We talked about ecotourism in my last two threads discussing what it is and how the terminology is misunderstood. I found it interesting that the phrase, “ecotourism hotels in Mexico,” was one of the most often searched terms relating to green travel or ecotourism.
Today, it’s much easier to find ecotourism hotels in Mexico and other places around the world. You can go to websites such as rezhub.com or Ecohotelsandlodgecollection.com. Literally, you will not have a problem finding these resorts on the web or in magazines related to travel and ecotourism. It’s amazing how quickly we’ve seen this evolve just in the U.S. alone.
When we came out with our research in Ohio in 2005, companies were not ready to discuss green anything, at least not most of them. The cutting-edge ones were ready to take a look, of course. Today, this has changed. It’s the reason that I emphasize the need to be as clear and concise as possible on your website and in your marketing tools about your green resort or green business. People don’t have time to figure it out.
Granted, LOHAS and green consumers will spend extra time digging around, but with the increased competition in this arena, I have a feeling this will change. They’ll look for the talk about these places in the green communities and to see if these places are truly green or just a lot of hot air.
It doesn’t take much to be greenwashed these days (saying you’re green when you are not) by green and LOHAS consumers alike (even non-green ones), and the newer trend we are seeing is the continual advent of greenwashing websites so that consumers can rate ads. Toyota, a very green company has been excused of greenwashing as well.
The day has come to pay critical attention to what you say and be as clear as possible as your little sister (or whomever) is watching to make sure your green resort or green business is truly what it says it is. If they don’t understand the lingo or you are using terms other non-green resorts and businesses are using, you’ll want to make sure they know yours is for real.
Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends
Colette Chandler
