Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristDubai's New Guidelines Restrict Dancing, Kissing, Handholding

Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

Last week, Dubai issued new behavior guidelines for travelers. Since one of the tenants of sustainable tourism is to be respectful of the local culture, this announcement got me thinking about what happens when the local culture tells tourists to respect their way of life, a way of life that the tourists might consider offensive or even morally wrong. Dubai now has told visitors that dancing or playing loud music in public will be banned. Travelers on holiday, or even a couple on their honeymoon, who kiss or hug each other in public—even just momentarily—could face fines and detention. The new rules, which also include no wearing of short skirts or skimpy shorts in public (keep in mind that Dubai is one of the world's top tourism destinations with beaches and luxury resorts), have been issued for visitors "to respect Dubai's culture and values." 

In many places around the world, tourists have been known to act disrespectful to the local way of life, seeming not to understand that they are guests in another country. Last year in Dubai, a British couple were arrested and convicted after having sex on a beach. The new behavior guidelines now make it clear that you might be arrested and detained even if you are just holding hands. Sustainable tourism advocates that a country or cultural community should set the rules that tourists must follow to be respectful to the values of the local people, even if visitors do not agree with some or even all of those values. 

Is this a case of going too far? Let us know what you think in the Comments section below.

Read my previous post on Dubai here >>

Beyond Green Travel with Costas Christ Albania: The Untouched Mediterranean

Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

Albania’s isolation from the rest of the world for decades during the Cold War had an unintended consequence: The country today retains its wild landscapes, uncrowded historical sites, and traditional villages in a region that is one of the most crowded tourism destinations on the planet—the Mediterranean.

I recently joined a group of 64 Albanians in the coastal town of Durres to discuss a sustainable tourism plan, one that would help protect the natural and cultural heritage, while improving the livelihoods of the local people. The fact that Albanians are coming together to talk seriously about sustainable tourism as a means of economic development puts them ahead of many nearby countries that followed the path of mass tourism development, which has left behind damaged ecosystems, polluted beaches, and vanishing local culture (think Santorini in Greece, Provence in France, or the Costa del Sol in Spain). While uncontrolled tourism has already spread to some parts of Albania (the coastal town of Durres suffers from chaotic concrete block hotel development, a glut of tourist bars, and litter in the streets), much of the rest of the country still offers a chance to experience traditional Mediterranean life that has become increasingly rare in the region. 

During my trip, the Albanians I met were friendly, the prices cheap, the local food excellent. Traditional music thrives, and the rugged mountains provide truly off-the-beaten-trail Mediterranean hiking.

Continue reading this story and see recommended tour operators >>

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristTravel to Save the Planet—The (Near) Future of Flying

“We cannot solve problems using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them...” – Albert Einstein

When Heathrow Airport opened its new Terminal 5, well-meaning environmental protestors tried to shut it down by chaining themselves to the building and calling for an end to air travel to stop global warming before it is too late. I was with them in spirit—I also want to stop global warming—but not in practice. The issue at hand is counter-intuitive. If we could magically stop all air travel tomorrow, far from saving the Earth, we would unleash a global conservation crisis.

Without the foreign exchange generated by tourism for developing countries, places like the Serengeti, home of the last great migration of plains animals on Earth, would rapidly succumb to human settlements. The Pantanal in Brazil, the largest wetland in the world and already facing pressures from cattle ranches, would become one giant holding pen for the global beef industry, now kept at bay by a mosaic of private nature reserves and ecolodges serving Brazil’s tourism economy. Governments in the coral triangle of Southeast Asia, location of the planet’s highest concentration of marine biodiversity,  would have little incentive to support the creation or protection of marine reserves that keep out shark-finning poachers and commercial boats that drag every fish they can net from the sea, no matter how small or large.

