In search of Darwin Turtle, it was no romantic, steamy top end sunset cruise for Catherine Best.  On our roughest Turtle Tracks journey for 2015, she joined us aboard the Snubfin to experience Charles Point’s wrath on her way to Bare Sand Island.  And with literary pzazz, her reflections equated the journey to the challenges that the Bare Sand Island flatback hatchlings have on their journey to the sea.  Catherine’s article  Hang With the Turtles of Bare Sand Island has been published as a “Pointy End” article with Tiger Tales magazine.

Our dry season journey to Bare Sand Island to see the turtles is certainly for those with the spirit of adventure.  With seven years of experience of journeying through Darwin Harbour and rounding Charles Point we are well aware of, and well prepared for, whatever the sea gods dish up.  For the most part, we experience smooth seas; sometimes we have a little jiggle as we round the point, and about one in 10 trips is wet and wild on the way down.  Our experience tells us that the return journey is generally calm with the dark sea reflecting either the full moon or the milky way.  With the years of experience the Turtle Tracks skipper has good insight into what will be, and this is shared with guests prior to departure.  Whatever the experience, Turtle Tracks is adventure tourism.  We travel by fast boat, we visit a remote location, and nature dictates at all times.  Turtle Tracks is at “the pointy end” of tourism, NT style.

In 2015 nature dictated that every Turtle Tracks guest witnessed turtles nesting, on their beach on their own terms.  In addition 50% of our guests saw turtle hatchlings take their first plunge into the ocean. We saw the full life cycle of turtle from the eggs being laid, to the hatchlings emerging, to girls returning multiple times to nest, and even turtle carcasses on the beach.  We had a crocodile welcoming us to Bare Sand Island on 3 occasions, and we saw countless seabirds who call the island home when it’s hatchling season.   And as a very special experience, on 4 occasions we had wolf herrings jump into our boat on the way home.  To compliment all of these experiences, Turtle Tracks guests are accompanied on the island by Team Turtle, our highly skilled and experienced guides, most of whom have marine science qualifications, and all of whom have a wealth of knowledge about Bare Sand Island’s inhabitants.

In 2015 we were fortunate to work closely with Austurtle who spent 7 weeks continuing their research on Bare Sand Island.  Over that period the research team collected data from 300 nesting turtles, they excavated 150 hatched nests to find that there was an 80% success rate in those nests.   At the end of the season the team placed tracking devices on 4 turtles.   Two of these were flatback turtles who have gone to shoals off the Northern Kimberley coast to feed.  Another tracker was placed on a young male hawksbill turtle who, for a 100 days, has been within a kilometre off Bare Sand Island.  Over this time he pops up at the same place on the spring tides.  This young lad is clearly one of the lucky ones, with Austurtle finding that this year  there was a 50% bird mortality for hatchlings.

As Catherine Best pointed out there are challenges for hatchlings as they make their way to the sea, just as there are as we make our way to that unique and remote bare sand island in Bynoe Harbour.

Experience the glitz from the water on this Territory Day Fireworks Cruise

Jump onboard with Sea Darwin this Territory Day, 1 July 2016, to have front row seats for the Mindil Beach fireworks spectacular.  Our fleet will be departing Stokes Hill Wharf at 7.30pm for a fast boat ride taking in the nightscape of the Esplanade on route to Fannie Bay.  Well cruise until we find the best position on the harbour to take in the spectacle of the Mindil Beach hum and the firework extravaganza.  Will the synchronised sound track turned up we’ll celebrate Territory Day in style, before a quick ride back to Stokes Hill wharf.

Date:  1 July 2016

Time:  7.30pm departure from DOCK 1 at Stokes Hill Wharf.

Return:  9.00pm approx 

Cost:  $40 adult $25 child inclusive of a complimentary drink.  

Licenced bar available.

Book on line or call 1300 065 022.

Setting moon, rising sun …… we’re mixing it up at Sea Darwin this year with our Sunrise Turtle cruise.

Imagine standing on a remote beach in Northern Australia watching the moon set over one horizon, while the sun rises on the other, all the while as ancient flatback sea turtles plod up the beach around you.  

For something completely different in 2016, Sea Darwin has introduced Sunrise Turtles into their product mix.  This eco cruise is only for those with a spirit of adventure, who seek a completely unique and world class experience, and who have the ability to get out of bed at an obscenely early hour. 

