Projects & Research
The following are highlights of Martha Honey’s field projects and desk-based research, primarily as the Executive Director of CREST. The projects cover a range of countries and topics divided into six categories.
1| Strengthening Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism
2| Market Analysis: Economic Value of Different Types of Tourism
3| Strategic Planning for Sustainable Tourism
4| Indigenous and Community-Based Tourism
5| Travelers Philanthropy/Impact Tourism
6| Certification and Best Practices
1| Strengthening Ecotourism & Sustainable Tourism
Helping Small Independent Businesses Survive COVID
During the 2020-2021 COVID pandemic, Martha played a leading role in assisting small, independently-owned retail stores, restaurants, and art and wellness studios in Rhinebeck, NY. This vibrant, historic Hudson Valley village is a favorite for high value weekend visitors and vacation home owners from New York City. Sponsored by Rhinebeck Responds, a ‘pop-up’ community organization addressing the COVID crisis, activities included making grants to small businesses, encouraging landlords to give rent reductions, 2 detailed surveys of local businesses, informational round tables, development of a strategic marketing plan, a ‘buy local’ campaign, promotion of outdoor dining and curb-side shopping, and holding a highly successful auction of wooden bird houses painted by local artists and celebrities. Most of Rhinebeck’s small businesses (84%) said they expected to survive the pandemic – far higher than the national average of just 55% -- and local owners praised Rhinebeck Responds for its assistance.
Advancing Sustainability and Supporting Responsible Travel in Cuba
Between 2016 – 2019, Martha Honey raised funding for and led CREST’s multi-dimensional project in Cuba focused on strengthening sustainable tourism, analyzing Cuba’s household-based tourism businesses, and mitigating the impacts of climate change on the burgeoning travel sector. In collaborators with Cuban academics, Martha led three sustainable tourism workshop in Pinar del Rio and Holguin provinces and several forums in Havana, researched and published a book on cruise tourism, and helped organize a “south-south” ecotourism study tour for Cuban tourism experts to Costa Rica. In the US, the CREST project also included organizing US-based tour operators and educational institutions to advocate for legal US travel to the island. The CREST project organized and led three experiential, people-to-people trips for US travelers to Cuba to foster cross-cultural understanding and see firsthand the best of Cuba’s ecotourism and cultural tourism offerings and attractions.
Responsible Travel: Who Owns Paradise?
In Fall 2020 and Spring 2021, Martha taught this 7-week course at Bard College’s Lifetime Learning Institute (LLI) which offers college-level courses to older adults living in New York’s Hudson Valley. While normally held on the Bard campus, this and other courses were taught via Zoom because of the pandemic.
Sustainable Tourism in Alaska
In 2018, Martha directed a research team and wrote two studies, one on “Strengthening Responsible Tourism in Southeast Alaska” and the other on “Using Responsible Tourism to Increase Access to Public Lands in Alaska” based on desk-based research and interviews with key stakeholders.
Protection of Tigray, Ethiopia’s Rock Hewn Churches through Sustainable Tourism
In 2015-2016, Martha directed two CREST field studies in the Wukro-Gheralta area of Tigray region to assess the little known ancient rock-hewn churches for both ecotourism development and for inscription as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Animal Welfare: An Important Component of Responsible Travel
In 2012, Martha worked with the World Society for the Protection of Animals to develop a handbook of case studies to help communities and businesses integrate animal welfare into sustainable tourism practices.
Agrigento, Sicily, Italy: 2020 Vision
In 2012, Martha led a CREST consultancy that carried out field research and prepared a feasibility study and development plan to link Agrigento, an ancient Greek ruin which is a popular tourism destination and World Heritage Site, to the surrounding rural communities through small-scale nature-based, cultural, literary, culinary, and handicraft tourism.
2| Market Analysis: Economic Value of Different Types of Tourism
Economic Impact of Bear Viewing and Bear Hunting in the Great Bear Rainforest, BC, Canada
Martha led a team of Canadian and U.S. researchers who conducted field and desk-based research that determined that bear viewing tourism was generating 12 times more in visitor spending than trophy bear hunting. The First Nations living in Canada’s magnificent Great Bear Rainforest, together with environmental organizations, had mounted a campaign to ban sport hunting of bears, in part to protect the rare, all white, Spirit or Kermode bear which is a genetic permutation of the black bear. An estimated 400 or so Spirit Bears live in the Great Bear Rainforest. This study became a key tool in the anti-hunting campaign which in 2017 won a ban on grizzly bear hunting; the campaign to ban trophy hunting of black bears continues. See article in Journal of Ecotourism, click here.
