Ha! Now this is funny. As you surely know, I love to whine and complain about things I don’t like, including banal, regurgitative, one-upsman, and/or... »
Sustainable tourism
Crete is Much More Than Just Beaches
We recently read this descriptive and informative article by Jane Foster of the Observer, about Crete and some out-of-the-way destinations there. Some villagers in the small town of Vamos decided to form a co-op, fixing up stone cottages to be used as guest houses, and offering cooking lessons in a renovated oil press, communal meals... »
Playa del Carmen’s Alternative Alltournative
While Cancun is more associated with the spring break, beer-swigging crowd (a Ft. Lauderdale south of the border, if you will), its neighboring city of Playa del Carmen is more low-key and offers some unexpected ecotourism and socially conscious tourism experiences. When we went to Playa in 2000, the company Alltournative was only a year... »
Your Answer to Finding Sustainable Tourism Around the Globe
The Mindful Tourist was just recently made aware of a global-yet-local travel company that is working to promote small accommodations for travelers. As you know, our standards are quite high for these companies. We have slammed others for presenting themselves as something they’re not (here, here, and here). WHL started off as a project working... »
How to Own Your Own Costa Rican Cabin Retreat
“Name ten things you would like to do if money and time were no object? Ask your partner the same question, write down your answers separately and compare your lists.” According to Steve and Debbie Legg, this is how the volcano cabin retreat of Leaves and Lizards was born. They write about their experience in... »
No Bailing Out “Big Tourism”
This recession blows. We have loved ones who are having to postpone retirement and others who are out of work and desperately looking. We are ourselves extremely anxious about our own job situations (blogging don’t pay the bills unless you’re Nick Denton or Arianna Huffington), not to mention our shaky prospects for exciting travel... »
Sustainable Antarctica: The IAATO
We were all set to make this one of our snarky posts. We had even come up with a sufficiently-mocking title: “From the Files of ‘How Many Organizations Does it Take to Make an Association?’” Catchy, right? Having worked in the bizarre but real “association world” for many years, we’ve seen associations for all kinds of... »
Nigeria: Demand TRUE Sustainable Tourism
A recent Global Progress blog post starts off pretty well – especially by naming its post “Developing Sustainable Tourism in Nigeria.” Nigeria and indeed Africa is well known for their ‘more than the usual’ hospitality. The traditional Nigerian society dwells richly in welcoming guests, strangers and visitors using various approaches and means. Locations such as... »
Ziplines vs. Beachfront Bonfire
Chris Turner writes about a small fresh fish market he found in Malpais, Costa Rica and how it is a truer form of sustainable tourism than the ubiquitous ziplining tours you find all over the country. He maintains that the adventure tours in CR (in addition to other “canned” tourist experiences) are a “learned... »
You say tomato, I say tomahto
Check out our new “definitions” page that distinguishes among ecotourism, socially conscious tourism, etc. Are there other terms we need to outline as well? If so, we don’t want to know! »
And so it begins…
We’ll be blogging on ecotourism, sustainable tourism, and socially conscious tourism. Bookmark our blog if you’re interested in this type of travel. We love all types of travel but if your favorite trip was an all-inclusive cruise where the best thing that happened was you won $50 in the casino while downing multiple Michelobs, this... »