Leaving Darwin at 4am the journey on one of Sea Darwin’s fast boats will take you out of Darwin Harbour as the night draws to an end.  Arriving on remote Bare Sand Island by first light – just in time to witness the dipping of the full moon into the sea, and at an optimum time for flatback turtles to make their way up the beach to lay a clutch of eggs.  As dawn passes, the raw harshness of the island environment will be appreciated, and it will be time for us to retreat back to the sea for breakfast aboard as we make our way back to Darwin, arriving mid morning.

This cruise is a photographers dream, with the stunning light of dawn combined with viewing sea turtles in their own environment, on their own terms.  Sunrise Turtles is a very special experience, and can only be scheduled a few times each year.   More information www.seadarwin.com or info@seadarwin.com.

Catch-a-Canoe: Upriver Adventures

Thursday morning I set out to explore Big River by canoe alongside Sebastian, my old college roommate (this was his first trip was to the North Coast!). We suited up at Catch-a-Canoe and started paddling.

It’s no secret that Mendocino is full of natural beauty: the water, the trees, the headlands. This was all familiar—I’ve been coming to Mendocino since I learned how to write my name. But as we headed upriver, I saw its beauty in a different light. When we took a break from paddling and sat suspended on the surface, everything was still. We could hear the echoes of the birds in the trees, the subtle movement of the water. It was Sebastian’s first time in the redwoods, and this, to me, was a new Mendocino.

  

About half an hour into our journey we came upon a family of otters! There were four in total, a mother and her three pups. We followed them as they swam further up, diving underwater and coming up briefly for air. When they had finished playing in the water, they climbed ashore onto a giant log. We waited patiently, observed them for several minutes, and the continued our trek upstream.

Once we’d left our otter friends behind, I was sure that would be it for our animal sightings, though Sebastian was determined to see more. I was happy to be proven wrong when we came across a family of harbor seals, three in all. We chased them upstream and waited quietly for them to resurface. They were full of energy, on the prowl for a morning snack. We didn’t want to invade their space for too long, so after twenty minutes or so, we forged ahead.

Also spotted on our trip: gulls, egrets, and cormorants!

We continued upriver until it was time to turn back, just as the fog began to roll in again.

catch a canoe, ecotourism, wildlife

Eco Tourism – Green-Washing

A group of international writers who specialize in “green” visited our Inn this week. These were knowledgeable and interesting men and women from England, France, Germany, Holland, Korea, China and Australia. The writer from the U.K. was particularly astute, questioning a statistic I through out from memory which was incorrect. I appreciate critical thinking – challenging inquiry.

What I learned is that much of their work is to identify legitimate green enterprises. Many people are moving toward sustainability – and others simply create a veneer of green. But as I have gone deeply into this, I have learned that what we choose to eat has the greatest impact on the environment and that any “green” action is of little significance – in itself is “green washing” without combines with the effective action of eating a vegan, whole foods diet.

I very much hope that one or more of these writers advocate a truly green lifestyle based on a vegan diet.

green, vega

On Blogging: What’s really important?

Whatever I write here is of little consequence when considering the Iranian people’s use of blogs, Twitter, Face Book to help let the rest of us know what is going on in their country. The Daily Show has recently reported on Iran – remarkably portraying Iranian’s awareness of the rest of the world and their compelling passion for American ideals. Barak Obama’s carefully crafted comments seem to me gauged to help shield pro-Democratic, pro-western, and particularly pro-American Iranians as targets of the Mullahs’ anger about the protests to the irregular election.

Lately my blogs have concerned the lives of our animals. I haven’t dealt with issues concerning the environment, health, and well being that dominate the newsletter we hand to our guests when they check-in. I haven’t felt compelled to write in these areas – due to lack of real interest in so many of the people that are coming to the Inn. Many are interested – the “choir” as it were
– there are some who question our restaurant and ask why The Ravens’ is vegan and give it a try. And there are far more who are uninterested or demonstrably annoyed by our “greenness.” Many people won’t stay because our amenities are costly and we are slightly more expensive than other inns – our food costs are two to three times that of inns buying standard commercial products; we have a heated salt-water pool enclosed in a heated greenhouse, we have extensive gardens, offer organic, house made desserts at Afternoons at the Inn. The average cost per guest is $20 per breakfast!

