Eco-Lodges as Sustainable Businesses

While U.S. operators shy away from “eco-tourism,” the World Bank takes this market niche seriously. The International Finance Corporation (IFC), which is affiliated with the World Bank, launched its Environmental Business Finance Program in 2004, to spur the development of small businesses that are both environmentally and economically sustainable.

As part of this initiative, the IFC published a study, Eco-Lodges: Exploring Opportunities for Sustainable Business, which that is applicable to California businesses. Based on a “triple bottom line” analysis–assessing the economic, environmental and social impacts–the IFC concludes that eco-lodges are “viable vehicles for sustainable local economic development.”

Eco-Lodges Part I includes:

1. An introduction to eco-tourism;
2. The market for eco-lodges: who are the “eco-tourists” and what are they seeking;
3. The social and environmental practices of eco-lodges; and
4. The importance of government policies that support eco-tourism;

Eco-Lodges Part II explores:

1. The financial feasibility of eco-lodges;
2. The positive and negative impacts of eco-tourism; and
3. The need for a “strategic approach” to nurture the development of eco-tourism and eco-lodges as a model of sustainable economic development.

Eco-Lodges Part III provides:

1. A framework for evaluating eco-lodges;
2. Case studies of the eco-lodges evaluated in the study; and
3. Resources related to the development of eco-lodges.