The challenge is not how to stop travel, but how to get it right. The movement in sustainable tourism is helping to make this happen, as more travelers demand environmental accountability from travel companies. During the last 12 months, we have seen the first test flights of commercial aircraft using partial biofuel, including Virgin, Continental, and Air New Zealand. British Airways has notched it up by officially stating that they will cut their net C02 emissions by 50 percent by 2050, a bold position for any major air carrier. The airline industry fear is that they could become the “new tobacco” in public minds ( ie "this product is dangerous to your health”) if they do not take action on sustainable solutions. While the airline industry is certainly not the largest contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions linked to climate change, the majority of scientists have now made it clear that we have a 20 year window, at most, before hitting a tipping point of irreversible global warming damage. We need all hands on deck now. 

As I write this, the top 100 travel and tourism companies, with input from scientists and conservationists, are working on a joint report to lead the way forward to a low climate-risk travel industry, while maximizing the positive impact of sustainable tourism in protecting the natural and cultural heritage of our planet. It is not too late—yet. Which is why, when we take a trip, each of us can make a big difference by giving our hard earned dollars to those companies—on land, water and in the air—that are committed to sustainable tourism in action. (Check out the sustainability scores in our 2009 Adventure Ratings.)  

Postscript to my July 4 blog Paving Paradise for a Better Future: Sadly, both of these mass tourism mega-development projects were granted permission to proceed.

Your Top 10 ADVENTURE Stories of 2008

With 2009 already rushing in, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on your favorite online stories over the past 370 days. So here they are, the most popular stories of 2008. (Over the last year we also revamped our magazine site's RSS feed to include photos, illustrations, and more text to read.)

10. The Adventure Life with Steve Casimiro: Apple's Macbook Air
This review of the “sexiest laptop ever” got more user comments than any other article this year. Note: you have to be a tech geek to understand most of them.

9. 6,000 Miles to Moscow
Contributing Editor McKenzie Funk hitchhiked the length of the Trans-Siberian highway to paint a picture of globalization. Photographer Aaron Huey’s images are gorgeous.

8. Peru: Hell and Back
An oldie but a goodie, Contributing Editor Kira Salak's story of her spirit quest in the Amazon is an amazing tale of transformation (and even has something for the hallucinogen crowd).

7. 50 Top Ecolodges
Global Travel Editor Costas Christ (who writes Beyond Green Travel) gave us a list of the most spectacular green base camps on the planet—and, surprisingly, there's something for almost every budget. We made a really handy world map to help you find them.

6. Life’s an Adventure Reader Photo Contest
We love your photos. Here are some great ones.

5. Best of the National Parks
This year, we found the most beautiful places and park adventures to deliver an authentic American summer escape. We also georeferenced each spot so you can find them.

4. Have You Seen This Croc?
As far as we know, Gustave the man-eating croc of Burundi is still on the loose (or the giant, elderly Nile croc died a quite death in obscurity). This true story is quite similar to the fictional thriller, Primeval, which speaks to its ongoing audience. Photographer Bobby Model’s photos of the Rusizi River delta region are quite impressive.

3. Photo Gallery: First In
These are some of the best adventure photos to pass across our photo editors’ desks. They don’t disappoint.

2. Where to Live and Play: The Next Generation of Adventure Towns
Boulder, Austin, Jackson, yep, all great adventure towns. Our picks this year, however, are part of a burgeoning group of great places to live—and they are smart investments in times like these. Plus, our special wallpaper feature will give you instant adventure town gratification.

1. The Best Adventure Travel Companies on Earth
There’s nothing like it anywhere—a travel tool that helps you find excellent tour operators based on our experts' ratings, from quality of service to environmental practices. Search by whatever suits you—activity, destination, ratings categories. We’re actually unveiling the 2009 update this week. Stay tuned!

Was there a story we published this year that you really enjoyed? Let us know.

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristTop Ten Worst Green Travel Destinations

Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

When NBC's TODAY Show Travel Editor Peter Greenberg asked me to contribute a list of the top 10 places people should avoid when they travel, to include in his new book, Don't Go There! (www.PeterGreenberg.com), I was a little reluctant at first. I am a firm believer that travel, no matter the destination, can be a powerful learning experience. In fact, some of my worst trips have been among the most interesting. They are the places I still tell stories about. But when looked through the lens of sustainable tourism principles—being environmentally friendly, helping to protect cultural and natural heritage, supporting the well-being of local people—there are some places that stand out, and its not for the better. So here is my top 10 must-avoid travel destinations list (or at least consider this warning so that you know what you are getting into before you go).

