A Decade of Sustainable Tourism

Ten years ago, the Rainforest Alliance launched its sustainable tourism program. It was a logical next step for an organization already committed to improving lives, livelihoods and landscapes through sustainable agriculture and forestry; after all, tourism is the world’s largest service sector, an important source of revenue in developing countries, and an industry with very real impacts (both positive and negative) on people, wildlife and the environment. Here, Rainforest Alliance vice president of sustainable tourism Ronald Sanabria — who has been with the program since its inception — reflects on the milestone…

When developing our sustainable tourism division, we reflected on what the industry needed and worked to create a program that satisfied those needs. We wanted to find a way to bridge the gap between theory and practice – making all of the lofty ideas about sustainability attainable for hotel owners, tour operators, nearby communities and ecosystems. Our approach in a nutshell: focus on providing training and technical assistance to tourism entrepreneurs and giving them the tools to improve the management of their own businesses.

We also wanted to foster a universal understanding of sustainable tourism, increase market access for sustainable tourism companies, recognize credible sustainable tourism certification programs through accreditation and provide education on sustainable tourism. But we couldn’t do it alone — we needed to involve other organizations, experts and industry insiders. So, with patience, persistence and guidance from many allies, we helped develop the Global Sustainable Tourism Council.

Ten years ago, our presence in the tourism world was limited to small informational stands spouting information about green practices at giant international tourism trade shows. Today, our little green frog is a prominent, well-respected fixture in the tourism world.

What’s next for the Rainforest Alliance’s tourism team? We’ll expand our field work beyond Latin America, focusing on other regions within the southern hemisphere that need access to sustainable tourism information, training, funding and tools. And, since tourism is responsible for an estimated five percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, we’ll increase our emphasis on climate change mitigation through sustainable tourism practices.