Eco-Tourism No Longer For Just The Rich And Fashionable
Roar Africa partners with Singita Game Reserves in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. Singita is a tourism operation whose purpose is to conserve the land and its resident wildlife. Among other operations, it runs an antipoaching program.
Like other sectors of the travel industry, eco-tourism has attracted a big name or two.
AOL founder Steve Case began work on Cacique, a $800 million, 650-acre resort in Costa Rica, but the project was sidelined by the global recession.
The resort has a new option for the sustainability crowd. In addition to the 270 guest rooms, there are plans for 300 private homes.
Case worked with the Costa Rican government to establish a recycling and solid waste management program to neutralize the impact of the resort on the environment. Cacique’s design features on-site treatment facilities to re-use wastewater and plans to purchase its electrical power from renewable sources.
That may be more than enough for some, especially those simply looking for a feel-good trip.
"More and more travelers want to have a positive impact associated with their tourist dollars," says Brian Mullis, CEO of Sustainable Travel International.