O'REILLY'S RAINFOREST RETREAT
Advanced Ecotourism & ROC | Certified since 1998
EA: Have you got any advice for people, thinking about your 20 years in the industry as an ecotourism leader?
O'R: I would say people who are entering the industry need to look at it as a growing industry. When we first started, we didn't really realise that ecotourism was a growing industry, we just thought it was us. But now it's a growing phenomenon around the world. And we've got to ensure that we continue to grow and continue to improve our properties. Because while there was a couple of ecotourism resorts in Australia, there's now literally hundreds and there's going to be a lot more.
EA: It's all changing and becoming an ever more competitive industry, isn't it?
O'R: It is.
EA: This is a demonstration that your company, your retreat, has remained at the forefront of all of this throughout those two decades...
O'R: Well I don't know if we're quite at the forefront, but we're still there! That's the important part.
EA: So what does this mean to you, being ECO certified?
O'R: It's important. It helps benchmark the property, it helps keep management focused on the right way of doing business. Because that's not always easy. The business gets bigger - and we have 130 employees now - you have a lot of management. And they don't necessarily know about ecotourism. So you actually need to educate your staff, as well as an increasing number of guests who, you know, most of them now know about ecotourism but there are still people who come through and it's their first experience in nature...