Chris Bjorklund: You’re listening to an AllBusiness podcast. If you’re getting this through iTunes and RSS feed or an online streaming-media player, you can hear more interviews with other experts at AllBusiness.com.

Bjorklund: This podcast is part of a series called Green Money, a look at the greening of the business world with Stuart Hampton from Hoover’s

Stuart Hampton: The wind blows through your hair as you glide above the rainforest canopy on a zip line watching the waterfalls, the howler monkeys in the trees, and the panoramic views. Later, hungry from your jungle adventure, you settle in for a dinner made from fresh tropical ingredients using local recipes. Welcome to ecotourism, Costa Rican style. One of the leading destinations in ecotravel, Costa Rica has set the bar for the rush of nations wanting to attract tourists looking for more environmentally friendly travel options. But would the success of ecotourism prove a disaster for the very planet it aims to protect? The fastest-growing sector of the tourism industry, ecotourism is defined as travel that preserves the environment and benefits the lives of local peoples. The International Ecotourism Society estimates its annual growth to be between 20% to 34%, with the potential to become a quarter of the world’s travel market within five years making it a niche segment worth nearly $470 billion a year. Many destinations are trying to get in on the ecotourism train. According to a report by Mintel International Group, nearly 50 countries worldwide have created or started a national strategy for ecotourism development. A decade ago, environmentally-friendly resorts may have been a bit rustic for some tastes, but today’s ecolodges range from spare to luxurious. Travelers to Fiji’s Turtle Island ecoresort stay in 5-star accommodations. There is no need to forego or feel guilty about the private jacuzzi in your bungalow or your Hawaiian Lomilomi massage. Some steps taken by Turtle Island’s owners to preserve the environment and island culture include having an environmental audit every five years by an independent firm, growing fresh produce from a 4-acre hydroponic and organic vegetable garden, and operating a school to educate children from nearby villages. Ecoresorts are also popping up in places you wouldn’t expect, including countries without the best environmental track records. New resorts such as China’s Crosswaters Ecolodge and India’s Shilim ecoresort by Hilton are trying to change that perception. While images of rainforest and tropical settings may spring to mind with the term ecotourism, green lodging can also be found in urban settings. San Francisco’s Orchard Garden Hotel, which was built to green standards, features in-room recycling systems, fluorescent light bulbs, and chemical-free cleaning products. On the whole, the ecotourism movement is moving at such a fast pace that environmental standards have yet to catch up. Currently, there is no global designation that signifies which lodgings are truly environmentally friendly. That is why the Rainforest Alliance and International Ecotourism Society are working with other global organizations to develop a certification program so that there will be consistency in who uses green tourism labels. Some countries like Costa Rica are ahead of the game. It has created its own certification process where tourists can see where its resorts rank on five levels of sustainability. Even so, some doubt whether the concept of ecotravel is wise. Environmentalist Deborah McLaren, author of Rethinking Tourism and Ecotravel, has said that ecotravel is somewhat of an oxymoron since the airplanes pollute as they transport travelers to their destinations. Plus development of hotels for tourism and allowing tourists into delicate ecosystems threaten the very areas that need preservation. Some travelers, tour businesses, and resorts have taken the complaints seriously trying to become carbon-neutral by purchasing offsets to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions. Individual travelers can do this by donating money toward reforestation projects, energy conservation efforts, or buying renewable energy credits that fund solar and wind facilities. At a corporate level, tour companies like REI Adventures offer carbon-neutral travel by purchasing renewable energy credits for all of its vacation packages.

Bjorklund: Thank you for listening to this Green Money podcast with Stuart Hampton from Hoover’s.com.