Business of Ecotourism: Conversation with Carol Patterson

[Carol Patterson]

The right guide can make or break a tour and go a long way to building a successful company. We

[planeta]

Following up, is it perhaps time to reframe North American tourism? And if so, what suggestions do you have?

[Carol Patterson]

Andy Drumm of the Nature Conservancy has penned an interesting article on the "threshold of sustainability" for BioScience magazine. It should be required reading for anyone struggling with the impacts of increased tourism on natural areas.

As Andy says "We realize that simply disapproving of tourism is not helpful, nor do we want to allow the status quo to continue." Instead he recommends that park managers adopt financial management techniques such as pricing park admissions at market levels and reinvesting in park infrastructure to protect the resources.

As a result, Andy says "that parks and biodiversity are widely recognized for their ecosystem service value, in this case through tourism and recreation. This makes investment in parks a win-win situation."

To read the full article go to http://www.bioone.org/perlserv/?request ... %2FB580902

[planeta]

Carol, I just learned about your new book - Reinventure: How Travel Can Change Your Life. Can you tell us about this new title?

[planeta]

Administrative note - This topic has now been viewed 23,000 times. Thanks for participating, Carol!

[planeta]

Many thanks, Carol. You are certainly welcome to use my comments.

Bringing us up to speed ... do you have any upcoming speaking engagements or publications in 2009?

[planeta]

What do you look for in the events where you speak? Do you have minimum criteria judging what makes an effective event for yourself?

[Carol Patterson]

Hi Ron

I enjoyed reading about your upcoming workshop on Web 2.0 at http://eng.reisepavillon-online.de

Thank you so much for this practical list of suggestions for improving our presence on the Web. (I even acted on a few this morning!)

Your leadership in this field is inspiring; I appreciate your consistent efforts to make organizations involved in ecotourism, responsible tourism, etc. more successful.

Happy New Year!

Carol

[planeta]

Greetings, Carol

Any news to add to our conversation?

[Carol Patterson]

Congratulations Ron on receiving the 2010 Innovation Award from The International Ecotourism Society. You have been setting the bar for sustainable tourism communication and technology for many years.

It is great to see your efforts recognized!

Carol

[Carol Patterson]

After 20 years in business, it seemed time to try another format for our popular EcoTourism Management newsletter.

It isn't exactly NBC News but I thought a video version might be more engaging; it seems people are reading less and watching more. While you won't have time to get through a whole bowl of popcorn (maybe a handful) while you watch this, I'm hoping it still conveys some food for thought.

http://www.youtube.com/user/Reinventure ... wUiyLQsKNU

You can still read the written version at http://www.kalahari-online.com/winter2011.pdf

Let me know which version you prefer!

Happy 2011

Carol

[Carol Patterson]

Ooops! I made a mistake on the link to the Winter newsletter - it is http://www.kalahari-online.com/winter11.pdf

Sorry about the confusion!

Carol