ecotourism news stories on Newser

One-Ton Crocodile Nabbed

Mary Papenfuss — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 04:19:00 CDT

A gigantic saltwater crocodile as heavy as a Volkswagen Beetle has been captured by residents of a Philippine village. They plan to make the monster the star of a new local ecotourism park. The 21-foot, one-ton male was nabbed in a creek and could be the largest croc captured in...

Stonehenge, Machu Picchu Among 'Threatened Wonders'

Jane Yager — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 09:10:00 CST

From the litter strewn around Machu Picchu to the noisy highway junction next to Stonehenge, mass tourism and misguided development have many of the world's most famous travel destinations looking worse for the wear. Wanderlust magazine reports on the top eight threatened wonders, what can be done to help them,...

Greenies Shudder as Big Biz Embraces EcoTravel

Dustin Lushing — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 15:59:52 CDT

Ecofriendly travelers once camped outdoors and foraged for food, but today a hotel in Times Square can claim it's as green as a lodge in the Costa Rican rain forest, Anna Kuchment writes in Newsweek . In other words, eco-vacationing has gone big business, and environmental advocates fear the notion is...

Time Slows on Easter Island

Ambreen Ali — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:00:00 CDT

Tourists have left no stone unturned on Easter Island, flocking at rates of 50,000 a year to arguably the world’s most remote habitation. Five hours of flying over uninterrupted Pacific Ocean lands you on this mostly undeveloped volcanic rock with its haunting stone figures (moai), but today it boasts...

Frolic Guilt-Free in Costa Rica

Ambreen Ali — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 18:38:03 CDT

If carbon-footprint guilt is keeping you from taking a vacation, one company has your sun-soaked answer, TreeHugger reports. From the domestic flight to the hotel stay—and even airport transfers in biodiesel vans—NatureVacations' eco-friendly package to Costa Rica promises to offset every ounce of carbon you produce on your...

Darwins Were Planning Panama Canoe Resort

Katherine Thompson — Sat, 08 Dec 2007 08:56:06 CST

The British man who faked his own death in a boating accident had been planning with his wife to open an eco-tourism resort offering idyllic canoeing holidays, the Times of London has discovered. John and Anne Darwin spent almost half a million dollars on property in Panama, including $390,000...

Melting Alaska, Tourist Hot Spot

Kevin Spak — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 13:31:56 CST

Tourists traditionally head to Alaska for cruises and fishing, but for a growing number, it’s a global warming pilgrimage. Heating up five times faster than anyplace else, Alaska has drawn politicians, scientists, and now tourists to see the melting future, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “This has immediate consequences,” one...

World's Best Green Hotels

Sophie Goldstein — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 10:15:00 CST

Solar-heated pools, energy-conserving lights, composted food scraps . . . hotels aren't all bastions of consumption and waste. Travel+Leisure teamed up with Conservation International to assemble a list of 20 eco-friendly hotels: Spice Island Beach Resort, Grenada Soneva Fushi Resort & Six Senses Spa, Maldives Heritance Kandalama, Sri Lanka

Tourism Heats Up as Arctic Does

Kevin Spak — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 08:22:07 CDT

The effects of global warming are drawing a crowd. About 1.5 million people will visit the arctic this year, as climate tourists swarm to see the world’s ice caps as they are beginning to melt. But it’s an ironic endeavor, the Wall Street Journal notes, because eco-tourists are contributing...