Chronology of the Planeta.com Website

A Brief Chronology of the Eco Travels Website (1994-2001)

Welcome! This page provides a summary of the development of the Planeta.com website from its debut in 1994 as the "El Planeta Platica" journal to the award-winning Planeta.com website. More recent entries are available here.
If you would like to be informed of updates, please consult our World Forum. We also have an online Media Room for journalists and media professionals. And if you'd like to know more about the work here, check out our website's Vision Statement.

2002

Announce Planeta.com Developing New Alliances
Announce Planeta.com Presents Colibri Ecotourism Award
Announce Planeta.com Celebrates World Environment Day
The Washington Post and Latin Trade praised our website. For details, visit our praise page -- http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/praise.html
Create online forum to accompany our Exploring 2002: The International Year of Ecotourism Resource Guide
Launch Oaxaca Options Speaker Series
Create new niche Regional Guides: Weather, Food Industry, Mountains and Insects
Publish Green Building and the Tourism Industry Conference Summary and Green Building and Tourism Fact Sheet
Publish Latin American Sports Guide for Travelers
Launch Whale Watching on the Web
Update Ecotourism Certification
Update Site Map
Update Headlines

2001

Conservation International and Trips magazine praised our website. For details, visit our praise page -- http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/praise.html
More than 50 features and 100 news links have been added to our Headlines
Create Exploring 2002: The International Year of Ecotourism
Publish Best Books of 2000
Expand Mexico section with additions of Exploring the Yucatan, Oaxaca, Mexico's Botanical Gardens, Mountaineering in Mexico, Exploring Mexico City and Exploring the Gulf of Mexico
Publish Tianguis of Tourism Alternatives in Mexico
Publish Peter Berg's Ecuador Dispatches

2000

Conservation International and Trips magazine praised our website. For details, visit our praise page -- http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/praise.html
More than 50 features and 100 news links have been added to our Headlines

November 1999

Present "What West Virginia can Learn from Ecotourism in Latin America," at the Growing Ecotourism in West Virgina conference, November 1999

October 1999

Participate in online forum about Mexican ecotourism via the Great Outdoor Recreation Pages (GORP) website
Participate in International Workshop on Ecotourism/Ecommerce in Quito, Ecuador

September 1999

August 1999

Participate in conference and post Adventure in a Desert Ghost Town - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
Post Joe Cummings: The Texas-Mexico-Asian Connection
Post Visiting El Cielo (Updated!) - Scott Walker
Post Una ventana para el ecoturismo en Campeche - Margarita Rosa Rosado/Planeta.com (Espaìol)

July 1999

Add Exploring the Copper Canyon/Barrancas del Cobre
Update Mexico Environmental Contacts
Post Mexico Hosts First National Ecotourism/Adventure Tourism Congress
Post Community-Based Ecotourism In The Panama Canal Watershed: Executive Summary - Tara Lumpkin
Post New Book Reviews - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
Post New Ecotourism Books - Ron Mader/Planeta.com

June/Junio 1999

Launch Kid's Page
Launch Music Page
Launch New Resource Page - Green Building in Latin America
Post Carla and Herb Felsted: Journeying Online Mexico - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
Post Ecotourism and Spirituality in Mexico - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
Post A Guide for Eco Travel - Beatrice Briggs/Planeta.com

May/Mayo 1999

April/Abril 1999

March/Marzo 1999

February/Febrero 1999

January/Enero/January 1999

Add Site Map for Planeta.com
Redesign of home pages, courtesy of Scott Walker (walks@lake.ollusa.edu)
Post Review - Que vivan los tamales
Post Review - Gaviotas
Post Review - Border Books: Fusing History, Culture and Environment in the Borderlands
Post Weaving the web conversation with Chris French: Ecotourism by a Mountain Lake - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
Post Latin American Ecotourism - What is it? - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
Update Eco Travels in Honduras - Info on the country's recovery from Hurricane Mitch
Update Eco Travels in Ecuador
Update Ecuador's Environmental Contacts
Post La enseìanza del Espaìol en Ecuador en los ultimos aìos - Diego Pesantez
Post Quito's Q magazine - December's Christmas issue
Post 1998 Review of Border Environmental Websites - Ron Mader
Post Weaving the Web : Q&A: David Barkin
Post Desert Places: Cuatro Cienegas Reserve and White Sands National Monument - Russell Brown
Post Agri-tourism: Selva Negra, Nicaragua - Sandra Scott
Post Book Review - Human Settlements and Ecological Sustainability
Post Book Review - Green Dreams
Post Feature - Arizona's Singing Wind Bookshop
Post Ecologica - Guerra Ambiental en la Frontera Norte

December 1998

Preparation for a major website revision

November 1998

Post August 1998 issue #20 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on storytelling.

