Asia, T. W. (2025, May 30). Hawaii is now charging green tax on tourists. Travelweekly-Asia.com; Travel Weekly Asia. https://www.travelweekly-asia.com/Travel-News/Responsible-Tourism/Hawaii-is-now-charging-green-tax-on-tourists 

A significant green tax on hotels, short term rentals, and cruises was implemented in January for tourists visiting Hawaii in 2026. This new tax is included in the transient accommodation tax for Hawaii tourists. The money made from the tax will be put towards sustainable infrastructure, natural disaster preparation, and natural resource preparation. The tax is aimed to prevent disasters such as the 2023 Maui wildfires that severely damaged the island. Taxing tourists shares a tiny part of the responsibility residents have to care for their islands. Especially visitors like cruise ship passengers, will now have to pay the tax after years of damaging the natural land. The governor of Hawaii notes that this tax is an effort to address fairness in the tourism industry. 

This article provided insight on new measures taken to improve tourism places facing environmental damage and over-tourism. Hawaii’s new green tax is a clear example of how tourism can be regulated to keep locals and local land protected. These payment policies are noticeably effective with tourists as it can serve as a reminder of the fragility of natural land and local communities when tourism takes over. Hawaii’s locals need these policy protections to preserve their land and homes. Keeping tourism regulated and low-impact allows residents to benefit from the economic gains of tourism without environmental risks. This new green tax invests in Hawaii’s future of sustainable travel. 

Stierch, S. (2025, June 26). New website promotes California agritourism with travel guides and interactive features. Local News Matters. https://localnewsmatters.org/2025/06/26/new-website-promotes-california-agritourism-with-travel-guides-and-interactive-features/ 

California’s Department of Food and Agriculture has recently launched a website that provides agritourism locations across the state available for tourists to visit. Agritourism is a type of travel in which agricultural locations and their practices are available for the public to explore. Like ecotourism, agritourism boosts local business and income. This new website connects tourists to “U pick” farms, farm-to-table restaurants, local farm stands, and farm tours. This new type of travel allows for California’s agricultural hubs to get financial boosts, and it inspires travelers to visit new places more sustainably. California hotspots like Santa Cruz and Mendocino county are encouraging tourists to educate themselves about their local agricultural systems in addition to providing them an enjoyable immersive experience. 

This article covers California’s new travel offerings in the agritourism sector. This new type of tourism could be an additional branch of ecotourism, a huge success in the travel industry and travel destinations. Agritourism could be a clear solution to many agricultural centers where people tend not to vacation. This innovation could go beyond California and into places like the midwest. Showing visitors the processes and factors that go into cultivating foods may encourage more tourist traffic in those areas. It may also influence the amount of farm-to-table restaurants around the country as they seem to be very popular with visitors. This in turn, would support local farms and business in areas that may need the financial support. 

Diller, N. (2025, February 2). “What is our limit?”: How cruise ships are impacting Alaska’s environment. USA TODAY. https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/cruises/2025/02/02/alaska-cruises-environmental-impacts-juneau-ketchikan/77543207007/ 

Alaska is dealing with an overtourism crisis caused by unregulated cruise ships. These vast ships not only bring financial problems, but most noticeably, environmental issues. The Alaskan cruise season now being extended by two months, places like Ketchikan are overrun with people and environmental hazards. Local businesses are required to operate like big corporations, often having to hire people to cope with foot traffic. Many residents agree that while visitors bring revenue to these places, they don’t often bring more than in the off season. More specifically, even though cruise ship passengers may spend more money in these destinations all together, most businesses are making less than they normally would because tourists spend less individually due to the volume of people in one concentrated area. Looking at the environmental aspect of cruises, places like Ketchikan are battling noise, air, and water pollution alongside wildlife disruption and waste generation. Bigger ships, as required by Alaska’s DEC, must remove wastewater under many permits and restrictions. However, smaller ships often do not follow the same constraints and are able to pollute the water. This has become a growing issue due to the amount of tourism Alaska has been receiving. 

