"WHERE IS THE ECOTOURISM ACCREDITATION DEMAND COMING FROM?"
Certification of ecotourism and sustainable tourism operations
has become a popular topic among consultants and policy-makers.
The public workshop reviewed programs including the SmartVoyager
which checks out ships heading to Ecuador's Galapagos Islands,
the Green globe program and government-led efforts such as Australia's
pioneering National Ecotourism Accreditation Program (NEAP)
and Costa Rica's Certificate for Sustainable Tourism.
Local tour operators remain skeptical.
"Where is the ecotourism accreditation demand coming from?"
asked Lee Etherington, operations manager for the Australia-based
Local Focus Nature Tours. "I know of countless examples of consultants,
governing bodies, academics, etc. telling operations and each
other that products should be accredited, but as an ecotour
owner/operation, I have never been asked if I have advanced
ecotourism accreditation by a consumer." [
Source]
"It appears that those people on the fringe of the business
are the ones who beat the drum," responded Florida-based consultant
Ray Ashton. "The drive for major evaluation programs come from
those who generate funds for themselves, e.g. societies, consultants
or firms that would be evaluators." [ Source]
Author Rob Rachowiecki pointed out a number of challenges,
including cultural differences
Cultural mores are often incompatible with certification programs.
Many NGOs and for-profit certifiers are based in 1st world countries
and, despite the best will in the world, often cannot make the
'right connection' with cultural sensitivities in 3rd world
countries. This is not meant as a blanket criticism. I think
that 1st world certifiers often do a lot of good certifying
1st world eco-establishments. And the few local attempts in
3rd world countries, despite their inevitable political and
financial problems, often make a real difference on a local,
sub-country level. However, bringing the two together is fraught
with cultural and other problems. [ Source]
Nicaragua's Tom Fletcher was also skeptical:
"Unless the certification bodies are willing to provide the
accreditation pro bono, or at least heavily subsidized, few
small operations are going to be able to afford it," adding,
"If accreditation is only geared toward large operations or
facilities (who can afford whopping consultant feeds), or towards
non-profit organizations (who are apt to receive funding from
donors), then the vast majority of tourist offerings will continue
to be un-audited and un-accredited, and hence unlikely to keep
or adopt (or even educated about) the standards." [Source]
Workshop host Ron Mader went a step further:
"While there are certification programs for organics, bird-friendly
coffee and seed quality... can those programs justly be compared
to evaluating and certifying ecotourism? I would argue NO. Ecotourism
is a social process -- from the relations among tour operators
and locals to tour operators and travelers. It's not selling
a product but a service. And how is that measured/qualified?
Do we have a checklist for ethical behavior? I have been notified
various times about problems with how 'ecolodges' treat their
staff. Why shouldn't that be configured into a certification
process?" [Source]
CERTIFICATION, AWARDS AND THE PRESS
Many of the certification programs tout the marketing factor.
Inclusion in a program could be played up for promotional purposes
and would generate sales. If the eco market can be quantified,
what business would not want to be certified? But left to its
own devises, marketing easily transmogrifies into green-washing.
Ray Ashton:
"I am interested and concerned about the "certification" given
to various tourism operators and facilities by the (frequently
ignorant) tourism press. Because of my business and writings,
I receive a couple of calls per year from writers of various
magazines who are going to put out articles on "the best ecolodge"
or the "best tour operator" in the world. Most times they have
narrowed the field down to one or two, usually based on Press
coverage or marketing. Frequently what is printed has little
to do with how or if the program is run sustainably or not.
These endorsements by major publications are much more powerful
than most certification programs." [Source]
MEDIA, ENVIRONMENT AND TOURISM CONFERENCE
During the initial round of the Workshop participants discussed
the role of the media.
Said Jonathan B. Tourtellot, National Geographic Traveler editor:
"Consumers cannot demand what they do not know exists. This
is where the travel media come in. Many of us would love to
be able to cite reliable accreditation or sustainability ratings
(as well as using them to guide our own decisions about places
to publicize). Certification without consumer awareness seems
unlikely to achieve its purpose." [Source]
Ron Mader suggested that Planeta
host a forum specifically focusing on how the media could connect
environmental and tourism coverage in a responsible manner.
The Media,
Environment and Tourism Conference picked up the discussion.
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