October 1998

Post Marketing Ecotourism on the Internet, Ron Mader's presentation given at the World Congress on Adventure Tourism and Ecotourism
Post Ecologica - Agua, Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo

August 1998

Post August 1998 issue #19 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on trail building.
Post Oaxaca Territory by Anthony Wright

July 1998

June 1998

Post Announcement Service - What's New on the Eco Travels website

May 1998

Post May 1998 issue #18 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on Planting the Seeds of Ecotourism.
Post Ecotourism Development in Quintana Roo - Natasha Ward
Post News from Spanish Language Schools
Post Exploring the Mundo Maya

February 1998

Post February 1998 issue #17 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on Selling Ecotourism to the Tourism Industry.
Post Notes on Grassroots Sustainable Development and Biodiversity Conservation in Southern Mexico - David Barton Bray
U.S. Speaking Tour - San Francisco, Raleigh, Miami and Austin

December 1997

November 1997

Post November 1997 issue #16 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on Local Communities, Environment and Tourism.
Post Ciudad de Mexico issue of Ecologia - Cecodes

October 1997

Initiate the Responsible Coffee Campaign
Post materials on native plants and healing on the Agriculture Guide

August 1997

Post August 1997 issue #15 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on Mountains/Sierra.

July 1997

Revise the South America page by creating special pages for individual countries. Check out Eco Travels in Brazil and Eco Travels in Peru
Post Surf 'N' Turf: Bringing the Internet to San Felipe - Barbara Belejack
Post Proyecto Piloto de Ecoturismo en el Parque Nacional Amboró - Roberto Portugal
Post El ecoturismo - una alternativa para el desarrollo sustentable del oriente ecuatoriano? - Mathew Gorman

June 1997

Post Integracion de Nuevos Mercados Turisticos del Oaxaca - Rogelio Ballesteros
Update Environmental Contact List for Honduras
Add photos to Dominic Hamilton's feature - Venezuela's Gran Sabana
Initiate a Campaign to urge universities to purchase organic coffee
Debut Cybercafes in Latin America

May 1997

Post May 1997 issue #14 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on Honduras.

April 1997

The Eco Travels website becomes an Associate of Amazon.com. Update Book Review section
Web of Culture calls the website "an online resource providing valuable cross-cultural information to the Internet community."
World Travel Guide creates link to Central America section

March 1997

Post Strategies for Sustainable Tourism Development: Iceland's Skaftafell National Park - Omar R. Banine
Co-author La Plaza Abierta: Building a Latin American Internet Commons with Molly Molloy
Create Cybercafes in the Americas page for Internet access.
Post Arthur Oyola-Yemaiel's Development of Ecotourism in Argentina
Post Judy Karwacki's Guide for Ecotourism Operators
Bill Christensen adds Search Function for the website!

February 1997

Post February, 1997 issue #13 of El Planeta Platica which focuses on Mexico! The website receives 2,000 hits/day the first week.
Post Mexican Environmental Travel Quiz. This will be updated.

January 1997

Post Desarrollo del Turismo Alternative en los Altos de Chiapas y la Selva Lacandona (1995)
Post Hugo Guillen's Usumacinta and Chiapas Land Tenure articles.
Post Turismo Alternativo en Chiapas - Ignacio March
Post Tourist Yu'u (Oaxaca) - SEDETUR
Post Conservacion y Desarrollo Comunitario en Laguna Miramar (Mexico) - Fernando Ocha y Ronald Nigh
Create Learn English Directory
Post Mexico Banking and Communications guide
Update the following files: Mexico's Environmental Travel Providers, Environmental Contacts and Mexico Publications
Create Mexican Birds and Birding page
Post Cyberculture in the Americas by Barbara Belejack
United Press International runs profile on ecotourism in Mexico; the story is published on the front page of the Mexico City News

December 1996

Post Writers' Guidelines for the Eco Travels website
Post Evaluating Ecotourism Operators and Agents - Deborah McLaren
Update Spanish Language Schools directory
Travel to Mexico's Monarch Sanctuary and Oaxaca

November 1996

Create Index Page for archives of El Planeta Platica
El Planeta Platica reviewed in Mexico's Gaceta Ecologico (SEMARNAP)
Post November 1996 issue #12 which focuses on South America!
Travel to Nuevo Leon, Coahuila and Tamaulipas
Create Catch the Wave! - Mexico's Rivers and Seas
Create Study Abroad Directory
Create Teach English Directory
Create Exploring the Chihuahua Desert
Update Latin America and the Internet
Update Mexico Environmental Travel Contacts
Update Eco Travels in Mexico
Deliberate on whether or not to remain in Miami

