Going overseas for a bike tour is a great way to get around, see local sites and keep fit and active.
Increasingly, cyclists are either taking their bikes away with them or are signing up for a localised one or multi-day biking adventure such as ‘bike and cook‘ trips or ‘winery bike tours‘.
If you are planning to book a bike tour overseas, a key consideration should be to check whether the bike tour is officially registered as an Eco-tourism provider.
There is a massive social, economic and environmetal impact difference between bike tours that are Eco-tourist registered, and those who are not.
Much like Fair Trade is for consumer products, Eco-tourism is guided by a set of international standards and principles that operators must abide by in order to be able to identify as Eco-tourism. Registration is run under the auspice of The International Ecotourism Society (TIES).
Eco-Bike Tourism Principles
A good example of
For Storyteller, Eco-tourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement and participate in ecotourism activities should adhere to ecotourism principles.
Ecotourism Principles
• Minimise impact.
• Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
• Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
• Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
• Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people.
• Raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate.
Cook Islands: Storytellers Eco-bike Tours
Storytellers stand by the principles of Ecotourism. They are the only Cook Islands Eco Tour on mountain bikes.
Storytellers give 10% of profits back to the community for development projects.
Their local storytellers (staff) are passionate and knowledgeable about the local culture, history and environment and love sharing stories of their heritage with guests.
So next time you look at a bike tour overseas, check to see if they are registered as a Eco-tourism operator – this will boost your enjoyment of the tour and help support local communities.
