Greetings!

We are asking a lot of tourism these days -- to alleviate poverty, to
conserve biodiversity, to work toward world peace ... and let's not forget,
to provide travelers with a good time. Travelers know -- if it's not fun,
it's not worth doing.

While I respect the value of boycotts, I tend to seek someplace or something
or someone which I can recommend. I'd rather be pro-peace than anti-war.
Nevertheless, I'm disappointed that the vaunted International Year of
Ecotourism did not result in more practical actions. We've heard leaders
talk about compassionate capitalism and responsible travel ... but what have
we seen?

Rick Steves encourages investing in the south as a way to promote peace. I
agree 100%. Let's encourage financial institutions and development agencies
and offer to assist efforts that rid the world of poverty. (For more on this
topic, please read my feature published in this month's Transitions Abroad
-- http://tinyurl.com/xn0d)

If we think of Peace as a destination, tourism is but one road. It is also
the avenue that unites the members of green-travel. If we have a shared
vision of how we want the world to be, what do we do in the coming year?
Sheepish grin aside, I'm glad we have 31 days to figure it out.

Ron Mader
Planeta.com
>> http://www.planeta.com