October 1996

Post Latin American Environmental Calendar
Post Eco Travels in the Americas Calendar
Post Estrategia Nacional de Ecoturismo Para Mexico - Hector Ceballos
Post NAFTA and Fisheries - Alonso Aguilar Ibarra
Post Usumacinta River - Mesoamerican Environmental Law Program
Create the following files - currently under construction:
Travel to Mexico's Quintana Roo and Yucatan
Attend Coloquio Internacional sobre Ecoturismo en Areas Naturales Protegidas de Centroamerica y Mexico, October 24-26
Update Guatemala Environmental Contacts page
Update Protected Areas in Honduras page
Want to create a link to Eco Travels site? Select a logo from the new Images/Banners page

September 1996

Post Amy Elizabeth Anderson's theis: Ethnic Tourism Among the Tarahumara
Travel to Honduras

August 1996

Publish issue #11 of El Planeta Platica, Focus on Coastal Environments
Kudos to Roger Steeb for providing a ton of info on parks in Mexico. Materials are archived online the CSF Gopher Archives
The daily Mexico City Times publishes exclusive interview and feature on the preparation of the Mexico: A Natural Destination guidebook (August 20).
Post Art Museums in Mexico and Frequent Flyer Programs in Mexico
Travel to Mexico City, Chihuahua and Nayarit.
Update the following files: Mexico's Environmental Travel Contacts, Mexico Bibliography and Mexico Publications

July 1996

Post Protected Areas in Honduras index.
Post Tourism Center (Links)
Post El Pilar Archaeological Reserve for Maya Flora and Fauna page
Update Central American Publications
Update Spanish Language Schools
Update Protected Areas in Honduras
Update Environmental Contacts in Honduras

June 1996

Post Latin America and the Internet page
John Muir Publications offers contract to write two guidebooks on environmental travel in Mexico and Honduras

May 1996

Publish issue #10 of El Planeta Platica, Focus on Central America
iGUIDE Travel gives El Planeta Platica newsletter a four out of four rating
Fodors calls the website "the foremost site online for environmentally minded travelers
Post El Salvador Contacts
Remove color background gifs and add blue and green spheres to indicate local and foreign content
Post Reviews of the website

April 1996

Create Espaìol/Spanish version of the home page.
Create Eco Travels in the Caribbean Guide

March 1996

Magellan awards the Eco Travels site 3 out of 4 stars!
Launch Central American Environmental Resource Archive page
Travel to Honduras
Arid Lands Newsletter complements Planeta.com as one of the two best directories for border environmental information in its issue on the World Wide Web

February 1996

Publish Issue #9 - February 1996 Issue of El Planeta Platica
Post Honduras Contacts List
Update Sustainable Development, Exploring Ecotourism, Journalism Resources pages

January 1996

EPA lists the Eco Travels web site as a recommended online resource
Move from Austin, Texas to Miami, Florida

November 5, 1995

Publish November 1995 Issue #8 of El Planeta Platica
Post Rio Grande Report
Post Estudio de Impactio Ambiental
Create Resources for Journalists page
Create Greening Trade and Technology page
Post Mexican Environmental Contacts List

September 1995
Add Country Contacts and Travel Company indexes

Post Guatemala and Belize environmental contacts pages
Prepare to change domain site from versa.com to http://www.planeta.com/
Post Exploring Ecotourism page.
Post Sustainable Development links page
Post South American Explorers (SAE) page

August 1995

Publish August 1995 Issue #7 of El Planeta Platica
Post Borderlands ecotourism stories by Maria Araujo
Post Bibliographies for Central and South America, Maya, Ecotourism, and Mexico.

June 1995

Receive top billing in Global Village section of NetGuide!
Post materials to Borderlands Guide

May 1995

Publish Issue #6 of El Planeta Platica: Central & South America of El Planeta Platica

March 1995

Go online with Texas InfiNet (now Sustainable Sources - see http://www.greenbuilder.com). Kudos to Jeff Evans and Bill Christensen!

February 1995

Publish issue #5 of El Planeta Platica: Defining Ecotourism. The print version expands to 8 pages in a larger format. Subscriptions and media attention increase.

November 1994

Publish issue #4 of El Planeta Platica, which focuses on the Sonoran Desert.

August 1994

Publish issue #3 of El Planeta Platica. This issue features Spanish Language Schools and Phil's mysterious dinner.

June 1994

Enter the online world of Internet by establishing gopher archives at Colorado's Communications for a Sustainable Future (CSF) gopher://csf.colorado.edu

May 1994

Publish issue #2 of El Planeta Platica. More than 200 people are subscribing via email. The newsletter is on a role.

January 1994

Return to Austin from Mexico City
Begin publishing El Planeta Platica. The newsletter debuts in a backback-friendly 4x6" size and includes a contact list for community groups working on protecting The Amazon. The poetry feature will soon be discontinued, when the best poem I receive is an ode to Garfield the Cat. ("Dance, dance, dance!") However the first issue does sport recipes from La Olla Latinoamericana!

Contact Info:

Comments or suggestions? This list will be updated on a regular basis. Want to be the first to know? Check our World Forum.

>>http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/search/chron2.html
/