We recently provided complimentary accommodations to a travel writer. The writer had requested dinner at the inn and walked in declaring, “we are carnivores and don’t understand the food.” The staff sensed this statement to be ridicule not a joke. Perhaps they -we- are oversensitive. But we gave them information, spoke with them, providing opportunities for them to ask us to explain the cuisine. The point, and they didn’t get it, is that the only sustainable diet is a whole food vegan diet and our job is to help make this diet accessible – easy to prepare, and a joy to eat.

I am whining about the lack of awareness of some of our guests and a writer. In the meantime, some news casts are covering the separation of Jon and Kate, who apparently have eight young children, and some very fine people have been killed or jailed in Iran. But just because these events are mentioned in the same paragraph, they are not equal.

Perhaps if we, I, can maintain perspective our, my, life will be less conflicted – i.e., no upset regarding guests and writers who don’t get what we are about. It isn’t important, except of course, with regard to oil. The American (and, for that matter, European and others) addiction to an animal based diet in part creates the context leading to the death of Iranian students on the streets of Tehran. Nearly half of all energy used is in the service of the production of animals for food – beef, fish, pigs, chicken. The American presence in the Middle East is a direct result of our need to control the flow of oil and our presence intimidates much of the leadership in the area.

raven's, stanford inn, vegan

Land – Our Relationship to the Ground upon which we stand

In Growing Potential – Wealthy Investors snap up farmland amid rising food prices Bernard Condon writing for the Associated Press notes that a Tulsa software executive snapped up 430 acres of Michigan cornfields for $4 million and a California insurance executive purchased 156 acres in Iowa, overbidding the farmer who had rented the land for 20 years. The farmer’s maximum bid was $1.1 million. A former Goldman Sachs executive has been reported buying arable land in Africa, competing with Chinese investors seeking to profit from coming food shortages.

Investors are free to invest in farmland; however they are removed from the land – its texture, smell. They do not experience the land’s response to hoe or disc harrow. They rarely experience the excitement of the first sprouts emergence from the brown loam or the heartbreaking wilt from a drought.

Today, more than any time before, we are disconnected from the very ground of our being – the earth itself. To create a sustainable lifestyle we must embrace the land – appreciate it. Although it can be treated as commodity, it is far more.

Believing that beauty evokes a connection within us, at the Inn we have worked to make the ground flourish. Gardens at the Stanford Inn range from formal to wild; from landscape to produce gardens. We that is, we AND nature, are creating beautiful gardens with natural breaks to assure habitats for birds, garter snakes, frogs.

But we want to do more to connect our guests and visitors to the land. We want them to deeply appreciate our wild lands and virtually untouched rivers and shores. To do this, Ryane Snow Ph.D. leads nature tours, treks into the forests and along the shore. Ryane explains the intimate relationship of the forests’ living inhabitants – the plants, fungi and animals. Exploring the shore and its tide pools, fellow trekkers learn about seaweeds and their amazing contribution to our health. At the Ravens’ Restaurant we serve foods from our forests, shores and from m Big River Nurseries – our certified organic farm/gardens.

We host the Green Belt project originated by John Jeavons of Ecology Action in nearby Willits. The Green Belt project is based on his research into biointensive farming – a method of farming that can provide enough food to feed family of four for a year on as little as 4,000 square feet of land. We are assisting this project by providing garden space, housing and meals for his interns, who track every plant, every process and every calorie harvested.

With droughts in Russia (the Russian government banned grain exports last year), the United States, China and parts of Europe; localized water shortages particularly in impoverished nations; flooding and other climate issues, the world’s food supply is far less assured as in past generations. The work John Jeavons and his Green Belt interns are doing provides an answer to the agricultural uncertainty, one that conserves water and land and will allow reforestation as we move toward sustainable farming.
We urge visitors to the Stanford Inn and to the Mendocino Coast to visit the Green Belt gardens in front of the Inn’s Barn and adjacent to the horse pasture. For those concerned about the future – these gardens provide a basis for optimism. John’s investment in time and talent will serve the planet.

Big River Nurseries, drought, farming, gardening, green belt, John Jeavons, land, land investment, nature tours, stanford inn

Passions of the Innkeepers

It has been a while since I posted to this Blog.

