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Ecotourism standardsAs Ecotourism develops it is necessary to start thinking about ecotourism standards. This presents some challenges and opportunities. First of all, it is necessary to create ecotourism standards that are appropriate under the circumstances. For example, all parties involved in ecotourism efforts in Eastern Russia agree that a significant part of establishing standards is establishing public grass roots education pushing from the ground up an awareness of conduct that can harm or protect the environment. Through this movement and with the cooperation of all concerned, ground rules can be established that make sense at this time and at this stage of development. However, since the concept in East Russia is mostly unknown, it is up to western type tour operators, like ourselves, to teach and use our own ecotourism standards and apply them to each and every tour, to set an example. Expedition travelers, however, are usually travelers who already are setting up their own standards for their own travel. However, the choice that they have is to assure that the companies they choose to travel with operate their programs in accordance with what they feel comfortable with. These standards are clearly indicated in their policies and reiterated and practiced on every departure of their ships. We urge our travelers when they join our programs to be aware that what they observe are stepping-stones to a brighter, more concerned attitude about nature and the interaction with native cultures. We hope our travelers share their ideas with our partners in a positive reinforcing way. After all our research on the subject, we have established that the standards we find the most appropriate for this stage are those accepted by the WWF program "Linking tourism and conservation in the arctic"
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