This article discusses the excess tourism that Alaska has been receiving from cruise ships and boat tours. Issues like overall pollution and land destruction are only getting worse, as it seems like cruises only get more popular with travelers. The solution, as most locals call it, is a balance of tourism and environmental protection (AKA ecotourism). Although cruise ships have been limited to certain docking areas and environmental policies like limiting food waste and noise pollution, stricter regulations need to be put into place for all tourist ships. Rules protecting the natural land must be enforced or else tourism will ruin the very towns that depend on it. Disruption of any local ordinance could potentially be a fined offence so cruise ships are more incentivized to follow them. More sustainable activities could also be promoted by cruises, like whale watching and hiking which not only prevent the environment from being disrupted but also help the local economy. 

London, S., & London, S. (2025, June 27). sustainable travel colorado. Travelagewest.com; TravelAge West. https://www.travelagewest.com/Travel/USA-Canada/sustainable-travel-colorado 

A sustainable campaign called “Do Colorado Right” that was born out of the pandemic to protect travelers from Covid-19, has been extended into the new year, working now to enrich sustainable travel throughout the state. “Do Colorado Right” helps to deliver the state’s decade long “Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan”, a program designed to encourage tourism while protecting Colorado’s natural landscapes and local residents. A smaller program has been created out of this called “The Colorado Tourism Climate Champions Program” that works in locations around the state to carbon-neutral travel resources and low-impact tourist activities. These programs combine volunteer work with travel experiences. For example, Colorado tourists can help restore alpine ecosystems while traveling through Colorado’s highest peaks, repeat alpine meadows, and protect ghost towns. This campaign has also encouraged tourists to reportedly have stronger intentions to protect natural land and resources. 

This article details a state’s initiative to boost tourism alongside eco-friendly policies that will protect the visited land and natural attractions. “Do Colorado Right” is a clear example of how ecotourism can have a “win-win” effect if executed correctly. The program does not claim to be completely climate neutral which prevents greenwashing on their business and instead, “Do Colorado Right” focuses on smaller sustainable or low-impact projects like meadow restoration in Colorado’s mountains. This in turn inspires other small initiatives to join Colorado’s ecotourism movement, making the program more robust. Visitors exposed to these kinds of sustainable travel experiences are also encouraged to volunteer in these exact programs, making the program’s structure sustainable itself. This is definitely the future of travel, especially in places like Colorado where the natural scenery speaks for itself! 

Ehrlick, D. (2025, December 11). Trump administration changes “fee-free” days for national parks • Idaho Capital Sun. Idaho Capital Sun. https://idahocapitalsun.com/2025/12/11/trump-administration-changes-fee-free-days-for-national-parks/

Beginning this month, national parks will no longer be “fee-free” on their typical holiday days. Trump and the Department of Interior have scrapped the yearly complimentary-day schedule for limited and “patriotic fee-free days”. Holidays such as Juneteenth, National Public Lands Day, and Martin Luther King Jr. Day have been replaced with days such as Donald Trump’s Birthday and Constitution Day. Not only has the national park holiday calendar been disrupted but the “fee-free” system has also been altered to only apply to U.S. residents, charging foreign visitors a fee regardless of the date. The Trump administration claims that these changes “puts American families first” with their implemented “patriotic holidays” and charges on foreign visitors. They claim that Americans will be able to enjoy affordable access to parks while international tourists can help pay for the maintenance of our national parks.

This article displays the Trump Administration’s new changes going into effect this year in National Parks. The new dates on the national park calendar classified as “fee-free” have the potential to discourage both locals and foreigners from visiting the land. For example, Juneteenth, a fee-free day and a bank holiday, was changed to Trump’s Birthday, a non-bank holiday. Visitors wanting to visit a national park for free on their time off might not be able to have the same opportunities as the president’s birthday does not allow for time off work. Not only have the date changes risked potential attraction to the parks, but the new foreigner charge has too. National parks used to accommodate all travelers on fee-free days, but will now only waiver the cost to residents, not international visitors. Excluding non-U.S. residents from fee-free days could potentially risk the popular allure of national parks for international tourists and U.S. ecotourism as a whole. This would result in a loss of revenue year round for these parks, ultimately restricting their upkeep and care.