Cancun, Mexico -  In the 1970s, Cancun was a small, coastal island with fishermen, local merchants and a few small pensions. Today it is a stretch of high-rises sporting some 30,000 hotel rooms. Mangrove forests were cut to accommodate this megadevelopment, clear-water lagoons were filled in, and wildlife disappeared, along with any sense that you are still in Mexico. Stand on Cancun's miracle mile of tourism and wet T-shirt contests and Jell-o shot bars pass for today's local culture. Mexico is one of the greatest travel destinations in the world, but Cancun is pure generic mass tourism.

Santorini, Greece - One of the most beautiful islands in the Mediterranean has become a text book example of paving paradise. Sure, it has amazing views and spectacular sunsets—just be prepared to share them with as many as 15,000 cruise ship passengers, all off-loading at the same time during the summer and pushing past each other for the best spot to take a photo. Condo, hotel, and tourist sprawl are spreading like a fungus over the landscape. Talk about killing the goose that lays the golden egg—find your Greece island inspiration elsewhere.

Orlando, Florida - It really is a small world after all. Every family in America would do better to experience it first hand by having a genuine cross-cultural experience of learning and discovery, rather than get taken for a ride by the marketing engine of overdeveloped and environmentally unfriendly theme parks.

Kuta, Bali - Take an unspoiled tropical beach, add a vibrant ancient culture, cap it off with friendly local villagers eager to share their rich heritage, and then trample it all with a parade of western brands such as Hard Rock Cafe, T.G.I. Friday's, and KFC. Certainly, tourism destinations change over time, but that does not mean they should be trashed beyond recognition. Skip this one and instead consider Bali's artistic capital, Ubud, where a more balanced path embraces the local culture rather than conquers it.

Dubai City, United Arab Emirates - Just one of Dubai's golf courses requires a million gallons of desalinated water a day to keep the grass green under the scorching desert sun. And it takes more than a gallon of crude to make one gallon of desalinated water. And that is before powering the air-conditioned indoor ski slopes, the gilded shopping malls, and the giant man-made islands shaped like palm trees just off shore that are causing sedimentation runoff onto fragile coral reefs. Is this really the way to make the desert bloom? Seek an alternative.

Myanmar - Aung San Suu Kyi, the only Noble Peace Prize winner living under house arrest for courageously opposing one of the most brutal military regimes in history, has called for international travelers to boycott Myanmar. Nelson Mandela did the same while under arrest during the height of apartheid rule in South Africa. Some tour operators run trips to Myanmar (formerly Burma) with the justification that giving the local people an opportunity to interact with the outside world is a good thing;  meanwhile, they are making a business profit. Follow the real leaders and respect the travel boycott.

Antarctica - This is a "must see" on everyone's travel list, and that's the problem. Rapidly increasing tourism—some 40,000 tourists in 2008—to one of the most fragile and untouched environments on the planet could have a devastating impact. For instance, 49,000 gallons of fuel spilled into the waters of Antarctica when one cruise ship sank. (No one was hurt.) Another ship ran aground. Now major cruise companies want to bring in even more tourists on ever larger ships—Princess Cruises' Star Princess carries 3,800 passengers to Antarctica in one voyage. Time to call on the 46-nation Antarctic Treaty System to set limits before it's too late. Until then, think twice before making the trip.

China Beach, Vietnam - Local and foreign investors have scooped up nearly the entire vast tract of beautiful China Beach in central Vietnam, including ancestral burial grounds found there. Villagers have been forced to break open the coffins of their ancestors and take out the remains before the bulldozers level and bury the place, all in the name of building a parade of new mass tourism resorts. Do you really want to sleep in a hotel built right on top of a traditional burial ground where villagers honored dead ancestors for centuries and then, grief-stricken, were forced to remove their remains? Things did not have to go this route, so let's not reward it.

