PAPERBARK CAMP
Advanced Ecotourism | Certified since 1999
EA: What has certification meant to your business over the past 20 years?
PC: Paperbark Camp turned 20 in 2019, so we have had certification for nearly all of our existence. Yet when our parents and founders, Irena & Jeremy Hutchings, first set out on the adventure that was to become Paperbark Camp, there was no official objective to be ‘eco-friendly’, it was something that they instinctively knew was a requirement to maintain the environment for any development they might undertake. To soon realise there was a national body that would recognise and promote their efforts was gladly welcomed and turned out to be fortuitous, as the increased interest from the travelling public to seek out more environmentally friendly destinations and the advent of the internet at the same time, together became instrumental in the success of Paperbark Camp over the last twenty years. Keeping sustainability as a key objective and maintaining our certification has helped to define our decision making in all aspects of the business and assists our staff in understanding what we aspire to and expect. Our certification has also featured heavily in our marketing and we know that being a member of the Association has opened many doors and provided introductions to journalists from both Australia and overseas seeking out environmentally friendly destinations to include in their stories, the publicity received from this has been so incredibly valuable and something we could never have paid for. We look forward to continuing their legacy for the next twenty years!