Eve Sotnak
A major trend in leisure
travel, ecotourism has captured the notice of incentive
planners but has not yet taken off as a viable incentive option.
Few corporations select these trips, and when they do, interest
among employees is relatively minor, say industry insiders.
The central problem: Eco-destinations
rarely have the infrastructure to provide a luxury experience. For
example, Eve Sotnak, senior buyer at Minneapolis-based Carlson
Marketing, has not been able to sell cruises to the Galapagos
Islands, despite greatly enjoying the trip. “You’re 600 miles off
the coast,” she said. “If you’re expecting to find a spa and
gourmet food, you’re not going to have it.”
Because these locales are often without
major airports, getting to and fro can tack on an extra day on each
end. Even within a country like Costa Rica, a popular
eco-destination, there are few highways to allow groups to travel
easily from luxury resorts to the whitewater rivers and the
volcanos. “You might spend six hours in a bus to get there and
back,” Sotnak noted. “The irony is, you build too many of those
highways and you’re going to destroy the whole point.”
On the other hand, Charles Kropke,
managing partner of Dragonfly Expeditions Inc. in Coral Gables,
Fla., has seen an explosion of groups looking for half-day
eco-activities in South Florida. “We have executives waist-deep in
mud,” he said. “People who have not gotten on bicycles in many
years are quite willing to do seven to 10 miles.”
Kropke insisted that firms are ready
for ecotourism, but mostly in small doses. “They’re looking for
something new,” he said. “It’s up to the planner to take a
risk.”