A number of ECOCLUB Members are attending the World Ecotourism Summit at Quebec. Kindly let us know if you are planning to attend so that we can bring you in touch with other members. Email news@ecoclub.com with full contact details. To those attending, we wish you luck - stand your ground for genuine ecotourism. Remember to send us a report on how it went.

MEMBERSHIP REORGANISATION:
A new paying membership category, Active Membership, has been created offering exciting benefits for travellers and support to ECOCLUB. We have also re-organised our Expert Membership which is now free of charge. Expert Members undertake to provide a free basic advice to bona fide enquiries, and to offer more substantial advice for free to Ecolodge Members and other Expert Members.

ECOLODGE MEMBERSHIP RENEWED:
This month we were sorry to see some old Ecolodge Members leave the club, but we were in the pleasant position to welcome six new quality Lodges as members:

Araca River Camp of Brazil
Eco-Hotel Uxlabil of Guatemala
Spring House Farm of USA
NatureQuest Camp, of India 
successfully completed their Trial Membership and became Ecolodge Members.
Ecolodge-Saba, of Saba - Netherlands Antilles and
Ranweli Holiday Village of Sri Lanka have just joined.

Click on the links to visit our new Ecolodge members.

NEW EXPERT MEMBERS:
We also welcomed the following Experts to our Expert Member team in April:
Professor Ogundipe, Botanologist, based in Lagos, Nigeria
Professor Ulhas Rane, Architect and Tourism Planner, based in Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Dr. Tiwari, Lecturer, based in Dehradun, Uttaranchal, India

MEMBERS SPECIAL OFFERS:

ECOLODGE OFFERS
Exclusively to our Active Members:
Two exciting new offers from Ecolodge Members: 
Tohum Living Earth Centre of Turkey and Mocking Bird Hill of Jamaica

• Tohum Living Earth Centre offer a 15% discount from their normal prices for accommodation.
• Hotel Mocking Bird Hill offer a complimentary lunch for 2 for all Active Members during their stay at this award-winning environmentally friendly boutique hotel.

The ECOCLUB.com Shop Special May 2002 Offer Organic Red Saffron One packet of Organic Red Saffron, produced by the renown Kozani Saffron Cooperative, in Northern Greece. This certified organic product is distinguished for it's excellent quality which places it in the Coupe Class, the top quality of Saffron in the world Price: Only U.S. $7.00  - Free Registered Shipping ! Order securely on-line Active Members: pay just $ 6.30

ECOCLUB participated in the "online Sustainable Development of Ecotourism Conference" which attracted over 900 participants from around the world sponsored by UNEP and expertly moderated by Ron Mader of Planeta.com  The third week was entitled "Product Development, Marketing and Promotion" of Ecotourism. The title itself, we felt was inappropriate, tradition and authenticity is not a "product" that needs development, and we are very averse to consultants who like to use their one-size-fits-all pre-fab expressions on whatever subject they are talking about. Thus we deliberately decided to make a provocatively titled posting, which indeed raised eyebrows and produced about a dozen postings out of the conferences 100:
The title was "There is NO Ecotourism Market".

What we meant was explained in the posting:

Despite the fact, or perhaps because of the fact that I work in Ecotourism promotion, I believe that the terms "Marketing", "Packaging", "Ecotourism Product Development" are politically charged terms that are totally unsuitable for use in the context of Ecotourism, at least genuine Ecotourism. You can not "Market" Ecotourism as you can not "market" Tradition, Philosophy, History, Religion, as you can not market Humans. There is no "Christian" or "Muslim market" and there is no Ecotourism Market, no one can "buy" or "sell" ecotourism. No, you can not measure the value of a living lion or whale, it is priceless. No, you can not measure the value (or "demand") of an ecotourist really opening her eyes and heart to the improvisation of a story-teller. Someone talking about "Packaging Ecotourism" is missing the whole point. Ecotourism is the real tourism, unpackaged, no microphones please.

So let's talk about PROMOTING Ecotourism, promoting the noble ideas behind ecotourism, promoting the correct practice of ecotourism, promoting the visible and invisible successes of ecotourism.

As far as promoting Ecotourism, the Internet is the most efficient, cheap, quick and ecological way for communities to reach and being reached by ecotourists directly and avoid being exploited by local and international tourist monopolies. Relevant expertise is abundant on the Internet and in many cases it is available free or at a fraction of the cost of other distribution systems. What is required is access to a phone, a computer and an ISP. No patronising guidance from governments and NGOs is required in this. Access to phones is improving worldwide, even for remote communities, computers are becoming cheaper by the day and ISPs are lowering connection prices as telecom monopolies are removed. And a computer can be of a far better educational use for youngsters in a remote community, than a television offering no choice but decadent soap operas.

Ecotourism is a movement to make the tourism industry, both at the world and the local level, more ecological and democratic, less polluting and destructive, less oligopolistic, less packaged and less dominated by a few multinational groups and distribution channels. Thus, Ecotourism has found a perfect partner in the Internet, which is equally a more equitable, pluralistic and ecological information distribution channel. Ron Mader, the Moderator of this conference is the pioneer in this field, and I leave it up to him to make more detailed comments on the intricacies of Ecotourism promotion through the Internet.

This on-line conference is proof of the importance of the Internet. I strongly believe that in the near future, technology will make obsolete meetings like that of Quebec. And then we will hopefully be able to use all those conference funds to really help those who help, without fanfare, every day.