After writing several books and running travel companies for two decades, Carol Patterson has well-formed opinions about the business of ecotourism. She told EcoClub magazine that certification for ecotourism is not necessary, and discussed balancing comfort with environmental sensitivity.

Patterson is correct: an international certification process would be hard to document and even more difficult to prove compliance. An NGO such as Conservation International could set guidelines for ecotourism, and travel companies and hotels should publish how they live up to these guidelines as part of their mission statement, such as Wildland Adventures has done.

Companies that fail to live up to the standards of cultural sensitivity, minimal use of natural resources and respect for habitat should be called out and asked to voluntarily withdraw use of the "eco" label.