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Families and Ecotourism: A Natural Fit
Incorporating Ecotourism into Family Travel
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Just as the 100th birthday of the National Park Service is casting a spotlight on U.S. national parks in 2016, we can expect an enhanced emphasis on ecotourism throughout 2017—declared the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations.
To be sure, the idea of ecotourism isn’t a new one—it’s already known as one of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry. Put that together with family travel—another of the industry’s rapidly growing segments—and the time is ripe for family vacations that include ecotourism.
At its core, the concept of ecotourism is simple. According to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education."
And, as with so many segments of tourism, the line blurs easily, with ecotourism overlapping with adventure travel, wellness travel and voluntourism, to name just a few other popular segments that often go hand-in-hand with ecotourism.
“Travel agents have a remarkable ability to influence where people go,” says Jon Bruno, executive director of TIES. “Ecotourism provides so many opportunities—and it doesn’t have to be 100 percent. It could be adding on a tour that has an ecotourism aspect to it, choosing accommodations that are a member of TIES, introducing the concept of asking about sustainability practices…”
“Many people automatically turn to big theme parks, giant cruise ships, all-inclusive resorts and those kinds of things when they think of family travel,” says Chris “Chez” Chesak, executive director of the Family Travel Association. “Those are all great products that are appropriate for families—but there’s also such a diversity of experiences that lie outside those products. We’re seeing an increasing interest in ecotourism and suppliers who consider children the next generation and stewards of the earth—they love to educate children about the impact on the land and local communities.”
To be sure, the idea of ecotourism isn’t a new one—it’s already known as one of the fastest growing segments in the tourism industry. Put that together with family travel—another of the industry’s rapidly growing segments—and the time is ripe for family vacations that include ecotourism.
At its core, the concept of ecotourism is simple. According to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education."
And, as with so many segments of tourism, the line blurs easily, with ecotourism overlapping with adventure travel, wellness travel and voluntourism, to name just a few other popular segments that often go hand-in-hand with ecotourism.
“Travel agents have a remarkable ability to influence where people go,” says Jon Bruno, executive director of TIES. “Ecotourism provides so many opportunities—and it doesn’t have to be 100 percent. It could be adding on a tour that has an ecotourism aspect to it, choosing accommodations that are a member of TIES, introducing the concept of asking about sustainability practices…”
“Many people automatically turn to big theme parks, giant cruise ships, all-inclusive resorts and those kinds of things when they think of family travel,” says Chris “Chez” Chesak, executive director of the Family Travel Association. “Those are all great products that are appropriate for families—but there’s also such a diversity of experiences that lie outside those products. We’re seeing an increasing interest in ecotourism and suppliers who consider children the next generation and stewards of the earth—they love to educate children about the impact on the land and local communities.”
A NATURAL ALLIANCE
For some, ecotourism means a group of millennials climbing Mount Everest; for others, it’s a month-long safari tour of South Africa—but for most, it’s a natural integration of the unique environmental and cultural aspects of any destination into a vacation experience.
“Kids and nature just go together—it’s such an easy match,” says Lauren Goldenberg, founder of the Family Traveler, an agency focused on family travel whose clients tend to be in the deluxe to luxury range. “It can fit into any style of vacation and almost anybody’s trip plan—from making time to kayak at the beach all the way up to going cruising around the Galapagos Islands to learn about Darwin.”
At the mid-range, Julia Slatcher, owner of Inspire World Travel, sees a similar interest in incorporating nature and learning into any vacation experience. Beyond the pure fun such activities can add to a vacation, she’s also seeing clients who start with the idea of “adding meaning to their travel,” she says. “A lot of parents today are interested in travel that helps their kids learn and care about the world. They want their children to be good citizens of the world, and they’re looking for ways to add that element to their travel—while bearing in mind that they have limited vacation time and also want to have a good time and relax.”
And sometimes it’s the kids themselves who seek meaning in their travel experiences. Lauren Maggard, a luxury travel consultant at Jet Set World Travel, recently planned a high-end trip to Africa for a family with two teenage daughters. “One of the daughters is vegan and very environmentally focused,” she explains. “They asked us to make sure that every accommodation option we chose had an opportunity for the family to engage in philanthropy or to give back to the community. Budget wasn’t an issue, but it was a challenge to find the right mix of upscale properties with an environmental focus, community outreach and vegan cuisine options.”
