Australia and Costa Rica set standards for eco-tourism

OSLO - Australia and Costa Rica are good examples of the multi-billion dollar world eco-tourism business, which is growing at about 30 percent a year.

Eco-tourism destinations, ranging from environment-friendly Thai beach resorts to jungle lodges in Kenya, now attract about 15 percent of the global tourist market, leaders of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) said.

Many destinations lack sufficient green certification or follow-up checks by governments or other groups to ensure they keep their promises of not harming the environment. However, Australia's national eco-tourism accreditation program has set ever tougher goals for operators and Costa Rica has a scale of compliance under which top marks might go to a company whose headquarters are run on environment-friendly lines like on solar power.

"A critical element is to have follow-up," said Kelly Bricker, chair of the U.S.-based TIES board. "Even with some certification program there have to be check-ups by people who understand the criteria."