Costa Rica's Over-Developed Coast - There is a battle going on in Costa Rica, once the darling of ecotourism. The battle is between those who are working overtime to make the country a true green travel destination, and unscrupulous developers who like marketing the green label, but couldn't care less about practicing the principles. The latter are winning in Tamarindo, Jaco, and a string of other coastal areas that have succeeded in carving up the landscape into large condos and megahotels. Your travel choice makes a difference in this struggle. The Costa Rican Certification for Sustainable Tourism (CST)  helps identify the good guys.

Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania - Definitely stay on the crater rim in one of the great safari lodges and sip a gin and tonic while looking down into what naturalists have called the Eighth Wonder of the World—an ancient, unflooded, collapsed caldera that forms a natural zoological garden—if it survives, that is. Don't drive into the crater, unless you like your wildlife viewing in a parade of 4x4 vehicles.  Save the up-close wildlife encounters for the 5,700 square miles of neighboring Serengeti National Park and let the inner crater have time to heal from tourism's wounds.

Do you agree with these selects? Do you have destinations to add? Let us know by posting your comments below.

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristArabian Oasis: Oman

Move over, Dubai—Oman's rugged riches are catching on.

Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ; Photograph Courtesy of Six Senses Resorts and Spas Oman

When I asked the late explorer Wilfred Thesiger how to retrace his 1949 route across Oman, he recommended setting out during the same month he did, in December. It was sound advice. Winter brings crisp nights and pleasant (read: not hot) days, making it an ideal time to scramble along the Hajar Mountains’ sunbaked wadis and trek across the sand dunes of the Empty Quarter. Oman, as I found, is more than the sum of its desert parts: The country’s 1,300-mile coastline boasts world-renowned diving, and its laid-back monarch, Sultan Qaboos bin Said, makes a point of safeguarding traditional cultures and the environment.

The best way to explore this emerging destination in good style is Six Senses Hideaway Zighy Bay (villas from $870; sixsenses.com). Located on the Musandam Peninsula, the 82-room retreat sits between jagged mountains and a stretch of pristine white-sand beach (guests arrive via paraglider; a 4x4 follows with their luggage). Guides are on standby to lead hikes into the Ru’us Al Jibal plateau—one of the last remaining wild areas on the Arabian Peninsula—while offshore, the sky blue Gulf of Oman draws kayakers into a maze of hidden caves and secluded coves. Sixty-one years after Thesiger’s journey, off-the-beaten-path Oman still awaits discovery.

Must-Do: The monthlong Muscat Festival kicks off in January, a day’s drive from Zighy Bay. Wander amid clouds of frankincense and myrrh while taking in Arab music, art, and cuisine (muscat-festival.com).

See more World Class recommendations from Costas Christ >>

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristGreen Dictionary: Navigating the Eco-Lexicon Jungle

For the green-minded traveler, it's easy to get lost in the jungle of new terms. Ecotourism, geotourism, voluntourism, sustainable tourism—more names keep popping up all the time, threatening to confuse even the most savvy globetrotter. By focusing on the well-established terms listed below, you can understand what really matters in the global movement to make travel an opportunity for protecting the Earth's cultural and natural heritage.

- Ecotourism
- Sustainable Tourism
- Geotourism
- Voluntourism
- Agrotourism
- Responsible Travel
- Greenwashing

Read the definitions of these green travel terms >>


Photograph by Stephan Brueckner/Courtesy of Namibrand Safaris

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristCreating the Ideal Ecolodge

Kenyan-born landscape architect and ecolodge expert Hitesh Mehta has a Zen take on design: No lodge is perfect, he says—there is always room to evolve and improve. Here, Mehta describes key ingredients of the ideal ecolodge.

1) LOCATION
First and foremost, the lodge must be set in or near a natural area that it is helping to protect.

2) COMMUNITY
Not just a source of employment, it must also help safeguard indigenous culture and heritage.

3) DESIGN
It must stand in harmony with its natural and cultural surroundings.

4) SOURCE
Food should be locally grown, healthy, and organic.

5) SERVICE
Providing friendly, efficient service and interactive experiences should be the constant focus.

6) CONSTRUCTION
The lodge is planned, built, and operated in an environmentally sensitive fashion.

Now make your plan with our guide to the world's 50 top ecolodges (or at least tempt yourself with our jaw-dropping photo gallery). They are spectacular, green, and, surprisingly, there's one suited to nearly every budget.

