community. (Often, if paid to a nonprofit organization, the fees for service trips are also partially tax-deductible.) Ask whether you'll be visiting a place during the most heavily traversed time of year, contributing to overcrowding, and whether you'll be using mass transportation, to reduce pollution, and eating regional cuisine, to support local markets.

The answer to the most vital question, however, still hangs in the air: Can ecotourism help connect us with the rest of the world, and by doing so, actively make it a better place?

There are many who believe it can. The following examples are but a sampling of the vast array of ecotravel options and operators, for all budgets and for all age groups. Whether you have a few days or a few months, these ideas offer a glimpse into an amazing world, one we must either learn to protect or lose forever. CONTACT: Co-op America Travel-Links Agency, 1612 K Street NW, Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006, (800)648-2667, www.coopamerica.org/travel.htm; International Ecotourism Society, PO Box 668, Burlington, VT 05402, (802)651-9818, www.ecotourism.org.

OUTFITTER/AGENT:

Oceanic Society Expeditions