TIMESOFINDIA.COM. (2025, May 27). Uttar Pradesh launches “Buffer Mein Safar Yojana” to boost ecotourism and local livelihoods. The Times of India; Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/life-style/travel/news/uttar-pradesh-launches-buffer-mein-safar-yojana-to-boost-ecotourism-and-local-livelihoods/articleshow/121434281.cms 

‌The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department has implemented “Buffer Mein Safar Yojana”, a program that will turn the buffer zones of tiger reserves into successful ecotourism destinations. Its goal is to train and employ the local villagers of these communities to work in this ecotourism sector as tour guides, safari operators, cooks, canteen staff, and more. This program will be carried out across areas near Nepal with rich biodiversity. It is expected that the local economies will greatly benefit from this program by employing local staff, providing sustainable income, and of course, inviting tourists to come explore the natural lands. There are also resource centers on the Dudhwa tiger and other education tours that will aim to bring more awareness to travelers regarding wildlife conservation. The program’s goal is to not only foster sustainable tourism, but a sustainable future for the land, locals, and travelers. 

This article highlights the main goals and objectives of the ecotourism sector, enriching not only the land but also the local community. The Uttar Pradesh Forest Department’s program plans to employ locals into the tourism industry within their communities, meaning that the employees would be able to work directly with tourists in their own towns. An ambitious program, “Buffer Mein Safar Yojana”, plans to boost local economies by providing sustainable income for employees through tourism. The travelers themselves will experience education based safaris and explorations as well as animal and land conservation information. I am curious as to how successful this program will be long term? I can guess, based on the success of the ecotourism sector as a whole, that it will be overall sustainable. However, tourism can be unpredictable based on components like weather and foreign conflicts which can affect the amount of tourism each year. As seen in Europe, an huge influx in tourism can be just as damaging to the land and its inhabitants as a huge decrease in tourism. 

Bobbybascomb. (2025, April 8). Jaguar tourism in Brazil’s Pantanal needs new rules to avoid collapse: Study. Mongabay Environmental News. https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/jaguar-tourism-in-brazils-pantanal-needs-new-rules-to-avoid-collapse-study/ 

‌In Porto Jofre, a remote area in the Pantanal wetlands of western Brazil, jaguar tourism has become extremely popular. As it is home to the second largest population and holds the world’s highest density of jaguars, Porto Jofre has become overwhelmed with visitors seeking to view the cats in their habitat. This has consequently created many risks for jaguars despite being in a protected environment. Guides originally provided viewings of the jaguars for guests by sharing jaguar locations with fellow guides on open radio channels when jaguar sightings were rarer. Now with the animals being more familiar with visitors, sightings are much more common. With a maximum of 30 boats in the wetlands, this radio strategy is still used among guides making the tour overwhelming and invasive for the animals. Despite the tours, jaguar tourism has become a million dollar ecotourism industry, upholding the environmental protection of these animals from poaching and other dangers. 

This article reviews both the positive and negative aspects of jaguar tourism and the popularity it has recently faced. The idea of jaguar preservation is incredibly important in Porto Jofre however the execution of this idea doesn’t always align with true protection of these animals. I was interested in the article’s discussion of strategies used to spot jaguars during tours and how it is not as sustainable as it used to be. More specifically, now that jaguars are more accustomed to humans, they are easier to find. The guides have not changed their strategies in sighting the jaguars either, consequently increasing the amount of tours and people rushing to see them. I am curious as to why this strategy has not been changed after reading about the area’s funding and commitment to the conservation of these animals. This article seems to display an example of a downside to ecotourism, the influx of tourists impacting the land and animals negatively.

Guardian staff reporter. (2025, May 20). “I’m in love with the birds and the river”: how ecotourism helped a small Colombian town recover from war. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2025/may/20/ecotourism-colombia-mesetas-recover-from-war-peace-violence 

‌Mesetas, a small town in Columbia, is experiencing success after war through ecotourism. After a peace treaty was signed in 2016 to end the conflicts between rivaling groups, more foreigners began to visit its rich biodiversity which include places like the Andes mountains and the Amazon and Orinoco rivers. With features such as waterfalls and unique wildlife, Mesetas has become an incredibly popular destination for ecotourism. Local groups backed by the UN development program and youth corporations have worked together to decrease deforestation rates and improve environmental restoration. In particular, The Corredores de Paz program worked with families to plant native trees. Another community launched a bird guide of the region that listed whether each bird was endangered or at risk of being endangered which has increased awareness of animals throughout the community. However, conflicts are still present in Mesetas, potentially driving away tourists and putting locals in danger. Community members of Mesetas call for government support of both the land and the people. 

