“Luckily there are always people who put quality before quantity and operate on a small and green level, and they make a real change. In our region we have one eco adventure travel agency that grew extremely over the past years, and they use a lot of that income for improvements in the Mayan communities… They manage quite some numbers of tourists in the high season though, and although they provide income for communities, their vans make a large part of the daily traffic.” – Stefanie Baeker, Project Mayan Encounter

The Soapbox Question: What do you perceive to be the greatest challenges to ecotourism in the destination, and what are some potential solutions?

Stefanie Baeker: I see money (or the lack of it) as the biggest threat to eco tourism. Generally, city leaders prefer mass tourism because of the higher return of income. And that’s usually connected with a lot of frou-frou and fast-food, construction (and interfering with nature), and loud entertainment, and lack of respect (“Ey, honeymooners!”). Giant international hotel chains bring more revenue into the country than small eco lodges, and even though there are supporters for green tourism, money often speaks louder than integrity. I am convinced that everyone likes to walk on an educational jungle path or through a botanical garden at their own pace, enchanted by the smell of flowers, singing birds, small forest animals – stopping at any time to study a flower that catches the attention.

We all like to take a long walk on an uncrowded beach, lined by palm trees, and have the freedom to sit down and listen to the ocean if we feel like, or even take a skinny-dip if nobody is around. Or explore wildlife with an experienced local in a small group. Of course, this can only happen if we keep the ratio sane in biosphere reserves, and not overcrowd nature areas. Green Tourism should be something genuine, and not a trendy marketing slogan. Entrance fees should be affordable to encourage everyone to enjoy the natural gems that are typical for a given destination. I find that government should develop a more serious desire to support public green areas, specially in developing countries (I live in boom-town Playa del Carmen!).

Declaring areas to nature preserves may help bringing in funds from educational institutions. Also private investors have great potential to use their excess funds sensefully. What does money help in the end, if you have to eat pills and the surface is plastered and betonized? Tourism is a business that pretty much every nation lives on as part of their economy. At the end of the day the numbers have to be right. It can be challenging to keep prices for eco lodging affordable if you are facing the same costs for advertising, maintenance, supplies, services, etc. than large hotels do, while they can drive in higher revenue from a lot more guests, and small eco lodges have only a fraction of that. I can see that this makes it attractive to think ‘bigger’, and work with common ‘industrial’ supplies, rather than expensive organic products. It requires a certain mindset to keep business sustainable, for example make an effort to find organic resources, maybe grow as much as possible yourself, or buy from local growers (although this can be an unreliable source).

Luckily there are always people who put quality before quantity and operate on a small and green level, and they make a real change. In our region we have one eco adventure travel agency that grew extremely over the past years, and they use a lot of that income for improvements in the Mayan communities, such as building septic toilets etc. They manage quite some numbers of tourists in the high season though, and although they provide income for communities, their vans make a large part of the daily traffic. I find that people who remain true to themselves are inspiring others to follow, and I see the circle of environmentally conscious people grow in our region, from individual eco-cultural guides to suppliers. Or just certain folks who practice recycling of trash. In the end, we are preparing our own future living space, and I believe that living in harmony is one of our innate desires. The internet provides so much free advice that basically everyone can live in sync with nature – whether it’s natural nutrition, construction, clothing, etc. (if we stop eating junk food, they will eventually stop producing that stuff).

In my opinion, people are taking a vacation to recharge their human battery, to recover from the daily hectic, smog and audio pollution, but also quench their curiosity about other cultures and learn about foreign vegetation. Tremendous peace can be found if we reconnect with nature. And thanks to creators of internet communities and all those who contribute their experience of places they have visited, there is much inspiration to be found for free.

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