Best Green Adventures: Eco-Time Line Thirty years ago ecotourism was just an idea. Now it's going mainstream. Here are ten places where it's making a difference—one trip at a time. Text by Costas Christ Photograph by Michael Deyoun/Alaskastock
The term "ecotourism" and the ideas behind it emerged almost simultaneously in Africa and the Americas. Here are some highlights of the first 30 years.
1978 Early attempts to link tourism and community conservation in Amboseli are led by Kenyan biologist David Western.
1980 Costa Rica Expeditions president Michael Kaye tells the Tico Times that "tourism should contribute to rather than exploit the land."
1985 New York developer Stanley Selengut creates Maho Bay Camp, a prototype eco-resort in the U.S. Virgin Islands, using low-impact tents and elevated walkways.
1990 PBS airs Megan Epler Wood's documentary The Environmental Tourist. The conservationist-filmmaker then founds The International Ecotourism Society (TIES).
1991 TIES holds its inaugural board meeting, and "ecotourism" is officially defined.
1992 CCAfrica opens Phinda Mountain Lodge. The company's mantra: "Care for the land, care for the people, care for the animals."
1994 Australia commits $10 million toward developing a national ecotourism strategy.
1995 Delegates from 30 countries gather in Costa Rica to create international standards for ecolodges.
2002 The United Nations declares this the International Year of Ecotourism.
2005 The First Conference on Ecotourism in the U.S. is held in Bar Harbor, Maine.
2007 Calls increase for ecotourism standards across the mainstream travel industry.
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