The Economics of Cruise Tourism in Key West: Behind the Cruise Industry’s Propaganda Veil
Fall 2020. Martha researched and wrote a critical analysis of the economic impacts of cruise tourism in Key West, Florida. The study, commissioned by Stand.earth, documents that Key West is gaining little from cruise tourism while earning far more for land-based overnight visitors. See press release and article, click here.
MISSING THE BOAT: COMPARATIVE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF CRUISE & NON-CRUISE TOURISM IN GREATER VICTORIA, B.C
In 2021-2022, Martha led a research study for the environmental NGO Stand.earth to determine the economic impacts of cruise and non-cruise tourism in Victoria, British Columbia (B.C.). Victoria, the capital of B.C., is a mandatory stopover in the Alaska cruise circuit as well as a leading Canadian destination for overnight and land-based day visitors. Based on 2019 data, key findings of this independent assessment include:
• While cruise passengers make of 12% of total visitors to Victoria, cruise related spending equals less than 2% of total tourism spending;
• Non-cruise tourism created nearly 31 times more jobs and generated nearly 20 times more in taxes than cruise tourism in Greater Victoria.
• Non-cruise tourism is responsible for generating nearly 20 times more in government taxes than cruise tourism in Greater Victoria.
The study concludes: Overall, by any statistical measure, the economic benefits of non-cruise tourism in Victoria dwarf the financial contributions of cruise-related tourism. See study, click here.
Responsible Travel Industry: Trends and Statistics
Beginning in 2013, Martha oversaw the launch of CREST’s Trends and Statistics, a meta-analysis of recent surveys and studies measuring the importance of responsible travel to businesses, consumers, and destinations. This quickly became CREST’s most widely-used report.
Market Analysis of Bird-Based Tourism: A Focus on the U.S. Market to Latin America and the Caribbean
This desk-based analysis for the National Audubon Society assessed the economic value of bird tourism in Belize, Guatemala, The Bahamas, and Paraguay and produced a report and a series of attractive fact sheets for local organizers.
BALANCING SUSTAINABLE TOURISM & COMMERCIAL FISHING IN A MARINE PROTECTED AREA: TURNEFFE ATOLL, BELIZE
In 2013, Martha conducted a 6-month field and desk-based study of the key economic, social, and environmental issues facing commercial fishing and ecotourism in a new marine park.
Importance of Ecotourism as a Development and Conservation Tool in the Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
In 2010-2011, Martha was part of a CREST field study, led by its Stanford University office, that conducted 128 semi-structured interviews with tourists, local employees in ecolodges, and non-tourism businesses, residents, and opinion leaders to assess the importance of ecotourism in the Osa Peninsula. Key findings included that ecolodge employees earned two times more than other workers in the Osa and that tourists were willing to make donations to local projects. Results were published in the Journal of Sustainable Tourism. See study, click here.
Cruise Tourism Impacts in Costa Rica & Honduras: Policy Recommendations for Decision Makers
Martha managed this 2007 project in which research teams conducted hundreds of surveys with cruise passengers and crew to determine spending in three ports, plus interviews with shop owners, tourism businesses, government and port officials, and others in each port. The report compared the economic impacts of cruise versus stayover tourism, finding that stayover tourism generates several dozen times more revenues for the national economy. See study, click here.
Cruise Tourism in Belize: Perceptions of Economic, Social, & Environmental Impacts
In 2005-2006, Martha led a team of U.S. and Belizean researchers who conducted over one thousand surveys with cruise passengers and crew and in-depth interviews with local businesses, NGOs, and government and national park officials. Using government surveys of stayover tourists and other data, the study concluded that stayover tourism was generating far more for the local economy than cruise tourism. This was the first in a series of cruise studies and field projects Martha undertook in Central America and the Caribbean. See study, click here.
3| Strategic Planning for Sustainable Tourism
Sustainable Tourism Master Planning along Oman’s Coastline
Between 2017 – 2019, Martha Honey oversaw a team led by CREST Board Chair Michael Robbins that developed the sustainable tourism master plan in Oman’s South Al Sharquiyah Governate, a long coastal region rich in history, culture, and scenic beauty. In partnership with two local organizations, the master plan was developed for the Oman Ministry of Tourism. Oman is rapidly becoming an international destination, and this project provided a comprehensive blueprint for developing sustainable tourism facilities, attractions, and circuits to increase sustainable tourism in this unique region.
