Greenloons Joins Forces with Rainforest Alliance in Sustainability
Organizations working together to promote ecologically and socially responsible best practices for sustainable tourism businesses.
Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 18, 2011
With over 900 million people traveling annually, tourism is the world’s largest service sector industry and ecotourism is its fastest growing sector. In order to protect the surroundings upon which it depends, Greenloons, a family-focused eco travel website based in Washington DC, recently collaborated with the Rainforest Alliance to work towards improving environmental and social standards, as well as protecting wildlife habitats and workers alike.
Greenloons just signed an agreement with the Rainforest Alliance to take steps to encourage businesses in the ecotourism industry to adopt environmentally and socially sound practices by recognizing and promoting those that do. “Families can rest assured that an eco-vacation listed on Greenloons has been certified as one that supports local communities, emphasizes environmental education, sustains conservation efforts, minimizes tourist waste, and respects local cultural traditions,” said Irene Lane, founder and president of Greenloons. “It is our hope that by joining forces, Greenloons and the Rainforest Alliance will be able to better promote transparency in the rapidly growing ecotourism industry, both here in the US and around the world.”
The first of its kind, http://www. greenloons. com is an easy-to-use one stop shop for ecotourism services. The website promotes responsible tourism by providing key information about regional certifications and international standards for ecotourism, third-party certified vacation tour search and reservation capabilities, volunteer conservation effort search, and topical news.
As part of the Rainforest Alliance program, Greenloons works to promote demand for sustainable tourism businesses by educating consumers about the benefits of choosing environmentally and socially responsible vacation packages, as well as the benefits of tourism certification as a tool for conservation and economic development of local communities and businesses.
“We are proud to join forces with an organization so committed to improving the ecotourism industry,” said Thomas Enderlin, Marketing Coordinator at the Rainforest Alliance. “They are a welcome addition to our sustainable tourism program.”
The Rainforest Alliance’s sustainable tourism program helps tourism professionals improve the sustainability of their businesses through training workshops and on-site technical assistance. Initiatives include adopting ecosystem and water conservation measures, reducing energy use, supporting local economies, hiring from within the community and reducing costs.
About Greenloons
Greenloons L. L.C. is a Washington DC-based company dedicated to providing nature enthusiasts and wildlife conservationists worldwide with trusted information about responsible, sustainable, and certified ecotourism travel vacations and volunteer conservation efforts both in the U. S. and internationally. For more information, visit Greenloons at http://www. greenloons. com
About The Rainforest Alliance
The Rainforest Alliance works with people whose livelihoods depend on the land, helping them transform the way they grow food, harvest wood and host travellers. From large multinational corporations to small, community-based cooperatives, businesses and consumers worldwide are involved in the Rainforest Alliance’s efforts to bring responsibly produced goods and services to a global marketplace where the demand for sustainability is growing steadily. For more information, visit http://www. rainforest-alliance. org. For media queries, contact Anna Clark at aclark (at) ra (dot) org or 646-452-1939.
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