ECOCLUB Blogs™

It can be argued beyond any doubt that Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism are today part and parcel of the green movement, a diverse and colourful current ranging from liberal environmentalism to ecosocialism which has a far wider audience than the Green parties, although they also steadily widen and deepen their electoral base around the world. The green movement is not a temporary phenomenon. Greens are trying to meet the real needs of the 21st century as far as addressing and avoiding catastrophic climate change is concerned. Equally importantly, they are also indirectly attempting to create, in a gradual, voluntary, non-totalitarian and intelligent way, and even if some greens do not realise it, what 20th century radical movements totally botched: happy, free, healthy, classless societies. The 20th century failure of totalitarian recipes was no accident: the idea that a clique or a strongman could or would serve as a dictator curtailing all freedoms in the best interest of the proletariat and then instantly and politely disappearing from the stage, was ludicrous even as a theoretical assumption. Equally ludicrous is the theory that the invisible hand of the market will solve everything and the absurd thacherite pronouncement of "there is no such thing...

Paul in Drummin Wood Special Area of Conservation

Creating Interpretive Experiences in Ecotourism In this post we look at How To Create An Interpretive Experience associated with an ecotourism experience within a Special Area of Conservation in Ireland. Ecotourism, as defined by the Global Sustainable Tourism Council, typically incorporates a feature of conservation that may be ecological, cultural, historical, archaeological and/or spiritual. The experience should seek to simultaneously immerse visitors in this feature and it’s characteristics whilst preserving it, thus creating a ‘sustainable experience‘. Careful consideration need be taken to ensure the integrity of the site and features are not impacted by proposed use, nor the access to the features by local peoples affected. In essence, the conservation features should not be altered by the proposed activities, yet means for providing opportunities to immerse within the experience need to bring visitors into close contact with it for it to have any ‘interpretive value‘. Clearly then, ensuring the sustainability of the conservation features requires considerable research, consultation and planning. It is essential that this process include and be informed by the Interpretive Theme of the experience. Interpretive Themes vs Topics An experience with an essence of conservation at it’s core typically can be found to have a main theme or indeed multiple themes...

“Don’t think there are no crocodiles because the water is calm” Malay proverb Victoria is often linked with afternoon teas and retirement condos for seniors but as I slipped into Oak Bay, a small community in the Victoria capital region, I discovered an unexpectedly eclectic destination; much of it was hidden in plain sight. Oak Bay has it’s own sea monster Although Oak Bay is only a ten minute drive from downtown Victoria this municipality of 18,000 boasts its own police force, a main street that closes for tea party races, two marinas, and its own sea monster. Popular with British settlers, hence the moniker “behind the tweed curtain”, Oak Bay streets are dotted with Faux Tudor architecture and manicured flowerbeds. I settled into a chair overlooking Haro Strait at the Oak Bay Beach Hotel and sipped a pinot gris as I watched visitors enter The Snug pub. According to the sign near the door it was established in 1954 but the date seemed at odds with the sparkling new appearance of the hotel. Oak Bay Beach Hotel was put in storage for six years & now it’s better than ever I learned the hotel’s long-time owner had closed the beloved...

Western Australia’s Rangelands cover around 87 per cent (2,266,000 sq. km) of the State’s land mass, and 75 per cent of its coastline (Figure 1). Land tenure within this area comprises pastoral leases, freehold, unallocated Crown Land, National Parks, Conservation Reserves, Special Purpose Leases and Aboriginal Reserves and mining leases. This area includes a diverse group of relatively undisturbed ecosystems such as tropical savannahs, woodlands, shrub lands and grasslands. Rangelands extend across low rainfall areas and variable climates, including arid, semi-arid, and some seasonally high rainfall areas and sub-tropic climates in the far north of the State. Many of the State’s iconic landscapes are located within these rangeland areas, and provide Western Australia with unique attractions for marketing and promotions that will attract visitors. While a number of tourism experiences including accommodation, tours and activities operate within this environment, the vast expanse, distances between destinations, and impact of seasonality presents challenges forexisting and prospective tourism businesses. The purpose of this document is to provide guidance on how tourism can best be developed on the rangelands in order to meet these challenges and deliver high quality experiences that provide a point of difference. This recognises that tourism has the potential to increase...

In this article, I share my vision of the meaning of sustainability in tourism, but also how to implement the concept to the ground. http://www.sustainabletourismworld.com/how-to-design-sustainable-tourism-in-italy/  

May 14, 2018 - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                  For the third consecutive year, the Adventure Angels, in partnership with the Adventure Travel Trade Association, are offering our “Abundance” scholarship to support a woman-owned business owner from an emerging destination. The scholarship enables the business owner to attend the Adventure Travel World Summit, the ATTA’s annual B2B professional development and networking event. The Adventure Angels are a group of 10 women who met and bonded at ATTA professional events.  We are a fun and adventurous group of women who are passionate travel professionals and entrepreneurs. The Adventure Angels include female travel agents, tour operators, media and consultants. We aim to cultivate meaningful relationships and mindful connections. Our mission is: “Leap. Discover. Inspire.” The scholarship was inspired by ATTA’s mission of empowering the global community to do good through travel.  “We created the scholarship in 2016 as a response to ATTA President Shannon Stowell’s challenge to carry forward the “Viva La Revolucion de la Aventura” theme of ATWS-2015 in Chile. The members of the Adventure Angels have benefitted greatly from being part of the ATTA global community, and want to give other women the same opportunity,” says Judy Karwacki, Chair of the Scholarship....

If Ecotourism Australia were a state, it would have come second in Friday night’s 2017 Qantas Australian Tourism Awards tally in Perth, proving that ecotourism is more than just a niche industry in Australia. Read more https://bit.ly/2IXyGhL

For the third year, the www.AdventureAngels.org are sponsoring a woman-owned business from an emerging tourism destination to attend the Adventure Travel World Summit. This year it will be held in Tuscany. Please join us in giving a hand up to a deserving woman. Every dollar counts! https://www.gofundme.com/2018-adventure-angels-scholarship

My hotel – the Inn at Laurel Point – had dead people helping manage it. I’d heard Victoria was a great place for the newly wed and nearly dead. But I hadn’t heard read more 

The choice is yours. And it is an urgent one too: The World Health Organisation today announced an urgent review into microplastics in drinking water, following a new study by Orb Media and State University of New York - Fredonia, which found plastic contamination in 242 out of 259 bottles sampled from 11 brands in nine countries, at twice the level of the supposedly inferior, humble tap water. The multinational brands involved, some of whom are keen on privatisation of public water utilities (so that they can sell it back to us at bottled prices?), were, as expected, quick to dispute the accuracy of the results, but what even the most gullible consumers will start realising soon is that microplastics are potentially a threat as serious to human health and the environment as Climate Change, and related to it in various ways.  The micro-plastic mega-threat is one extra but very serious reason for ecotourists and ecotourism providers to avoid plastic, including plastic water bottles as much as possible. Ecotourists and adventure tourists, in particular, should avoid clothes made from synthetic fibres, as one of the major sources of plastic pollution are microplastics produced each time fancy isothermic and waterproof materials go for washing - up to 1 million fibres for...