Today, I want to revisit the Inn – and to write about the Inn is inevitably to write about ourselves. Joan and I have poured our lives into this place. It is not a sacrifice – although our kids in a pique might say that it has been.

We care about everything here – the material – from toilet seats (you should see the back-up supply) to beds – we always have a couple of back-ups of each size and only buy the finest available. We care about our guests’ “experiences” – and provide  opportunities to get out of doors – not just walking around, but paddling the beautiful Big River Estuary, mountain biking Mendocino’s many trails and back roads. If you want to learn about the forest or marine ecology, naturalist Ryane Snow PhD will take you for an interpretive foraging hike. If you want to experience art – after perhaps years – Joan, an arts specialist, will provide a joyful “play shop.” Learn cooking – we put a class together; there’s yoga, tai chi, acupuncture. Don’t want to do anything – you don’t have to.

Our gardens are beautiful and inspiring and are continually photographed, painted. Visitors come from many of the other inns to explore them and talk to Master Gardener Dana and her staff.

All of this gets me to the point:
We believe life is inherently joyful. Although many if not most of us often lose sight of it, joy is within us; it is our heritage. The Chinese understood that joy is embracing “what is”. Most of us are caught in the conflict between “what is” and our ideas of what should be. And our notions of “what should be” are essentially the “desires” that the Buddha noted lay at the root of suffering. Similarly, “should be” underlies the conflicts that the great 20th century philosopher Krishnamurti identified as the source of our mental entanglements and unhappiness.

Fifteen years ago, we began offering programs on mindfulness and health, hosting Jack Schwarz’s Aletheia Institute. Today, working with local practitioners – acupuncturists, nutritionists, Chinese herbalists, naturalists, artists, massage therapists – we have created the Center for Living Well that provides life enhancing programs to help assure a joyful life.

Our programs are designed to help our participants deeply appreciate “what is” – their bodies and the world around them. Underlying the practices, techniques and information is an emphasis on becoming deeply aware and manifesting awareness through action.

Our passion is that our guests, diners, canoeists leave Mendocino at ease, but enlivened. Yes, we have desire, and that is that when guests leave they leave with a deeper appreciation of themselves, of their partners, their lives.

aletheia institute, buddha, center for living well, Innkeeping, jack schwarz, krishnamurti, mendocino, Ryane Snow, stanford inn

Happiness is where you are

Where else can it be?

In my last writing I noted the explosion of life in Manitoba – here’s a field of canola:

And here are Dana’s gardens at the Stanford Inn – she planted wildflowers, where last was a 4-H project – now in summer hiatus.

Nature in explosions of color is happiness. And nature is in continuous change – which is what I wrote about earlier in “The Weather”. And embracing change, which is our very nature, is embracing our life and for the I Ching’s “superior” man (or woman) leads to success/happiness. But the I Ching guidance is far stronger – embracing our lives is success. And sometimes one has to cross the great river to get to that realization – to that success. We are lucky. Here, in Matlock, the great river is the Red River and in Mendocino it is the Big River. So near and so meaningful.

I am on “vacation” and my ordinary days are broken by this interval which allows time to contemplate the nature of life and in particular the nature of my own life. Everything is “grist” for this mill of contemplation. And what I notice is that this process is identical to that 35 years ago in this very place.

I go away from home to come home. It doesn’t have to be Matlock. It can be in a hotel in Scottsdale or Phoenix during a break with Alex to catch a few of the Giant’s spring training games. Or, I don’t have to leave at all – there is the mental space of the morning in our own bedroom in the Barn after Joan has gone down to feed Murphy – while Gypsy waits for me before getting-up.

These moments are precious and they are bracing, or embracing. And here is joy.

gardens, happiness, I Ching, joy, Manitoba, matlock, nature, stanford inn

Our Passion: Creating an Evocative Destination

Joan and I have been innkeeping for 34 years. The average length of time in this business for “owner-innkeepers” used to be 7 years and we are certain that we have raised that average.

We remain innkeepers because we are essentially educators – in the truest sense of the word. The word educate is related to educere in Latin – “to lead out” or to “evoke.” We are evokers – at least Joan is – I might be more a provoker.

