ANNUAL REPORT - Rainforest Alliance

Responsible Tourism in Latin America
To combat the pollution, deforestation, destruction of coral reefs and other problems
that result from irresponsibly managed tourism development, the Rainforest Alliance
is providing hotels, lodges and other tourism businesses throughout Mexico and Central
and South America with the tools and techniques to function more efficiently and
responsibly:
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• In Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, we are teaching hoteliers how to contribute to local development
and implement measures that conserve energy, manage waste and reduce
negative impacts on the environment. The training prepares businesses to meet the certification
requirements of various local organizations and shows them how to market
their conservation efforts to an increasingly eco-savvy clientele.
• Hoping to attract responsible travelers, more than 50 lodge owners in Nicaragua attended
Rainforest Alliance workshops, where they learned to reduce resource consumption,
responsibly dispose of waste and contribute to local community development in Rainforest
Alliance workshops. In addition, 13 local tour operators committed to promote
these workshops to hoteliers and encourage them to adopt Rainforest Alliance-recommended
methods.
We have to continue tending the
Earth. We have to plant fruit trees.
We have to make the land green
again with chicozapotes, pepper and
cericote. We have to plant the future.
Ángel Luna, a veteran Selva Maya farmer and forester, who
helps with local economic development projects, including a xate
plantation that has been tended since February 2002 by a group
of more than 30 children.
• In recognition of the tourism workshops that the Rainforest Alliance has been conducting
in Central America, the Costa Rican Association of Tourism Professionals presented
us with its “Friends of Nature 2008” award.
To measure the impact of our sustainability workshops, the Rainforest Alliance studied
the progress of five hotels in Costa Rica’s Sarapiquí region. On a scale of one to 10, the
hotels improved from an average pre-training score of 4.5 to an average post-training
score of 7.8.
Protecting the World’s Natural and Cultural Patrimony through Tourism
As part of a United Nations Foundation initiative — led by the World Heritage Alliance —
many of our tourism training efforts have focused on areas located in and around United
Nations-designated World Heritage Sites, including the Andean city of Cusco, where we
are training professionals from area hotels and restaurants to ensure that the tourist
08 Rainforest Alliance Annual Report