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Comment by EnLinea Media on May 10, 2010 at 10:37am

Michael Grasso, CEO of Enchanted Island Eco Tours Inc. in Puerto Rico, would like your expert feedback on two YouTube presentations of their top-selling tours. If you'd like to put in your two cents, click here.

Comment by Alison McGowan on May 4, 2010 at 3:05pm

Hidden Pousadas Brazil

Comment by Alison McGowan on May 4, 2010 at 3:04pm

Have just discovered the most wonderful eco-tourism route in the world- the 12 miles of virgin beach in the state of Alagoas, Brazil, between Barra de Camarugibe and Porto de Pedras. Fabulous places to stay too- Pousada Patacho, Pousada Infinito Mar, Pousada Riacho de Milagres, Pousada da Amendoeira. All on the hiddenpousadasbrazil.com site. Pure paradise

Comment by Ed Wetschler on April 24, 2010 at 4:18pm

Teddy Roosevelt (or maybe his doppelganger) visits his pal Gifford Pinchot, founder of the U.S. Forestry Service, tomorrow, April 25th, from 4:30-7 p.m., at Pinchot's idiosyncratic chateau, Grey Towers, in Milford, PA. They'll talk, but they will not drink; T.R. knew that Pinchot, despite his many virtues, was a teetotaler. http://bit.ly/b6Vgw7

Comment by Kat Morgenstern on April 15, 2010 at 10:23am

Lise, I think that is a good idea - I have been thinking along similar lines, although it is very difficult to assess, a) what people say in a survey and what they actually do, and b) what in one country is part of the standard is a major innovation elsewhere. So, for example, in Germany recycling is mandatory, everybody does it. Hotels do it too - that does not make them especially green, though they would rate equally with a hotel in Central America where recycling is not a standard but this hotel makes every effort to get rid of its wastes ecologically but is thwarted by the country's facilities. (or lack of them) I try to talk to people about what they do and what their attitude is, what they consider especially important for their environment. I recently had an interesting chat about all this with a guy who is a tour operator in Argentina. Green tourism is unheard of in Argentina, you just don't find it. Yet, this person was making an effort to protect the environment he works in as best he could, because he realized that his effort mattered in making it sustainable - and support him and his family better than if he didn't give a toss. Often it is the infrastructure that makes the difference, rather than the individual operations. This is particularly important is wilderness areas that have not had much tourism and are being 'discovered'. Unless there are some forward thinking people involved who will spend time and money on developing an infrastructure that can cope with tourism, the place is likely to get trashed, even if all the operators are supposedly green. The impact on such an environment are much greater than in an area that is already developed and already has facilities in place to deal with trash, water, etc. And thus, operators in wilderness type places have a much greater responsibility towards the environment in which they operate.

Comment by Lise Tyrrell on April 14, 2010 at 11:57pm

Kat, you brought up some great points. I run an ecotourism directory of lodges and have had the problem of trying to figure out whether a hotel is really sustainable. Green Globe charges a lot of money to lodges to be certified and the smaller lodges (those that really have the least impact) can't afford the fee.

I've come up with an Eco Rating that I have lodges fill out so it gives me (and readers) a better idea of the things that they do. It's not perfect by any means but it's a start. Feel free to take a look here: Eco Rating. Suggestions are always welcome as to how to improve it.

Comment by tour-pakistan on April 14, 2010 at 12:44pm

Active Tours Pakistan is one of the leading and registered tour operating company (Having license # ID-1215) with Ministry of Tourism in Pakistan. Company, organize and operate mountaineering expeditions, treks, jeep safaris, culture tours, biking, boating & rafting, horse riding, hotel reservations, filming & media tours, research & scientific expeditions, student discounted/educational tours and overland trips to and from China, India & Iran.

Management
Active Tours Pakistan
web: http://www.visitatp.com

Comment by Tony Humphrey on April 14, 2010 at 12:00pm

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Comment by tour-pakistan on April 14, 2010 at 11:44am

Anyone interested to join with some of our departures for the trek k2 bc & gondogoro la circle trek, second/third week of july for 21 days (Islamabad - Trek - Islamabad).

Interested trekkers can drop us their message at info@visitatp.com OR karimhunzai24@hotmail.com

Wishing you have happy adventure travels in coming years!!!

Active Tours Pakistan
Web: http://www.visitatp.com

Comment by Kat Morgenstern on April 1, 2010 at 4:05am

There are, several. Which makes it really confusing. Problem is, that certification is expensive, and very work intensive. Some small operators or hotels may not have the resources to put themselves through the process and so are automatically excluded. others find a way round certain regulations. Or may comply with some standards, but then do something else that is totally outrageous. Certification is not the answer. Same goes for other types of labels. Like the organic label in Britain for example, came under pressure for certifying Rosewood oil which comes from endangered trees. organic maybe, but not 'kosher' at all. Or at present, Greenpeace and RAN are under pressure for certifying wood under the FSC label which comes from first time cut old growth forest, which does not wash green at all with real environmentalists. So...as I said, who is watching the watchdogs?
In tourism there are labels like Green Globe which is quite widespread, but you can't force everybody to sign up to the same scheme. So every country develops their own, and sometimes every region has their own. This makes sense to some degree because as I said, not the same criteria can be applied to operators and hotels the world over because the circumstances are so widely different and thus the facilities and infrastructure that makes it possible or impossible to comply. The important thing is to raise awareness and put pressure on governments to raise environmental standards that everybody has to comply with. That way standards are raised across the board. Being green is not a black and white issue ;-)

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