How to choose an eco-friendly destination in two steps

By awesomecuador in Adventure, conservation, eco-friendly, Ecotourism, Ecuador, environment, Explore, Nature, sustainability, sustainable tourism, tourism, Travel on June 21, 2020June 23, 2021

If you are a traveler and you enjoy exploring nature’s hidden gems you probably have heard of ecotourism. When we travel to natural areas and we choose a tourism service provider that focuses on the conservation of the environment and the well-being of the local people, we are doing ecotourism. That’s great right? But how do we find those businesses?

Doing research before choosing a destination it’s essential. But don’t you worry I know researching can be time consuming, so please keep reading because I am going to introduce you to two organizations dedicated to promote places where ecotourism matches sustainability.

The NGO Linking Tourism & Conservation has a network of tourism and conservation stakeholders that work together to reach sustainable tourism in protected areas around the world. They promote the creation of new protected areas in regions that have become popular for nature-tourism, or they encourage best-management practices in already existing protected areas with the goal of achieving the preservation of biodiversity and the enjoyment of visitors in a sustainable way. There is a list of examples around the globe that currently link tourism and conservation, you can find them at LT&C Examples. Two of those examples are in Ecuador. One is the Napo Wildlife Center in the Yasuni National Park right in the heart of the Ecuadorian Amazon, and the other one is the Galapagos Islands.

Visitor birdwatching in the Yasuni National Park – Ecuador

2. The NGO Rainforest Alliance has a certification program for tourism businesses. Its goal is to help hotels, tour operators and other tour businesses to achieve sustainability by improving their environmental, social and economic practices. The tourism businesses that comply with the Rainforest Alliance sustainable tourism standards get certified. You can recognize that a tour business has been certified by this NGO because they will use the Rainforest Alliance Certified seal which has the shape of a frog. So next time you want to book an eco-lodge you can look for the seal of the frog 😉

Visitors hiking in the Cajas National Park – Ecuador

I hope this can be helpful and when tourism reopens again maybe you may find these resources useful. I would love to hear your thoughts about this topic! Please leave your comments below.

_Sources

_{https://www.life.ca/naturallife/0710/your-travel-choice-makes-a-difference.htm}

_{https://www.gstcouncil.org/rainforest-alliance-sustainable-tourism-certification-program-achieves-gstc-approval}