This chapter reports on an empirical study that reveals that New Zealand ecotourism business operators hold clear views on the merits of environmental certification, and the relative merits of other environmental management initiatives such as self-regulation through voluntary codes of conduct. The study confirms that membership in environmental certification programmes is most likely if businesses have been in existence for more than 10 years and if they account for five employees or more. However, at present, a minority of New Zealand ecotourism businesses fit this description. As such, most ecotourism business operators continue to view investment in environmental certification as a potentially ineffective use of limited human and/or financial resources. It is concluded that investigating and overcoming barriers to the environmental certification of ecotourism businesses in New Zealand remain a priority for the sector.

This introductory chapter sets the context for the book by exploring the concepts of ecotourism, quality in tourism, and finally quality in ecotourism.

This chapter aims to address the transition from ecolodge guidelines to certification and assist in developing a more transparent and consistent ecolodge market, with standardized components and principles. Key stages that are important in the development and operation of an authentic ecolodge are explained. Four existing ecotourism certification programmes that incorporate ecolodge criteria are then compared and evaluated: (1) EcoCertification (NEAP edition III), Australia; (2) Green Globe - International Ecotourism Standard (IES); (3) CST (Certificate of Sustainable Tourism), Costa Rica; and (4) Eco-Rating Scheme, Kenya. The chapter incorporates some key principles and best components from these four existing certification programmes in laying the foundations for creating an international certification for ecolodges.

This chapter introduces the spectrum of quality assurance tools that have been developed and applied in the ecotourism industry to address and improve quality. Specifically the chapter looks at awards of excellence, codes of conduct, certification and accreditation, and monitoring and evaluation. The latter part of the chapter provides a more detailed overview of certification programs. This emphasis on certification reflects the benefits of this approach over other voluntary initiatives such as awards and codes, and the increasing number of programs throughout the world. Each of the chapters in Part One provides a detailed analysis of a particular quality assurance tool.

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