Exploring Ecotourism

"Tourists and tourism officials alike are all on the learning curve. If we could be aware of the proverbial stones in the road, we could improve our journey toward sustainability."

Ron Mader, Latin America correspondent for Transitions Abroad and host of the Planeta.com website, has written this essay in an attempt to explore some of the problems affecting responsible travel and ecotourism initiatives and provide some innovative solutions. As such, Mader identifies eight factors and solutions that have an impact of the level of success of ecotourism initiatives.

Communication

Mader cites lack of transparency as a serious obstacle at all stages of ecotourism development. Contracts are not written in user-friendly language, development agencies do a poor job of documenting the success or failure of projects, and information is difficult to access online.

Mader suggests that agencies employ better online and offline communication strategies. He also believes that, for the most part, institutional public relations (PR) or communication departments are unnecessary.

Continuity

Lack of continuity hampers ecotourism development. Often, when government agencies, non-governmental organisations (NGOs), or the academia get excited about an idea, they start new projects without considering if they are duplicating efforts.

Mader writes, "Stop recreating the wheel! Conduct public inventories of efforts that have been done and support the work already underway."

"Herding Kittens"

"Due to the strong egos displayed among leaders, 'ecotourism' is sometimes dismissed as egotourism.' Difficulties arise when these mavericks try to work together. Collaboration is a must, but how does any initiative unify individualists?"

Mader suggests that to overcome this obstacle it is important to "speak well of others and focus on collaboration at a grassroots level. There are more opportunities when we recognize the strength in diversity AND pay attention to obtaining results."

Development and Promotion

"Development and promotion are two sides of a single coin" and as such these two departments should not be compartmentalised; they need to communicate and share information in order for ecotourism programmes to be successful.

Certification

"There is no doubt that good intentions lie behind ecotourism certification. But in efforts to standardize operations, most programs contradict one of the main components of ecotourism - local control. In fact, most stakeholders have been left out of the process, including community representatives as well as owners of leading ecotourism businesses."

"Seat Warmers"

It has been said that some ecotourism leaders are no longer passionate about their job and are at a point where they work only for their paycheck.

Mader writes that "if we want more passionate leaders - in government, private business, academia, media or environmental groups, we need to praise the individuals and the institutions who deliver results."

"Small is Beautiful"

When local environmental groups compete with multinational NGOs for funds they usually lose. Mader stresses that decentralisation is central to the success of grassroots ecotourism initiatives.

Greed

"For years ecotourism was described as a profitable, fast-growing niche. Reports were wildly exaggerated and the result was that many people who could benefit made demands greater than what could be offered. In many countries - and particularly developing economies - tourists have been treated poorly, exploited for short-term financial gain."

The success and sustainability of any ecotourism programme will depend on long-term investment and cross-sector sharing of responsibilities and profits.