Ecotourism at twentysomething

Ecotourism Australia 2005 Annual Conference Ecotourism at twentysomething challenges shared in an e-conference Oliver Hillel Tasmania, Nov 28 to Dec 2, 2005

Ecotourism Emerging Industry Forum Nov 1-18, 2005 at www.planeta.com
247 participants (100 private sector - ecolodge owners, operators, e-marketers, consultants, NGOs, government, academics, media and development agencies)
7 moderated “streams”
63% have never participated in an on-line conference before.
Topics received between 3,200 and 920 views
Sponsored by participants (US$ 100 each), SNV, Conservation International, USAID and service providers

Organizers
Planeta.com: 10,000 pages focusing on ecotourism and sustainable travel created in 1994 by Ron Mader (2002 World Ecotourism Summit), 12 others such as Financing Sustainable Tourism (2002), Ethical Marketing of Ecotourism (2003) and Ecotourism Certification Workshop (2000-2003).
EplerWood International , founded in 2003 by Megan Epler Wood, founder and former president of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES)..

Why e-conferences?
Ecotourism is mostly SMEs, web is still less capital intensive, FIT travel is bought over the net
Avoid the Live8 syndrome (local players)
Crosses the Atlantic/Pacific and North/South divides
Informal – straightforward, frank language
Output is already written
Locals interact with top experts
Direct access to background documentation

Factors for success
Sites with appropriate traffic (target public)
Early marketing/emailing
Pre-conference “training”, preparation
Committed/professional moderators

Topics / views
Marketing/Market Development – 3,500 views
Communities and SMEs – 2,500 views
Triple Bottom Line Bus. Stratgs. – 2,050 views
Developing Infrastructure – 1,520 views
PPPs – 1,300 views
Interpretive Program Dev. – 1,200 views
Finance for SMEs – 930 views

Marketing and Market Development
Certification mostly B2B. In Europe, successful market-focused certification. Certification is also management, standards, building capacity of associations.
How do SMEs have access to market?
Web, web, web
Connect with the big guys and inbound operators for market credibility/quality assurance/risk management
Make information available

Marketing and Market Development
Web - 30% business/time of e-savvy owners. What sells are not sites, e-marketplaces.
Subsidies 4-6 years until break even or product development – but how to get off?
Role of NGOs/government: broaden platform of players, not DMOs
Travel fairs: more B2B and less consumers
Ecotourism still has value as a buzzword/concept cluster
Professionalism: value traditional tourism skills beyond sustainability specialists

Communities and SMEs
Ecotourism is also recognition, empowerment
Don’t fund communities, but alliances with PS
3-5 years minimum, accept risk
Extractive culture versus service economy
NGOs/Foundations versus direct business intervention : question of scale – Try time-bound professional project.
Success factors: trans-boundary native leaders, own decision making board, sales agents involved from the start.

Triple Bottom Line Business Structures and Strategies
How to replicate know-how? Franchise, CRS, BOT models – T is the critical point.
Tourism is the last one in on CSR/GRI
Example of big resorts – cutting edge

Developing Infrastructure for Sustainable Tourism
It’s all here, but only the high-end close to originating countries can pay for independent infrastructure
Think services, not infra: the example of buses versus concrete roads, re-engineering existing infra (schools into hostels)
Bottleneck approach: apron, not international airport, from 19 to 50 seaters.
Planning stage is key moment for intervention; cost of going green is lowest
Infra as part of any ST project

PPPs
Evolution from government (developing countries up to 65% of economy) to private sector-influence: examples of CTC, California and Tourism Queensland
Critical mass of PS players to balance common goals and share costs
What is PS in “economies in transition”? China, Russia, Eastern Europe, “Indochina”: how much NEW business is generated.

Interpretive Program Development
Geocaching: 220,000 hidden caches in 219 countries
Interpretation is the difference: how to value a good guide? Do customers pay more for guides?
Make good guiding tangible: record sounds, pictures, personalized “metageographical” maps

Finance for SMEs
Options: merge with biggies, NGOs for externalities, use academics for proposal development
Business plans: confusion between business and NGOs/DMOs/Government.
Examine goals of government funding: “cabanizacion” to avoid competition with big players.
NO feasible credit on site, no knowledge of tourism at local bank levels
Foster/support green venture capital

Follow up
Summary document to be sent to partners/development agencies
Ongoing e-dialogue.
Others:
Pre-EA conference forum next year?
Training courses with Fora
Improve technology (video/teleconferencing streams)

To view the Forum http://forum. planeta .com/ viewforum . php ?f=52

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Ecotourism at twentysomething

by ron mader on Jun 01, 2008

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