Ecotourism requires a holistic approach in order to provide tourists with experiences that bring them close to the natural surroundings they choose to visit, including the people who inhabit them. And with tourism often involving limited and fragile resources in areas where stakeholders desire rapid growth, “sustainable” now manifests its place as a partner adjective to tourism.
As such, the Ecotourism / Sustainable Tourism Consulting Group incorporates the principles of sustainability: balancing environmental, economic, and social aspects, as the main pillars for tourists.
Cayuga’s experience meets the ubiquitous challenges presented with local intricacies specific to ecotourism and sustainable tourism businesses, gained through consulting assignments spanning the entire globe. We maintain flexibility and capability in order to adapt to trends and growing consciousness about “eco” while backed by Cayuga’s proven track record, unsurpassed hospitality experience, vast network of hospitality professionals and wide range of services offered.
Ecotourism / Sustainable Tourism Services:
- Development of ecotourism components within hospitality and tourism projects
- Market and financial feasibility analyses for ecotourism businesses
- Ecolodge and ecopark concept development, planning, management and interim management
- Capital raising from funding sources specializing in ecotourism ventures
- Development of nature-based and community-based tours and activities
- Structuring and positioning of and within ecotourism packages
Valuations of sustainable tourism businesses
- Identification and implementation of ecotourism certification
- Identification and implementation of carbon-neutral programs
- Capacity building for employees and supply chain operations
- Strategic planning and market positioning for sustainable tourism operations
- Sustainable tourism integration and improvement within broader tourism development
Advisory Members
The following members are available through Cayuga to provide a full range of consulting services.
Eric Ricaurte (New York, NY and Salvador, Brazil)
Cayuga’s Ecotourism/Sustainable Tourism Group Leader, Eric brings in a diverse range of experience in Brazil and the U.S. as a consultant and entrepreneur. As a tourism consultant, Eric specializes in the development, implementation and optimization of small and mid-scale tourism attractions, activities and accommodations in Latin America, with emphasis on authentic natural and cultural heritage. He also has facilitated tourism cluster and regional development initiatives. Eric’s consulting expertise was built upon his experiences: managing operations and serving on committees for the largest privately operated parks in the Mexican Caribbean; managing 20-room eco-lodges in Costa Rica; and, working in hotels in Spain, Brazil, and the U.S. Through his partner firm EnviRelation, he developed industry guidelines for comparing per-room carbon footprints across hotel properties, produced the first GRI hotel sustainability report, and provided the first hotel reporting adaptation of the Global Sustainable Tourism Criteria. Eric’s current consulting practice, based in New York City, engages hotel companies in the metrics, measurement and reporting of sustainability. He is actively involved as a speaker, organizer and participant in the area of sustainability measurement within the industry. Eric is the author of the novel The Costa Rican Dream. He is fluent in Spanish and Portuguese, and is conversant in French.
Jennifer Dorhmann-Alpert (San Rafael, CA)
A highly educated Consultant with practical training in hospitality management and tourism strategy, Jennifer specializes in: market feasibility and financial feasibility studies for resort real estate projects, with a special focus on Latin America and the Caribbean; tourism development and sustainable tourism development; and, development planning, specifically strategic hospitality and real estate development. Fluent in Spanish, she has lived and worked in Costa Rica, Mexico and Puerto Rico. She has significant experience analyzing the demand for hotels, resorts, and recreation oriented facilities within the United States, the Caribbean, Mexico, and Central America. As a Senior Consultant with Economics Research Associates (ERA), Jennifer supervised and conducted a variety of projects involving market support and feasibility analysis for tourism related projects in unique markets and situations. She also has substantial skills in sustainable tourism and sustainable hotel development through her tenure with the Caribbean Alliance for Sustainable Tourism (CAST) in Puerto Rico, where she assisted hotels in implementing better environmental practices. Her scholastic background has provided her sound training in both the public and private sectors and an ability to understand the nuances of both, particularly as they relate to hospitality real estate and strategic business development. Jennifer’s hotel management background includes positions at the Four Seasons Biltmore, the Bellagio and the Mirage in Las Vegas.
Hans Pfister (San Jose, Costa Rica)
President of Cayuga Sustainable Hospitality, based in Costa Rica, with Partner Andrea Bonilla, offering hospitality management and consulting with a focus on sustainablity: high end ecolodge / sustainable resort operations and marketing; feasibility analysis and concept development; and, sustainable tourism in Costa Rica and Central America. Hans and Andrea have operated the world renowned Lapa Rios Ecolodge on the Osa Penninsula in Southern Costa Rica for more than eight years. They also opened and operated the Harmony Hotel and the Arenas del Mar, both in Costa Rica, and handled the feasibility analysis, concept development and operation of Morgan's Rock Hacienda & Ecolodge in Nicaragua.
