Can geotourism go mainstream?

“Geotourism” – defined as tourism that sustains or enhances the geographical character of a place – has been a buzzword in the travel industry for several years now. It’s hard to know exactly what the term means, however, unless you see the companies that are putting such practices into action.

And that’s what National Geographic’s annual Geotourism Change Summit tries to accomplish. Now in its second year, the Summit allows winners of its Geotourism Challenge, a competition among companies that are supporting natural and cultural heritage projects, to present their ideas to the larger tourism community.

Among those taking the top prize at the Washington DC Summit this year:

Nature Air, a carbon-neutral airline in Costa Rica that offsets its greenhouse gas emissions to encourage reforestation of rainforests in that country’s Osa Pennisula.

PEPY, a bike tour company in Cambodia that aims to teach travelers that it’s not enough to volunteer – you need to give in a way that fits with and uplifts the local culture.

And Wikiloc Community Maps, a project in Girona, Spain that compiles trail maps from users around the world.

All of these winners, as well as the seven runners up who also presented, were earnest in their beliefs and products (you can see all of their projects here). As a journalist, however, I couldn’t help wondering how the average traveler, sitting at home trying to make real decisions about where to go next, would be able to tap into that passion to make good tourism decisions.

I put the question to moderator Jonathan Tourtellot, director of the National Geographic Society’s Center for Sustainable Destinations. He said that the organization had toyed with the idea of a Michelin-style guide that would rate places and programs based on sustainability. Ultimately, he said, it comes down to changing the way that travelers choose the places they visit.

“An inquiring consumer is the best consumer,” he said, adding that travelers should ask for an organization’s mission statement and other materials to figure out if the company works in tandem with local people before booking.

Maybe I’m jaded, but I don’t see huge changes in consumer behavior like that happening without an intense amount of marketing, on par with the push that the environmental movement did to elevate recycling into a mainstream activity. Could this be where social media, a medium built for big ideas that encourage action, spark an industry revolution? What do you think?

Chris Gray Faust is a former travel editor at USA TODAY. She blogs at Chris Around the World.