Ecoclub Member Blogs

 Booni—A Must Visit DestinationHemmed in by gigantic Booni Zom (6,542 m) to the East and Hindukush Mountain Range to the West, Booni Town is located 85 kilometers to the north-east of district Chitral (Lower). Spread around 8 square kilometers, it is the headquarter of the newly established district Chitral Upper. Traditional hospitality marke...

Looking forward, we can begin to reimagine what the future of tourism may look like. More people will likely seek out less travelled destinations that are free from crowds, perceived to be safe, and that are known to be clean, green and pristine. Small group and private travel experiences are going to become more popular. Travelers will demand tour...

Mountain Homestays – An Authentic Mountain ExperienceMountain homestays is a community empowerment initiative that focuses on promoting rural destinations by developing homestays in partnership with the locals. The focus is on reaching out to communities living in the remotest parts of the Himalayan belt in India, such as in Ladakh region in northe...

The coro-doomsday has stunned the mainstream bringing various fringes to the limelight. In celebratory mood, tourism-haters, elitist pseudo-revolutionaries, agoraphobics and misanthropic degrowthists, to die-hard fans of the "dictatorship of the proletariat" to alt-right racist conspiracists, UFOlogists and so on, a pluralistic cacophony of "we told you so". Nope, you told us nothing and you still do not have anything to tell us. Your theories are "not even wrong",  your thinking is unoriginal, self-defeating, pessimistic, malthusian and discounts the propensity of humans to evolve and progress in the face of natural adversity. Yes, Marx at 202 years old is always relevant, especially if we read between the lines, but so are all other great philosophers from A to Z, from Aristotle to Zizek (pun intended). But if miraculously reincarnated, none of these greats would last a week as pandemic-era prime-ministers. Aristotle would start wars by calling all our neighbours barbarians, Pythagoras would...

In our new post corona world the concept of tourism is changing. With some forms of travel restrictions looking likely to continue for the foreseeable future, and with our instinctive desire to travel and take holidays, community tourism and staycation breaks are set to boom in the months ahead, as people look to more local solutions without the ne...

 Since opening Pousada Serra Verde we've been keen to embrace 'green' technologies and principles wherever possible. Other than fitting in with our forest setting a green roof also helps with cooling and extends the life of the roof whilst helping bio-diversity.  We have just built an external breakfast area to replace the ageing 'tent' (...

Will Covid-19 (or SARS-2) have lasting effects? Is Ecotourism & Green Hospitality sheltered? Here are some initial thoughts (working draft): 1. Despite the hype of covid-19 webinars and the emerging adaptation cottage industry, It is likely that the pandemic will only have short-term effects, especially if there is not a second wave in Autumn 2020. 2. Most changes will be rolled back as soon as the cure has been found. It is not realistic to eat or to get a sun tan in plastic see-through cubicles. To wrap all foods in ecocidal plastic wrapping paper and packaging. Or to remove airconditioning units and halve bed capacity. Nor is it economic or ecological for a plane or a tour bus to travel half empty. The only lasting changes will be related to more meticulous room cleaning procedures (such as these) on the part of hosts, and personal precautions and hygiene routines on...

Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Conference (ESTC), 2020 - July, 17-20, Hambantota, Sri LankaInternational and regional gathering of Ecotourism experts in Hambantota, Sri Lanka "Voice of the Community in the Asia-Pacific Region that can be heard in the wider global forum of discussions"ESTC '20 is hosted by Sri Lanka Ecotourism Foundation in...

A plane is constantly losing altitude over the ocean. Some start praying. Others are frozen with fear. Some remain calm and also try to calm down their fellow passengers - "the pilots surely know what they are doing". Some are screaming or crying, hard to tell, something in between. Some are hugging each other and others are kissing. One is stealing an expensive smartphone. Some are texting their loved ones. A few are preparing to open the door and jump while others are just bracing for impact. A small group are trying to burst into the cockpit to check on the pilot and take control. The plane is the world. The fire is Covid, maybe 3 months from now. Who will you be? Who should you be? There is no easy answer.Looking at the bright side...hard but try: if we were to add freedom of movement with (green means of transport,...