Choosing Ecotours:
Tips on Selecting
a Green Match for Your Trip

Perhaps the most important decision you can make when you travel is whether you will travel green. After you have chosen to go green, the next steps are to select all the green elements in your trip. Choosing ecotours can be a daunting decision-making process.
• How do you know whether an outfitter is truly green or just paying lip service to being ecofriendly?
• How green is green?
• Is there a standard with which to measure outfitters' eco-commitment?

As there is not yet a worldwide-accepted standard rating of green tour operators, there are no easy answers to these questions. But we can offer tips to help you do your homework when choosing your ecotour providers. The International Ecotourism Society offers six principles of ecotourism as ways to qualify an ecotour operator as truly eco-sensitive. Ecotourism outfits must:
• Minimize environmental and cultural impact
• Build environmental and cultural respect
• Provide positive experiences for visitors and hosts
• Provide direct benefits for conservation
• Provide financial benefits and empowerment for the local people, and
• Raise sensitivity to host countries' social, political, and environmental climate.

So, armed with this overview information, let's get down to details.

Auditioning the Green Gamut

• Choosing a Destination. Of course, you can ecotravel almost anywhere. So ultimately, you want to pick a destination that you are drawn to. Elements that make a destination ideal for an ecotour are:
* natural and cultural points of interest that are protected and preserved for locals as well as tourists to enjoy responsibly
* locally-owned and operated businesses, restaurants, lodges and outfitters
* opportunities for tourists and locals to interact, share, and learn from each other.

• Do Some Digging. Researching your ecotour provider online is the most efficient way to see who offers what in the area you want to travel. A word of caution, anyone can advertise that they are a green tour operator or green outfitter. Some clearinghouse eco websites list eco-vendors but they haven't paid a site visit to each one to verify that they are committed to ecotourim practices. On the other hand, many who advertise as ecotourism operators are indeed and proud to be so. Pay attention to what details they provide on their website on HOW they support responsible, sustainable tourism or ecotravel.

The support crew for my trek up Mt. Toubkal in Morocco were all local, and the mules and donkeys were well cared for.

• Interview Ecotour Candidates. Make contact with those ecotour operators you are most interested in to ask specific questions about their eco-responsibility. Email or call them to get more information and to get a feel for their character and their sensitivity to promoting and preserving the area and the . Some questions you might pose are:
* What are their environmental policies?
* How do they minimize impact on the environment and the local culture?
* How do they support and respect the local culture?
* Do they support local community businesses and services?
* What percentage of their staff are local people and what percentage of locals are in management and operations?
* Is the tour operation locally-owned?
* Do they offer site-sensitive accomodations?
* Do they offer references from past clients?
* Do they offer educational opportunities about the environment and/or the culture of the area for their clients?
* Do they offer opportunities for locals and tourists to share with and learn from each other?
* What is included in the itinerary of the tour?

• Selecting Ecolodging. First of all, international chains are not likely to be ecolodging in even a loose sense of the word. Some chains are indeed moving in that direction, but true ecolodging is likely to be unique and smaller scale. Some qualities to look for in a good ecolodge include:
* Staffed and owned by local people,
* Supports and is supported by the local community,
* Uses environmentally sensitive renewable energy and water and waste systems and does not drain resources from the local infrastructure,
* Using food grown locally and prepared in accord with typical and traditional local cuisine,
* Built from sustainably harvested and recycled materials, and
* Designed in traditional building style.

• Rewards. Once you have made your selections, enjoy your most amazing journey! Ecotravel allows you to journey in harmony with the environment and with the native people, opening all kinds of opportunities for you to experience your destination more fully than you could with other travel choices.

• Green for Good. And when you come home, carry some of your newfound eco principles forward into the rest of your travels and your daily life. Try eating locally-grown foods, support local businesses, use clean energy systems and minimize your waste. Think about the positive impact you have on your environment with every bottle you recycle, tree you plant, errand you run on your bicycle, energy-efficient appliance or lightbulb you install, every opportunity you take to educate others about the benefits of ecotravel... the list is endless. It's easier and easier to be green. And it has never been more important.

Check out Trouble-Free-Travel for the next steps after Choosing Ecotours.