Ecotourism Certification Workshop To Reconvene

May 25, 2001

Planeta.com Announcement

Ecotourism Certification Workshop To Reconvene in June

Planeta.com's Ecotourism Certification Workshop reconvenes from June
4-15th. The purpose of the public forum is to review both successes and
failures in the realm of evaluating and certifying ecotourism services and
providers.

The workshop is free and active participation is limited to professionals
with at least two years of experience in ecotourism. Participants are asked
to make a formal Introduction their first post.

Registration is open online:
>> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecotourism_certification/

"Evaluating ecotourism services and providers might show how "eco" the
options are in a vast marketplace, but are the programs reliable?" asked
Planeta.com Webhost Ron Mader. "While the buzzword "certification" may be a
hot topic in policy circles, neither travelers nor tourism providers seem to
pay much attention to official programs."

Mader added that there are major obstacles in developing "certification"
programs. "Few people agree on how ecotourism is defined, so what is
actually being certified? And to repeat an oft-asked question -- who is
going to certify the certifiers?"

Other questions that will be discussed during in the second round of the
workshop include:

How can locals participate in ecotourism certification?
How can travelers participate in ecotourism certification?
What options exist to improve ecotourism evaluation?
How can travel writers work together in assessing the "eco" component of
tourism services?

Since the first round of discussion earlier this year, the number of members
in the Ecotourism Certification Workshop has grown to more than 260. The
next round promises to be just as lively and informative.

Contact:
Ron Mader
Webhost/Planeta.com
http://www.planeta.com
email: ron@planeta.com

** References **

Certification - Ron Mader/Planeta.com
http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/tour/certification.html
- Chapter from the "Exploring Ecotourism in the Americas Resource Guide"

Ecotourism Certification Workshop Archives
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecotourism_certification/
- The 250+ message archive can be consulted or searched freely

Ecotourism Certification Workshop Links
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ecotourism_certification/links
- More than a dozen links to related documents and websites

Planeta.com Press Room
http://www.planeta.com/ecotravel/press.html
- Resources for journalists and media professionals

Yahoo Groups Help
http://help.yahoo.com/help/groups/
- Useful reference tool for anyone experiencing problems with Yahoo Groups

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Received on Fri May 25 11:21:05 2001