by Mat Churchill

Noosa is currently hosting the Global Eco Asia-Pacific Tourism conference, a four day event which focuses on building a successful ecotourism industry.

Australia has been criticised of late for falling behind the rest of the world in terms of innovation in the ecotourism sector. Organisers are highlighting the need for operators to keep up with the times, and the technologies that are available to them.

One of the main problems, according to the Global Sustainable Tourism Council's executive director Erika Harms, is that many tourists are not familiar with ecotourism and what it stands for.

"I think certification is a good place where businesses can start because it provides a clear guideline on how you become sustainable," Ms Harms told Travel Today.

"Biodiversity, conservation, you want to include water, you want to include interaction if there are local communities or Indigenous communities, you want to ensure that interaction and their economic benefit as well."

Steve and Katrina Edmondson from the Reef Adventure Centre see education as the key to eco-tourism.

"Sailaway and Poseidon are eco-certified so that logo is listed on our marketing material," Katrina said.

"Our staff are well aware of our environmental ethos and have discussions with the guests on board as part of our reef interpretation talks.

"Our staff are very proud of our culture, and you need your crew to be on board with it," she said.

Steve, who is about to embark on a promotional trip through nine European countries with Tourism Queensland, pointed out the importance of delivering a consistent message.

"It's about what we're doing, not what we hope to achieve," he said.

Ecotourism Australia has strict criteria that must be met in order for an operation to be 'eco-certified', including ongoing audits of the business.