The inn is our “campus” and every guest room, common rooms, the gardens, and the river are classrooms. Text books are our newsletter and the books that we offer for sale or inspiration (usually inspiring guests to order from Barnes and Noble, Borders, Amazon or, better, their local bookstore).

We would have left innkeeping years ago if it were not for our passion to show that it is easy, practical and delightful – even revelatory – to live sustainably. However we did not get into the sustainable movement: It found us. We pursued “sustainable” practices before anyone applied the word to what we do. We only wanted to live harmoniously and to create a life based on the premise “Do no harm” or practically, “Do the least harm.” We started organic gardening because it is productive, healthy and less harmful than conventional. We recycled because we hate waste. We composted all organic matter – garden and food wastes. We separated California Redemption bottles from other glass and plastic bottles; we divided paper into newspaper, cardboard, and office paper. At first we hauled all of this to a recycling center and when Waste Management offered to pick up recycling, we said, “Sure!” After a while, we noticed that the driver was emptying the containers into a single bin on his truck. We asked why, “We’ve gone to single stream recycling.” Apparently Waste Management caved to Northern California’s laziness; too many people were unwilling to separate their waste. Now we single-stream and believe that we need to ask more of our neighbors so that we can return to multi-stream recycling. We store our old electronic gear – computers, cell phones, printers, monitors, etc., because we can’t be assured that this equipment won’t end-up poisoning children in India or China.

In other words, we think about what we do and we ask that our staff thinks about what they do for us. We anticipate that our inn guests, diners, paddlers, and bicyclers might pick up on the attention we give to the details of living in and operating a rural resort set in a garden. We don’t know if we are particularly successful but we have touched a few guests, some of our staff and some members of our small community. We could do this no other way.

Innkeeping, Murphy, sustainable lifestyle, The Stanford Inn

Oasis in a Sea of Humanity: Sea Turtles of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula

“We may have to walk a bit to see a turtle,” I told my 11-year-old daughter Karina as the huge supermoon rose over the Caribbean. My family was standing on X’cacel beach, one of Mexico’s most important nesting beaches for green turtles, located in a national park near Playa del Carmen on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

As it turned out, we only had to walk about 20 feet before a dark round shape appeared in the surf.  The turtle emerged right in front the research station run by local organization Flora, Fauna y Cultura de Mexico. To give the green turtle space to find a good spot to lay its eggs, we retreated back up the walkway, only to have the turtle follow us up the path. It eventually changed its mind, however, and made its way back to the water.

It wasn’t long before several other turtles came up on the beach. We waited until the closest turtle was laying its eggs before approaching to avoid disturbing it at a sensitive point in the process. This was also a green turtle, a female weighing probably over 200 pounds. Its multicolored shell appeared faintly white in the moonlight. Though I’ve worked with sea turtles for more than a decade, this was the first time Karina had seen one laying eggs, and she was entranced by the spectacle of the ancient ritual.

X’cacel is located on a nondescript road; no signs promote this incredible place, which in tourist-friendly Mexico may be a good thing. Turtles nest all along the stretch of beach from Cancun to Tulum known as the Riviera Maya, but this is one of the only spots where the beach is free of large resorts and hotels. Lights, beach furniture, and crowds all reduce the number of turtles that come up to nest, so undeveloped stretches like this are critical to keeping these ancient reptiles around.

Flora, Fauna y Cultura has spent the past 30 years protecting three turtle species that nest on more than 10 beaches in the region. These turtles face an array of threats including human consumption of their eggs and meat, and here – perhaps more than anywhere else in the world – coastal tourism development. Despite being a national park, known as Santuario de la Tortuga Marina Xcacel-Xcacelito, Xcacel still faces a threat of having its natural coastal area developed into big resorts.

The next morning, we headed over to Akumal (Mayan for “Place of the Turtles”), which has a bay well known for the green turtles who feed on the seagrass. We got there early to beat the crowds and put on our snorkels and headed out in search of the ancient reptiles. Before long, my wife found a turtle calmly grazing on the grass and we quietly watched it at a distance. Its beautifully patterned orange, brown, and gold shell was much more clear than the one we’d seen the night before on the beach.

