Ecotourism/ Hospitality

Organizations

Planeta.com
http://www.planeta.com
Clearinghouse for ecotourism around the globe. Online forums and conferences, articles, reports, workshops.

Rainforest Alliance Sustainable Tourism Program
http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/tourism
Information for travelers, tourism professionals, on sustainable tourism. Trains tourism businesses to adopt more sustainable practices and encourage them to pursue voluntary certification with one of the numerous existing programs. Educating travelers to seek out certified operations as a means to differentiate legitimate eco-friendly operations from those that might make misleading claims.

RARE Center for Tropical Conservation
http://www.rareconservation.org
Linking biodiversity conservation and ecotourism.

Sustainable Tourism Certification Network of the Americas
http://www.certificationnetwork.org/index.html
Brings together certification programs, public and private entities that promote certification and other environmental, tourism-related and academic organizations, all aiming to share information, reach out to other relevant programs, identify training needs and define a progressive market strategy.

Tour Operators Initiative
http://www.toinitiative.org/
A group of tour operators from different parts of the world have joined forces to create the Tour Operators' Initiative for Sustainable Tourism Development.

Tourism Concern
http://www.tourismconcern.org.uk/
Membership organisation campaigning for ethical and fairly traded tourism.

World Heritage Alliance for Sustainable Tourism
http://www.unfoundation.org/what-we-do/campaigns-and-initiatives/world-heritage-alliance/
Engages the travel industry to promote environmentally and economically sustainable business practices around UNESCO World Heritage sites; educate travelers about traveling responsibly and support development of local communities around these special sites.

World Tourism Organization
http://unwto.org/
The World Tourism Organization is a specialized agency of the United ?Nations and the leading international organization in the field of tourism. It serves as a ?global forum for tourism policy issues and a practical source of tourism know-how.? UNWTO plays a central and decisive role in promoting the development of responsible, ?sustainable and universally accessible tourism, paying particular attention to the ?interests of developing countries.? The Organization encourages the implementation ?of the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, with a view to ensuring that member ?countries, tourist destinations and businesses maximize the positive economic, ?social and cultural effects of tourism and fully reap its benefits, while minimizing its ?negative social and environmental impacts.? Its membership includes 155 countries, 7 territories and over 400 Affiliate ?Members representing the private sector, educational institutions, tourism associations ?and local tourism authorities.?

Database(s)

Certification in Sustainable Tourism Program
http://www.turismo-sostenible.co.cr/en/
Certification for tour operators in Costa Rica. Find sustainable hotels in Costa Rica.

Ecolodges: Exploring Opportunities for Sustainable Business
http://www.ifc.org/ifcext/home.nsf/content/ecolodges