QUESTIONS
Under what conditions does certification improve tourism
business practices?
Who benefits from ecotourism certification?
How well do certification programs include Web 2.0 tools including
comments and critiques from visitors and locals?
Should tourism consultants, NGOs, government agencies and academics
be certified?
Who certifies the certifiers?
BACKGROUND
In the past decade we have said that most ecotourism certification
programs have failed to deliver a trustworthy system for locals
and visitors. Certification -- while valuable -- requires at
least a decade of consumer awareness and requests for it to
become marketable. Our findings are detailed in the essay Challenge
of Ecotourism Certification.
We also review some practical
suggestions.
Since the Ecotourism
Certification Workshop (2000-2003) we have shifted our focus
from reviewing certification programs to marketing services,
such as awards that promote responsible travel and ecotourism.
SPECIAL REPORT - CQ Researcher report offers
in-depth, non-biased coverage of political and social issues,
with regular reports on topics in health, international affairs,
education, the environment, technology and the U.S. economy.
EplerWood
Report is offering a special opportunity to read the new
CQ
Researcher Report on Ecotourism (PDF).
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