We had the young green turtle to ourselves for about 15 minutes before other snorkelers moved in. The reptile moved slowly along the seagrass, occasionally rising gently to the surface to fill its lungs before sinking back to the bottom. Most of the observers gave the turtle enough space, though one overzealous snorkeler eventually drove the turtle away by getting too close and trying to follow it with a video camera. Exhilarated by the experience, my daughter said later that watching that turtle go about its business gave her hope for the future of this species.

By the time we were done, dozens more people were getting into the water. After we got out, we had a chance to chat with Paul Sanchez-Navarro, the tall scholarly director of Centro Ecologico Akumal, an organization that works to protect turtles both in the water and while nesting in this area. He explained that the large numbers of people swimming in the bay have a real impact on the turtles that feed on the seagrass, causing them to eat less and increasing stress. The good news is that a new management plan should be in place soon to enforce how visitors and tour guides act while around the turtles.

That evening, we headed south to Tulum. Everything slowed down as we turned off the main highway and drove our rental car over the frequent speed bumps along the road towards Sian Ka’an Biosphere Reserve. At Hotel Nueva Vida de Ramiro, a local hotel that works to minimize its ecological footprint while creating an inviting setting, most of the grounds are planted with native trees.  The small resort hosts rangers from Flora, Fauna y Cultura and a hatchery to protect the eggs laid by turtles that come up this stretch of beach.

After settling into the hotel, I met up with Lluvia Soto, the young and friendly Country Director for SEEtheWILD partner Global Vision International (GVI). We hopped into her SUV, a requirement for traversing the rough road into Sian Ka’an, the only major protected area along the coast south of Cancun. GVI is partnering with Flora, Fauna y Cultura to monitor a formerly unprotected stretch of nesting beach (used by loggerhead and green turtles) inside the park.

After more than an hour of navigating the flat dirt road through coastal forest and mangrove, we emerged onto a thin peninsula of land, barely wider than the beach and the road, sandwiched between turquoise ocean and a dark blue lagoon. This beach would be one of the more beautiful I’ve ever seen if it weren’t for the stunning amount of trash, washed up here from around the world. Learn how trash affects sea turtles here.

Even in this oasis of nature, the turtles need to crawl through trash to find a place to lay their eggs, and the emerging hatchlings are smaller than the plastic bottles and flip flops. Part of GVI’s work in the area is to reduce this waste; their staff and volunteers do weekly clean-ups in the reserve, which can result in up to a ton of trash collected in a day. They have also set up a recycling center in the nearby town of Punta Allen, located within the refuge. Learn more about this sea turtle volunteer program.

That evening, back at Nueva Vida, the rangers knocked on our door to let us know that a turtle was nesting right in front of the hotel, one of the few to turn off its lights that face the water during nesting season and remove furniture from the beach at night. Such common-sense measures are a necessity when sharing a beach with sea turtles, but unfortunately, many resorts here do not make the effort.

This turtle, a green, headed towards the resort’s hatchery but changed its mind and returned to the water without nesting. Fortunately another green turtle emerged just a short walk down the beach, so we were able to see the whole nesting process, from digging the nest and laying the eggs to camouflaging the nest to hide it from predators. My wife, also a turtle conservationist, helped the ranger collect data on the turtle while I explained the fascinating process to a couple of tourists who happened upon the scene.

On the way back, we saw a fresh set of tracks that led to a lounge chair in front of a brightly lit resort. It was clear from the tracks that the turtle had turned around without nesting once it met the chair– further evidence that resorts like this one have replaced poaching on this beach as the biggest threat. Learn more about how coastal development affects sea turtles.

Our tour of the area’s turtle beaches finished up with a meeting with our friends at Flora, Fauna y Cultura and a group of Mayan youth who patrol a beach in nearby Tulum National Park, near the town’s famous ruins. This beach, with its location near the town, is a hotspot for egg poaching. Our Billion Baby Turtles program and our partners at Lush Cosmetics (through its Charity Pot program) are helping to fund this program, which provides employment for these young men while helping to protect an important nesting beach for green turtles and hawksbills.

During our visit, we walked with the turtle protectors over to the beach. While my daughter buried her feet in the water, the young mean told us about their hard work. Each night, they spend the entire night on the beach, walking up and down the sand in search of emerging turtles. At dawn, they are picked up and return home to rest and recover. It’s this kind of dedication that is needed to keep the turtle returning to these beaches year after year.