Beyond Green Travel With Costas Christ Searching For Greece in the Greek Isles

Text and photographs by Costas Christ

Finding a beach that is not covered with umbrellas and lounge chairs is no small task in the Greek Isles.

I found one on Patmos, where a friend of a friend led me as if I was being taken to a secret hideout. It was small and rocky, the water clear and blue--just what you would imagine Greece's islands to be like.

"Imagine" is the key word here. It was among the few beaches I came upon that was not conquered by row upon row of plastic chairs and umbrellas during my sojourn around the Aegean this month.

Maybe it is just me who thought this was not a good thing.  A French woman and her husband, who arrived on a cruise ship and accidentally stumbled upon the same "secret" Patmos beach in their rental car, left in search of a better place. She told me she was uncomfortable on a beach without a lot of chairs and umbrellas. "It just does not feel like a real beach to me," she explained.

It would be funny, if it were not so serious.

Continue reading this story >>

Beyond Green Travel with Costas ChristPaving Paradise For a Better Future, Donald Trump Style?

Text by Global Travel Editor Costas Christ

Photograph by Jim and Sheila Glavine

During hard economic times, how do you convince rural communities living next to unspoiled natural areas to see a brighter future? If you are Donald Trump, who wants to build the world's "best" gold course on wild sand dunes along the coast of north Aberdeen, Scotland, or Plum Creek Timber Corporation in USA, who are seeking rezoning approval to carve up more than 400,000 acres of wilderness for resort development and vacation houses around Moosehead Lake in Maine, you prey on local economic fears in a down economy. Although unrelated, both mega-tourism development projects have more than golf courses in common. They need special permits to proceed and they have argued that denying them that approval translates into economic stagnation.

Trump was recently in Scotland, where he decided to personally face off against those nagging gadfly's of progress - environmental groups. Conservation organizations, including Scottish Natural Heritage and the Scottish Wildlife Trust, among others, have raised serious concerns over Trump's plans to build two 18-hole golf courses, a 450 room hotel, conference centre, spa, golf academy, 950 holiday homes, 36 golf villas and accommodations for 400 staff on fragile sand dunes that are an officially designated Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and home to thousands of migrating birds. Trump has said that if he does not get approval for his plan the way he wants it, he will take his multi-million dollar investment someplace else (apparently where his generosity will be appreciated). He referred to Scottish opponents of his development plan as "imbeciles". In fairness, Trump described himself as "an environmentalist" during questioning in the three week public inquiry held last month on the project.

Across the Atlantic in Maine, home to the largest remaining wilderness expanse east of the Mississippi - the North Woods - Plum Creek Timber Corporation is locked in a heated battle with local opponents and conservation organizations, including Maine Audubon Society and the Natural Resources Council of Maine, in an effort to gain rezoning approval to build more than 2000 resort rooms, condos, and vacation homes, in addition to a golf course, marina, restaurants, gift shops, staff housing, service buildings, etc. in the heart of back-country forests, lakes, and rivers. That it also happens to be in an area of abundant wildlife, including moose, bear and endangered species like the Canadian Lynx, doesn't seem to matter. Like Trump, Plum Creek has threatened to take their economic investment elsewhere (where it will be better appreciated, no doubt) if they cannot get the zoning approval they want. The approach represents hardball fear tactics during hard economic times. In both cases, project opponents have sought compromises, but bottom line issues, like not building on the wild dunes of Scotland, and not putting a 400 room resort in the Lily Bay wildlife corridor of Moosehead Lake, where the endangered Canadian Lynx roams, have been met with firm resistance by the corporate real estate giants.

How much actual economic gain to local communities comes from mega-tourism projects like this in largely unspoiled natural areas? Historical experience points to a small pool of investors reaping large profits, with locals getting the crumbs from the economic table while ever-dwindling wilderness is destroyed in the process. At a time when global tourism trends show a growing interest among travelers to experience more nature, along with cultural authenticity and "sense of place", over-blown development projects like these are throwbacks to tourism's poorly planned past, and not the new sustainable tourism vision needed for the future.