Members of the Certification Network for Sustainable Tourism in the Americas, meeting at the end of August in Otavalo north of Quito, agreed to support the continued growth of the Sustainable Tourism Stewardship Council (STSC). The STSC's principal goals are to ensure that the claims made by tourism certifications are reliable and to help promote the certification programs that earn STSC accreditation.

In addition to supporting the STSC, 30 delegates from 13 different countries in the Americas agreed to aggressively search for international accreditations.  Recognized endorsements of tourism certification programs are increasingly important since travel providers continue to demand not just high quality and customer satisfaction, but also guarantees that biodiversity and cultures in travel destinations are protected.

"In this fourth Network Assembly it was clearer than ever that the work of certification programs in the Americas has helped the entire industry become more committed to sustainable tourism development," noted Ronald Sanabria, director of sustainable tourism at the international conservation organization Rainforest Alliance.  "As the Network technical secretariat, the Rainforest Alliance feels very satisfied with the members' accomplishments over the past year."

The Ecuadorian groups Conservación y Desarrollo and the Ecuadorian Ecotourism Association co-hosted the meeting, with financial support from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) through its Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), and from the Overbrook and Citigroup Foundations.

The last few months have brought a surge in sustainable tourism certification across the Americas. More tourism businesses than ever have made the commitment to conserve natural and cultural treasures while providing quality service.

In Costa Rica, for example, the Tourism Board's Certification for Sustainable Tourism program recently certified 25 new businesses, while renovating the seals of another eight. This brings the total to 93 Costa Rican hotels and tour operators that are committed to making one of their country's principal economic activities sustainable.

Guatemala hasn't missed the wave of responsible tourism. As of October of 2007, 29 tourism businesses in that country had earned the Green Deal certification, which is awarded by the nongovernmental organization Alianza Verde.

In Ecuador, there are now 10 boats and hotels that have earned the Smart Voyager certification, awarded by Conservación y Desarrollo, and in the coming weeks, that list could grow to 30 businesses, among them the Ecuadorian airline Aerogal, which would be the first airline to earn the SmartVoyager certification.

According to Mauricio Ferro, co-executive director of Conservación y Desarrollo, interest in certification among tourism businesses will continue to grow. "Clearly this is a result of the level of awareness of operators and tourists."

A growing number of travelers want to make their vacations sustainable. But how can they find hotels that support the conservation of the environment that surrounds them? Go Green! A SmartGuide to Sustainable Travel in the Americas was published to make that search easy, and its popularity has resulted in the release of a second edition.

Like the first edition, the publication is the work of the Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas in collaboration with the international conservation organization the Rainforest Alliance. Participation for businesses is free of charge.

The SmartGuide's pages are packed with information about 206 tourism businesses in the United States, Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile and the Caribbean that, as of October 15, 2007, were certified by one of the Network's member programs. All of the businesses featured have demonstrated their commitment to protecting their surrounding natural and cultural resources and contributing to the development of their communities.

The guide is organized by country and is a useful resource for tourists, travel agencies, and tour operators alike. Inside, readers will find descriptions, locations, contact information and the certification level of each hotel, restaurant and tour operator.

Printed and CD versions of Go Green! A SmartGuide to Sustainable Travel in the Americas will be distributed free of charge at national and international tourism trade shows, as well as at conferences and workshops where certified tourism marketing is discussed.

This publication was supported by the Global Environment Facility, through the United Nations Environment Programme, and the Inter-American Development Bank's Multilateral Investment Fund.

Green Globe has launched new initiatives for its clients, many of which are based on the results of surveys of participants in planning workshops and feedback received by their customer service team. Those initiatives include efforts to help participants obtain Green Globe certification, improvements in their benchmarking platform and graduated levels of participation to help those who enter the process to benefit more from it.

The changes are reflected by the program's Web site, which has been renovated as part of efforts to better assist participants and candidates. The site provides users with new tools to help them prepare for certification and face challenges such as reducing carbon emissions in response to global warming.

Businesses certified by Green Globe also have the option of adding profiles of their companies to the Green Globe Web site, where they can place promotional texts, photos and hyperlinks to their own Web sites.

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This bulletin has been produced with financial support from the Ford Foundation, The Multilateral Investment Fund of the Inter-American Development Bank (BID/FOMIN) and the Rainforest Alliance.

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