Honduras wants Sustainable Tourism industry
By Nick July 9, 2008
I ran into an interesting article on Honduras’ new tourism initiatives. Honduras is sick of being the forgotten Central American travel destination, and this has lead to a new itch to get into the tourism business. When looking around Central America, it’s hard to blame Honduras for wanting to tap into this industry. In 2006, Honduras only had earnings of $500 million, when Costa Rica made almost $2 billion. With the dollar’s strength in Honduras, probably even after the development in the country, Honduras will be a budget friendly green destination.
Currently, the government and private developers are investing $100 million
in this Los Micos development for hotels, villas, and golf courses nearby Tela, a beautiful, medium sized beach destination.
While the intentions of the development are good on the outside - to make new environmentally friendly tourist options - there are several environmental concerns:
- Damage to mangrove swamps
- Damage to rain forests
- Interference with fishing and fishing villages
Officials believe they can avoid these pitfalls because they don’t plan on having expansive beach based development but instead want to focus on other highlights of the country.
I think Honduras offers a glowing opportunity for honest developers: it’s beautiful and willing to embrace a new industry. While it’d be easy to go in, rip it apart, and make it the next Cancun, it’d be much more beneficial to use modern green technology and building techniques to make this truly a pristine, environmentally friendly destination. Doing so could probably make it the new, preferred Costa Rica for eco friendly and green travelers and it’d definitely give them props and spur future super green development in the country. So while I applaud Hounduras’ good intentions, I hope they don’t follow the quick money trail leading to mass tourism at any cost, but instead opt to stay green, sustainable, and classy.
Topics: Green Travel |
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