Recommend December 2013 - (Page 67)

operators, transportation companies-participation of its travel industry in the Certification of Sustainable Tourism (CST) program. Recommend asked Rolando Campos, sales director of San Jose-based Swiss Travel, how having a CST rating changes a tour operator's way of delivering services. "Following the approximately 2-year certification process, great value was added to our operations," he says. "We now offer our visitors far more information that improves the quality of their experiences, from sociocultural background to environmental tips, and the activities themselves have changed to incorporate the social and environmental issues of specific communities and the country in general." Perhaps there's a link between Costa Rica's strong commitment to sustainable tourism and the country's highest rate of satisfied, repeat travelers in Central America. U.S. tour operators not only recognize a sustainability trend but they support it fully because they believe in "going green." With Culture Xplorers (culturexplorers.com), five-time winner of Conde Nast Traveler's "Trips of a Lifetime Award," the road to sustainable travel leads to its sole product: small-group (10 passengers) and tailor-made tours that will, according to company president Jim Kane, "whet your appetite, travel deeply, extend your experience, make a difference, tread lightly." This interviewer had a further question: "You have a fascinating brand of touring, chock-full of authentic elements. Is the market growing for your kind of travel?" Kane responds, "Yes, I think this style of travel is definitely growing in demand. Travelers are looking for experiences that will draw them below the surface of a place and connect them with local people and rich living traditions in an engaging and natural way." In the Americas, have a look at Culture Xplorers' programs in Peru, Guatemala, Cuba, Oaxaca and Chiapas in Mexico. enriching experiences Latin America travel planners are paying special attention to that buzz phrase, "experiential travel" and coming up with creative ways to meet demands for authentic and enriching vacations. But have you noticed that the biggest boom in traveler-enrichment experiences seem focused on food, food, and more food: discovering local markets, visiting coffee and chocolate estates, joining cooking seminars, sampling farm-to-fork immersion in regional cuisine, or on a different track, dining at starred restaurants and meeting or cooking with local chefs. Consider just this soupcon of culinary travel-flavored programs. Clients can now discover Argentina's gastronomy renaissance with Zicasso Travel (zicassotravel.com) on an 11-day custom food and wine vacation, tasting one's way from Buenos Aires to Bariloche and the wine country of Mendoza. Travelers have the chance to shop in local food markets, participate in classes featuring authentic Argentine dishes, enjoy home-cooked meals with local families, discover great wines, and meet with chefs who are re-creating a national cuisine based on sourcing locally grown ingredients. New to the foodie travel table is Costa Rica, now covered by Latin American Escapes (latinamericanescapes.com) in a 7-day Costa Rica Culinary Adventure, mixing nature and adventure with a coffee, cheese and chocolate extravaganza. Stays at Finca Rosa Blanca Coffee Plantation & Resort and Monte Azul Art Resort also include culinary activities such as cooking workshops, market visits, farm-to-table tours and mouthwatering dining. In Guatemala, Viaventure (viaventure.com) takes adventurouseating clients on a Street Eats tour that introduces Antigua's street food hotspots; in a special workshop, they learn about the chocolate-making process by making their own chocolate from scratch; and in the traditional San Jorge La Laguna Maya community at Lake Atitlan, they join a local guide to go to the colonial church, learn about traditional dress, explore sacred caves, and for a grand finale, help make tortillas before sitting down to lunch with a local family. Ladatco Tours (ladatco.com) has designed culinary tours to four different countries. Its 14-day Culinary Chile tour, staying at deluxe hotels, includes a chef's workshop in Santiago, visits to the Santa Rita vineyards and wine valleys of Cachapoal and Colchagua with lunches at the wineries, two nights in Valparaiso including meal preparation with a local chef, four nights at Cliffs Preserve, an ecoretreat and private preserve in Patagonia, with culinary activities, bird and whale watching, horseback riding, spa time and sportfishing. And no country gets more attention-deserved attention that is-than Peru. Its roster of famous chefs preparing cuisine, longrecognized as the continent's best, gleaned Peru this year's World Travel Award as South America's leading culinary destination. In one of many tours on the market is Adventure Life's (adventure-life. com) 8-day Peru Cuisine Tour, visiting Lima (dining around), Cusco (shopping for and preparing platos tipicos), the Sacred Valley (learning about sustainable agriculture practices and how to make chicha), and Machu Picchu, savoring both traditional and NovoAndina dishes along the way. I highlighted Peru's Lambayeque cuisine In The Road to Ruins: Peru's Northern Kingdoms feature that appeared in the May 2013 issue, writing that Fiesta Chiclayo Gourmet and Fiesta Trujillo Gourmet were especially good restaurant choices for gourmands visiting northern Peru. "Hector Solis is chef and founder of these gourmet temples...he is particularly famous for his mastery of seafood, which he serves on hot stones," I noted. ● edu.recommend.com The Guatemala Specialist Program, the Panama Specialist Program and the Costa Rica Specialist Program 1 offer information on the many activities-from cultural to active-as well as the varied vacation options available to your clients in these Central American countries. The Costa Rica Specialist Program 2, meanwhile, allows you to gain a thorough understanding of the country's Certificate for Sustainable Tourism program. Culture Xplorers offers tours with an authentic flavor that allow clients to meet with the locals. http://www.ladatco.com http://www.culturexplorers.com http://edu.recommend.com http://www.zicassotravel.com http://www.latinamericanescapes.com http://www.viaventure.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend December 2013

Editor's Notes
Hotel Desk: Canyon Ranch
Tour Talk: Insight Vacations
17th Annual Recommend Readers' Choice Awards Winners
Cruising 2013
Discovering North America
Caribbean Trends
Anguilla Travel Agent Specialist Program
Asia & The South Pacific in the Rearview Mirror
Mexico 2013
Latin America in 2013 and Beyond
Africa + The Middle East Continue to Make Stides
Nostalgic for Europe

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