Re 2 : Ref: ecotourism/sustainable tourism

From: Yacine Khelladi (yacine@aacr.net)
Date: Thu Mar 18 1999 - 08:18:30 AST


Sam, Micha, Dimitri, all,

Micha said:

> Sustainable tourism *can* be something totally different. Go to the tourist

Yes "can" but what I (we?) mean by sustainable tourism is not that it
lasts by it self. I 'm trying to set criterions / define what is
socially sustainable, culturally sustainable, environmentally
sustainable tourism.

Why? I'm developing a project to promote soc/cult/env sustainable
tourism and build a cooperative network of those provider with the help
of Information Technologies - ITC and internet.

So what I need is a "operational" definition. I mean a mechanism to
rate, validate and choose
the offers to be included in our project. The project is on sustainable
tourism but is part of a lager research program on how ITC can help
sustainable development initiatives.

Do you know any? Can we build any? Anyway I plan to include NGOs,
University researchers and Public Admin. in a validation/rating
tool/network.

> My personal opinion: The only REAL ecotourism is staying at home, because
> every sort of tourism has negative impacts.

I heard that before. And agreed at first tough. But what lacks in this
world isn't
much more of mutual knowledge and understanding among people and
cultures? so what about a way to discover and learn respectfully
traveling? What about those
visitors that I defined in my project as alternative travelers:

" We conceive alternative tourism as a conscious and rich way of
traveling, wherein open minded travelers and local hosts, with mutual
respect, learn about social, environmental and cultural background from
one another. It is a personal search for magical experiences or original
entertainment, away from crowded resorts or luxurious or isolated
residences. It is about self building paths, choosing where to stay and
what to do and always looking for harmony with the hosting space. "

couldn't this be harmless?

and Micha adds

> wow - I am impressed about the discussion related to ecotourism and
> sustainable tourism. Sometimes this forum works....:)

yeah! the forum is here, but wont work for it self, we have to put it
to work... by it self he is passive and lazy -:)

regards yacine



This archive was generated by hypermail 2b29 : Mon Feb 28 2000 - 15:35:31 AST