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October 30, 2009
Costa Rica to be the First Carbon Neutral Destination?
Costa
Rica threw down a green gauntlet this week, announcing its plan to
become the world's first carbon-neutral destination. At a sustainable
tourism conference, the country's ecotourism
organization (CANAECO) and the Ministry of Environment, Energy and
Telecommunications signed an agreement that puts in place a system to
cover the offsetting of tourists' flights. Read More
October 29, 2009
Voluntourism - "Who does it best?"
David Clemmons, founder of Voluntourism.org, recently received a set of queries regarding voluntourism that I
thought would be of interest to readers. The questions are
straightforward:
Who does it? Who does it best? How successful is it in meeting its intended purpose? Read More
October 28, 2009
Planeterra Partner, African Impact, Nominated for Prestigious Responsible Travel Award
In an industry that is currently buzzing, and with
its fair share of cynics, this family-run African voluntourism
organization has been built with passion and pride and is rapidly
taking the lead as the industry's most renowned African-based operator... Read More
October 28, 2009
Gap Adventures Named a Leading Voluntourism Company
VoluntourismGal
writes on voluntourism and adventure travel: For all of you who thought
that the adventure travel companies would
never fully enter this space, here is the proof. Travel & Leisure
just named Gap Adventures a leader in voluntourism. Read More
October 28, 2009
Travel + Leisure names Gap Adventures a leader in voluntourism
The latest and best efforts at cultural preservation, environmental
conservation, and community-building through tourism are recognized in Travel + Leisure’s 2009 Global Vision Awards. CEO and Founder Bruce Poon Tip of Gap Adventures,
the world’s leading small group adventure tour operator, was one of 17
organisations recognised for efforts to promote voluntourism...Read More
October 27, 2009
PATA: Getting Greener
Pacific Asia Travel Association has launched the PATA Sustainability
Index with Sustainability Intelligence UK, the organization that
operates the Green Globe Index program globally. The program is intended to help the industry measure and learn about
sustainability from a cost savings perspective, while at the same time
reducing its carbon footprint. Read More
October 21, 2009
2009 Best and Worst Destinations Revealed
National Geographic Society's Center for Sustainable Destinations convened an independent panel of 437 experts in fields from
historic preservation and sustainable tourism to travel writing and
archaeology to assess 133 iconic places around the world. See the results here.
October 17, 2009
Expedia Focused on Sustainable Tourism in its own Backyard
Beginning this weekend, eight Expedia® employees from across the globe
will gather in Quinault, Washington for the next two weeks as part of
the company’s fifth employee volunteer consultancy to promote
responsible tourism at World Heritage sites, places universally
recognized for their outstanding value to humanity.
Read More
October 16, 2009
Carbon offset option removed by responsibletravel.comA
facility for customers to offset carbon emissions is to be removed from
the website of sustainable holidays travel agency responsibletravel.com. The
company was among the first travel organisations to introduce carbon
offsets seven years ago, but is now one of the first to remove them for
environmental reasons. Read More
October 16, 2009
Tourism Concern in Danger of ClosingCampaigning
charity Tourism Concern may close before Christmas through lack
offunds.The organisation urgently needs £40,000 to survive. “Our core
work supports people, particularly in the developing world,whose human
rights have been severely impacted by tourism developments. Theyoften
have no other recourse to get their problems heard and supported
exceptthrough us”, says Barnett. Read More
October 12, 2009
2008 Voluntourism Survey Report Published
An
in-depth look at the motivations of potential voluntourists, nearly
1100 of whom responded to a survey through Voluntourism.org, is now
available. See the intro and executive summary here. Buy the full report at blurb.com.
October 9, 2009
Voluntourism and Adventure Travel
The Adventure Travel World Summit is set to kick-off in less than two weeks in Charlevoix, Quebec. Doubtless, there will be discussions devoted to what an adventure
it is to run an adventure travel outfit in the current economic
setting; but, there will likely also be some discussion regarding the
growing synergies between Adventure Travel and VolunTourism. Read More
October 9, 2009
Climate Change Another Threat to the Leatherback Turtle
Another voice and another threat to Costa Rica’s Leatherback sea
turtle has been added to the chorus of opposition to the proposed plan
to downgrade Las Baulas National Park to a wildlife refuge which would allow new beach houses and condominiums right behind
nesting habitat, preventing the leatherbacks from finding higher ground
to lay their eggs as sea levels rise... Read More
October 8, 2009
Travel giants back Tourism 2023 project
Travel industry
giants TUI Travel, Thomas Cook, British Airways and Carnival UK have
joined ABTA, The Co-operative Travel and Advantage in pledging
themselves to a 14-year project to transform the sector. The companies, which carry 45 million passengers a year, have signed
up to a vision of sustainable tourism in a document entitled Tourism 2023. Read More
October 5, 2009
It's Ecotourism, but not as we know it
Ecotourism is not simply about minimising your
negative impact. There are places you can go where your presence (and
money) can make a positive difference too. Over the past two years of writing my new book Clean Breaks - 500 New Ways to See the World,
my conception of green tourism, sustainable travel - call it what you
will, has shifted considerably, says author Jeremy Smith...Read More
October 5, 2009
The 18th Session of the UNWTO General Assembly (5-8 October 2009)
Around 360 delegates representing 112 countries meet this week in
Astana, Kazakhstan, on the occasion of the XVIII session of the UNWTO
General Assembly. The gathering convened by the UN specialized agency
for tourism will set the ground for how the travel and tourism sector
can face the current economic downturn while staying on track with the
twin challenges of climate change response and poverty alleviation. Read More
December 2009 News
November 2009 News
October 2009 News
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June 2009 News
