Posted on: Sunday, September 5, 2004
Ecotourism faces challenge of educating guides
By Donna Balancia
Florida Today
The "ecotourist" has evolved from the sandal-clad backpacker roughing it in a tent to upscale city-dwellers looking to learn about — and bond with — the environment.
Gannett News Service Findings from a survey of travelers prepared by the Travel Industry Association of America: 81 percent believe the United States has many opportunities to experience nature. 80 percent want to take a leisure trip where there is outstanding scenery, and 73 percent prefer a place where there is a clean, unpolluted environment. 68 percent prefer to experience the outdoors but have comfortable accommodations. "All these groups are doing a good job," says Laurilee Thompson, a Florida advocate for ecotourism. "But there's no organized structure for continuing education."
Ecotourism generally is defined as responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well-being of local people, while providing a quality experience for the visitor. It is critical for guides to be constantly up to date to provide the information visitors seek.
Penny Flaherty, owner of Island Boat Lines Inc. of Merritt Island, Fla., says it is critical that, in addition to keeping abreast of trends in the travel industry, ecotourism-company operators need to pay attention to how they present information to the customers.
"We have to be responsible with the information we're sharing with the tourists," Flaherty says.
"Field trips represent a large portion of what we do," Flaherty says. "When the children are on the trip, they see the need to not litter. They learn the importance of looking out for nature. More than anything, we need to keep our waters healthy, keep the litter out of the water."
While there is an ever-increasing demand for ecotourism adventures, there are some drawbacks to seeing creatures in their natural surroundings.
"You can't always be guaranteed you're going to see something," Flaherty says. "Our animals aren't tied up."
While there is inherent value in nature tours, customers often balk at paying the price, says Anthony Poponi, co-owner of Local Knowledge Guided Tours of Indialantic, Fla.
"Value is one of the issues," he says. "When people think of doing something related to science, they think of it as being cheap or free."
"We don't do just the traditional tour," he says. "People, when they look at kayaking, they want to spend $25. That's a big challenge. People come to Orlando (Fla.) and think nothing of dropping $100 in a hotel, and $50 or $60 to go to the theme park, but when they think of science or nature, they don't expect to spend that much. The focus at my company is on small groups and high levels of interaction through kayaking, snorkeling, hiking, biking, diving."
While many guides rely on their homespun knowledge, there is a national certificate program in the works that would give some uniformity to requirements needed by tour guides.
"Some developing countries that don't have the budget to do this, don't have the resources to do as much training for the guides and keep it up to date each year," says Laura Ell, membership and communications director for the International Ecotourism Society in Washington. "The U.S. has more access to trainers and facilities, for instance."
While ecotourism — also called nature tourism — is a booming niche of the travel industry, there are staffing challenges that are unlike other areas of the industry. There is a constant need for well-educated guides, and those guides need to continue their education in an ever-evolving industry.
Robyn Bellinger of Apalachian, N.Y., photographs her children, Meghann, 8, and Mathew, 13, before a boat tour of the Indian River Lagoon on Florida's Space Coast Nature Tours.
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