This article discussed the benefits of ecotourism in political conflict. It reviewed the small town, Mesetas’s success in both environmental work and hosting eco-friendly travel. Many local residents in the article express their frustration with the conflicts, pointing out that most of their employment comes from tourism and caring for the environment. With dangerous groups pushing out and scaring travelers, the locals are left without jobs or a stable economy. As mentioned in the article, the communities are asking the government for support in financing their conservation efforts and officially employing their locals in conservation jobs like forest rangers. The government has so far made no progress towards this goal, providing the reason that their resources are limited. I am curious as to how the local communities continue to care and enrich the land without any government funding and decreasing tourism funds? 

Castro, S. (2025, April 15). Regenerating the idea of ecotourism in Costa Rica and the world. WUFT | News and Public Media for North Central Florida; WUFT. https://www.wuft.org/2025-04-15/regenerating-the-idea-of-ecotourism-in-costa-rica-and-the-world 

“Sustainable travel” is a phrase often used to attract tourists, often without actually upholding preservation commitments or policies. This is known as “greenwashing”. Dr. Brooke Hansen, associate director of School of Hospitality and Tourism Management, University of South Florida, is a proponent of regenerative, not sustainable, tourism. Regenerative tourism is an upfront approach to eco-friendly travel by certifying businesses with verifiable ecological practices and keeping them accountable. For example, Hotel Belmar, Costa Rica has been awarded the highest level of CST, Costa Rica’s sustainable tourism certification. The hotel focuses on conservation of land and carbon neutrality. Hotel Belmar’s staff have shared that their guests have appeared to take away sustainable habits when they return home. For example, the farm to table restaurant inspires conversations encouraging the tourists to compost back home. Dr. Hansen also encourages camping as an alternative to eco-friendly hotels, so long as it is genuinely sustainable. 

This article presented a different perspective on ecotourism and how many claims of sustainability happen to simply be false or unclear. Ecotourism is a very ambitious concept of the complete preservation of land and locals while also allowing mass tourism. Regenerative tourism, as mentioned in this article, seems more authentic in its protection of these environments, however it is time consuming and expensive. Creating carbon neutral hotels and farm to table restaurants at ecotourism hotspots wouldn’t be possible on a worldwide scale. Although I agree that sustainable travel can be unreliable in some of its specific claims, regenerative tourism is less realistic and more difficult to uphold worldwide. 

Hall, L. (2025, June 14). Can Europe beat the overtourism crisis? Bbc.com; BBC. https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20250613-can-europe-beat-the-overtourism-crisis 

Europe is facing an overtourism crisis. Anti-tourism protests are rising, causing many countries to create eco-friendly procedures to combat overtourism’s social, economic, and environmental issues. Switzerland adapted its trains to hydroelectric power. This is part of Switzerland’s Swisstainable strategy to broaden travel throughout the country and year to discourage damaging tourism seasons. Their website offers discounts if staying in a sustainably certified Swisstainable hotel. Switzerland has also implemented a tourism tax on popular sites. Spain is using data and social media to cut back on harmful tourism. Unregulated rentals have been removed and tourist social media campaigns cut. Smart Destinations, an app used by tourism companies and hoteliers, to access information regarding traffic on beaches and sea temperature and life are also being used. Spain additionally implemented a tourism tax. Berlin is rewarding visitors with free tours and discounts to attractions if they participate in their planting or waste collection campaigns. 

This article offered insight into the action that some countries are taking to resolve the overtourism crisis while keeping their country in good ecological condition. Crowded cities and the influx of visitors during certain times of the year can not only impact the environment but also the economy, making things like house prices soar for locals. Implementing hydroelectric trains and utilizing informative technology like Smart Destinations work very successfully, however, it does not stop the bigger issue rooted in overtourism, tourist crowd sizes. Travelers are arriving in both numbers and speeds that the country simply cannot keep up with. As mentioned in the article, many travelers flock to Switzerland every year to visit its mountains. I understand how the hydroelectric trains that run into the mountains would help overtourism from an ecological standpoint, being that it is a clean form of energy and reduces air pollution, but I am curious on how practical it is. Due to the large numbers of tourists, are the hydroelectric trains universally used? From a realistic perspective, I can guess that a portion of travelers opt for cars and other forms of less ecologically friendly transport out of convenience or preferability. Ultimately these implementations in Switzerland, Spain, and Berlin are all a part of the ecotourism sector, however more realistic and universally available solutions need to become available for both tourist and tourist destinations to reduce overtourism.