Sustainable Tourism Database

The Sustainable Tourism Resource Database
Source: North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation

"The North American Commission for Environmental Cooperation's Sustainable Tourism Resource Database is a searchable online database containing information on tourism services and facilities in North America that link tourism activities with the conservation of natural areas." Depending upon where you look, you can find all sorts of statistics about ecotourism and its share of the overall tourism market worldwide.

The whole topic is not without its share of controversy. Long story short: While ecotourism can bring in badly needed income to developing countries that have few other resources, it may result in undesirable environmental and cultural impacts. Also, ecotourism, nature-based travel and sustainable tourism are not all the same.

According to a Sustainable Tourism Info-Sheet found via the WWW Virtual Library on Urban and Environmental Management: Ecotourism is "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people." Sometimes it is defined as a sub-category of sustainable tourism or a segment of the larger nature tourism market.

While nature-based tourism is just travel to natural places, ecotourism provides local benefits - environmentally, culturally and economically. A nature-based tourist may just go bird watching; an ecotourist goes bird watching with a local guide, stays in a locally operated ecolodge and contributes to the local economy.

Sustainable Tourism embraces all segments of the industry with guidelines and criteria that seek to reduce environmental impacts, particularly the use of non-renewable resources, using measurable benchmarks, and to improve tourism's contribution to sustainable development and environmental conservation.

The Sustainable Tourism Database "includes over 50 certification schemes, guidelines, codes of conduct or charters that are relevant to the sustainable tourism market in North America." In the left navigation frame, you'll see the various topics; click the small plus signs to expand the topics until you find what you want. Note that these are divided into four main categories:

1. "Activity-specific codes of conduct which comprise principles for either the tourist engaged in a specific activity or for the tour operator who is involved in showcasing the activity."

Example: American Birding Association Code of Birding Ethics

2. "Certification programs or lodging associations, that list the criteria for third party certification programs and/or 'green' lodging associations."

Example: Sample Guidelines and Ideas for Guestrooms from the Green Hotels Association

3. "Global/general codes of conduct, principles and charters that are either developed at a global scale or general scope that can be applied to any destination worldwide."

Example: Dos and Don'ts for Environmentally Conscious Eco-Tourists from the World Resources Institute

4. "Region specific codes of conduct and guidelines that relate to a specific geographic area location or geologic setting."

Example: 8 Ecotourism Guidelines from the Alaska Wilderness Recreation and Tourism Association

Related Resources:
Conservation International: Ecotourism
The International Ecotourism Society Online Library
National Geographic Society Center for Sustainable Destinations
Nature Conservancy: Nature Ecotourism and Conservation Sustainable
Tourism (WWW Virtual Library) United Nations Environmental Programme
Sustainable Tourism Home Page
World Tourism Organization: Sustainable Development of Tourism

Shirl Kennedy, ResourceShelf