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Bruce Poon Tip and the Future of Tourism

What is the Future of Tourism? Well that is a question no one can answer for certain, however we can form an educated outlook. One company, G Adventures, powered by the entrepreneurial guru known as Bruce Poon Tip is changing our planet for the better.

Bruce Poon Tip at the South Pole.

Bruce Poon Tip, was not a backpacker, however in 1989 he had no other options but to backpack to see the parts of the world he wanted to. It was from these experiences that he discovered the need to provide organized travel that gave cultural immersion, freedom and comfort to the masses.

“Many areas of tourism are being held accountable for environmental and cultural impact,” says Bruce. “The travel industry is under fire, they need to be educated. Travel agents need to provide a professional service; they need to know where the money is going locally.”

Bruce Poon Tip receiving an Amazon Clense. Photo Credit: G Adventures

By 2020 the United Nations World Travel Organization predicts that annual international tourists will reach 1.6 Billion. Ten years ago 1 in 5 people taking a holiday chose an all-inclusive; today that number has grown to 75%. In most all–inclusive package tours more than 80% of travellers’ fees go to the airlines, hotels and other international companies, not to local businessmen and workers.

Tourism has the power to affect cultural change. Successful development of a resource can lead to numerous negative impacts. Among these are overdevelopment, assimilation, conflict and artificial reconstruction. While presenting a culture to tourists may help preserve the culture, it can also dilute or even destroy it. The point is to promote tourism in the region so that it will provide both incomes and create respect for the local tradition and culture. There is a natural tipping point, where tourism often grows into mass-tourism. Mass Tourism leads to the over consumption, pollution and lack of resources.

G Adventures is one of the biggest tour operators that utilizes a sustainable tourism model and sets a benchmark for others. With their non-profit organization Planeterra, they not only support local businesses on the ground, they also create an opportunity for these same businesses to prosper from tourists. Let’s look at Peru, G Adventures is the largest tour operator on the Inca Trail with over 30% market share and 500 local people employees. The Inca trail sees hundreds of traveler’s daily, many of whom using products that harm the natural environment around Machu Picchu. Esencia Andina is a micro enterprise owned and managed by two local Peruvian women. With the support of Planeterra foundation they are producing biodegradable products for travelers and staff to use while they trek along the Inca Trail, making travel and tourism more sustainable.

Esencia Andina owners and their biodegradable products. Photo Credit: Planettera Foundation

Some things will never change. Airlines base their routes around business travelers. Sure they also offer carbon offsets to their guests to say they have one foot in the door of environmentally sustainable practices. Some airlines such as Air Canada have even gone as far to experiment with bio fuels. But is that enough? Many critics of carbon offsetting claim greenwashing, that it gives the perception of environmentally friendly practices when in reality the business fails to meet such claims.

There is a way the Airline industry could go one step further by rewarding the travelers who choose to travel responsibly. Let’s say they provided discounts to travelers who chose to travel with a responsible tourism operator such as G Adventures. The airline industry could regulate fares based on the type of travel a person does. Surely that connection is tangible and something the everyday consumer can see as an environmentally friendly way of travel that promotes sustainable tourism.

So how do you choose a tour operator that offers sustainable tourism? You can visit TIES and research those companies that are making a difference in sustainable community development. Those companies that are connecting with local business owners, hotels and bus drivers in a region. Companies that pay fair trade prices. Those companies that are fulfilling and maintaining a cycle that supports the local people and don’t take money out of the country.

So does the future of tourism include Bruce Poon Tip? Yes it does, and for that we should be grateful. Here is a man who is leading by example, who created a movement and has many other organizations following his lead on sustainable tourism practices. If you have the opportunity to hear Bruce speak at any of one of the various Future of Tourism conferences hosted by G Adventures around our globe, do yourself a favor and attend.

Bruce Poon Tip speaking at the Future of Tourism. Photo Credit: G Adventures

Bruce is a visionary, a man passionate about helping others and changing our planet for the better. We can assure you that his first book entitled “Looptail” is the heart and soul of a sustainable model. A book that combines his passion and entrepreneurial instincts that shaped his highly successful international travel company into the phenomenon it is today. A book that reveals his unusual management secrets that keeps his employees engaged and customers extremely happy. Looptail will be released on September 17, 2013 and is available now on Amazon.com and Chapters.ca for presale.

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