Eco Tourism Indonesia

A New Force in Sustainability for the Travel Industry

Sustainability is the ability to exist and develop without depleting the limited natural resources we have for the future. It assumes that those resources are finite, and so should be used conservatively and carefully to ensure that there is enough for future generations, without decreasing present quality of life. A sustainable society must also be socially responsible, focussing on environmental protection and dynamic equilibrium in human and natural systems, supporting the SDGs at every opportunity.

There are many benefits to sustainability, both short-term and long-term. And many dangers of not being sustainable. We simply cannot maintain the Earth’s ecosystems or continue to function as we do if more sustainable choices are not made. And one of the villains in the piece is tourism. Our statistics are not good reading: we use far too much water, we are mostly reliant on fossil fuels (especially here in Indonesia!), we are mega- dependent on visitors arriving by air and cars, we generate a large amount of waste and we import food and drink from outside our areas. It is an industry in need of serious change.

The Creation of Eco Tourism Indonesia

It is proven to make business to be more efficient, competitive, and able to foster company longevity. Sustainability is also now seen as an approach to creating long- term value for the business by taking into consideration how a given organisation operates in its environment, social, governance (ESG) compliance and its own economic ecosystem.

With increasing urgency surrounding climate change and plastic pollution, tied with growing consumer awareness regarding positive business practices for people and planet, the importance of sustainable practices and ESG compliance are unquestionable on the agenda of every business. Sustainability measuring, monitoring, and reporting, then seeking sustainability certification are positive actions to steer businesses into more transparent and sustainable practices, in order to improve their impact on the environment and the communities in which they operate. This urgent and important.

But more than that, the tourism and travel industry have to start to regenerate the environments that they have disturbed at minimum and destroyed in many cases, and this requires careful planning, considerable expertise and real dedication.

Sustainability measuring, monitoring, and reporting through ESG and sustainability certification are positive actions to steer businesses into more transparent and sustainable practices. But more than that, the tourism and travel industry must start to regenerate the environments that they have disturbed and destroyed in many cases, and this requires careful planning, considerable expertise, and real dedication.

Eco Tourism Indonesia (ETI) is an alliance created by MVB Indonesia and Eco Tourism Bali, two major players in sustainability consultancy especially in the tourism and hospitality sector, who have come together to bring the tools and expertise to assist these sectors.

Objectives of Eco Tourism Indonesia

There are several objectives that Eco Tourism Indonesia strives to achieve:

-  First, to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices in travel, tourism and hospitality related industries in Indonesia through training, consultancy, assessment, verification and ultimately international standard certification.

- Second, to connect hospitality communities through sustainable tourism in collaboration and cooperation.

- Third, to provide learning platforms for tourism organizations to improve their competitiveness and encourage sustainability practices.

-  Fourth, to provide a unique combination of sustainability consulting and advocacy, the provision of top-level expertise and last, to promote and publicise sustainable organisations and destinations.

These objectives are important because sustainable tourism is defined by the UN Environment Program and UN World Tourism Organization as “tourism that takes full account of its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, addressing the needs of visitors, the industry, the environment and host communities.”

Additionally, they say that sustainable tourism “refers to the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural aspects of tourism development, and a suitable balance must be established between these three dimensions to guarantee its long-term sustainability”

So What Does Eco Tourism Indonesia Do?

There are a lot of things that ETI does, for example:

- Sustainability verification & guidelines services for accommodation and restaurant businesses (Membership).

- Regenerative Programs to sequester carbon emissions through the mangrove, coral, and local tree planting.

- In Company Training to educate, campaign, and encourage sustainable tourism transformation.

- Consultancy of Eco Tourism Indonesia as a community forum for collaboration between tourism businesses and sustainability actors

- Consulting to improve all operating systems in hotels and resorts from a sustainability perspective.

ETI also organizes Sustainable Events for companies which can include Educational Workshops about Environment and Natural Conservation, or arranging Sustainable and Climate Friendly MICE and Excursions, plus Quarterly Workshops for all interested parties.

ETI can introduce relevant experts in water, waste, energy, renewable energy to directly improve operational efficiency and give assistance with ESG and GRI reporting.

Services that Eco Tourism Indonesia Offers

Eco Tourism Indonesia strives to enhance their clients’ awareness of the importance of incorporating a real sustainability policy into their business operations through clear examples and models of how they can improve through this process. ETI provides end-to-end services in helping to align their clients’ businesses to sustainable practices and environmental and social compliance, particularly in the hospitality and tourism sectors. To be truly sustainable, everyone needs qualified partners and ETI have partners qualified in providing ESG auditing, measurement and reporting and have experts on call to provide very specific expertise across many sustainable disciplines including water and energy efficiency, waste management, supply chain management and social factors and to conduct sustainable training for the staff. They’ll work with them to identify both the priorities and the most beneficial areas of business for improvement through sustainability.

ETI is headed up by noted environmentalist Suzy Hutomo, sustainability consultant Alistair Speirs and eco-tourism expert Rahmi Fajar.

The ecotourism definition by the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN): “Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, which sustains the well-being of the local people, and creates knowledge and understanding through interpretation and education of all involved (visitors, staff and the visited).”

For more information regarding Eco Tourism Indonesia, you can contact

Aghie at aghie@phoenix.co.id