Sinaloa Sur Initiative for Competitive and Sustainable Tourism, Sinaloa, Mexico
Between 2010 – 2016, Martha directed CREST’s multi-faceted project designed to promote sustainable tourism development as an alternative economic model for this state which served as a base for one of Mexico’s most notorious drug cartels. Together with the local business council and an environmental NGO, the CREST team assessed the tourism potential in the southern part of the state, participated in a campaign opposing government plans for a massive tourism project on a critical Ramsar wetlands site, wrote several reports, and conducted a GSTC Destination Assessment of five municipalities in the southern part of Sinaloa.
Strategic Plan for Ecotourism in Guerrero, Mexico
In 2015, Martha Honey directed a CREST team, which together with a Mexican firm, developed an ecotourism plan for the state government, based on fieldwork and desk-based research.
4| Indigenous and Community-Based Tourism
Developing Sustainable Indigenous Ecotourism in Mexico
Beginning in 2015, Martha raised the funds and managed this CREST project with indigenous Rarámuri communities located on the rim of Copper Canyons (Barrancas del Cobre), a major tourist attraction in Chihuahua state, Mexico. The CREST team worked with two indigenous communities to offer authentic indigenous tourism experiences. Designed to help the communities benefit economically from tourism and preserve their land and culture, this unique project offers tourists the opportunity to participate in women-run cooking and handicraft demonstrations and take a variety of hiking and storytelling tours in the Canyon led by licensed guides. Since the “Rarámuri Experiences” project opened for business, hundreds of tourists have taken part in these community-led cultural experiences.
Facilitating Formation of an Indigenous Tourism Network in the Americas
Led by CREST’s office at Stanford University with support from Martha Honey and others in the DC office, this two-year project (2006-2007) organized a series of workshops in Ecuador and Mexico to discuss forming a network of indigenous tour operators. The result was the launching of INTIRUNA, the first indigenous ecotourism organization in the Americas.
Rights and Responsibilities: A Compilation of Codes of Conduct for Tourism and Indigenous and Local Communities
This early CREST publication conceived and overseen by Martha, compiled scores of tourism-related documents from indigenous associations, the UN and other international bodies, tourism businesses, and governments outlining the rights of indigenous communities in the face of tourism development on their lands. Based on these documents, the study pulled together a set of basic rights of indigenous communities when dealing with tourism developers and operators. See study, click here.
5| Travelers Philanthropy/Impact Tourism
Toolkit for Travelers’ Philanthropy
Martha Honey is a recognized pioneer in chronicling, developing, promoting, and strengthening travelers’ philanthropy projects around the world. This concept entails travel businesses and travelers giving back in an organized way to support worthy community and conservation projects in tourism destinations through ‘time, talent, and treasure.’ Most often this entails making financial donations and occasionally when requested by local organizations, providing volunteers and material goods. Martha oversaw the development of CREST’s Travelers’ Philanthropy program and a ‘toolkit’ which has included conferences and workshops, a documentary film, a ‘how-to’ handbook, teaching materials, and field studies and projects. This work laid the foundation for incorporating travelers’ philanthropy as a core component of responsible tourism and expanding it to include destination-wide travelers’ philanthropy programs in, for instance, Monteverde, Costa Rica, and Cape Cod, Massachusetts. In 2019, Martha and the CREST staff relaunched its Travelers’ Philanthropy program under a new name, Impact Tourism.
International Travelers’ Philanthropy Conferences
Between 2003 and 2019, Martha took the lead in organizing three CREST Travelers’ Philanthropy conferences at Stanford University; Arusha, Tanzania; and Monteverde, Costa Rica. The Monteverde conference led to the creation of the first-ever destination-wide travelers’ philanthropy program which is known today as the Monteverde Community Fund (https://www.monteverdefund.org/).
Destination-wide Travelers’ Philanthropy Program in Grenada
In 2015, Martha Honey, together with a CREST consultant, developed a Travelers’ Philanthropy program for the Grenada Hotel & Tourism Association, which included holding workshops across the islands and organizing a study tour for tourism leaders in Grenada to Monteverde, Costa Rica.
CARE for the Cape & Islands in Cape Cod, MA
In 2012, Martha Honey helped launched this destination-wide Travelers Philanthropy organization to involve tourism businesses and visitors in supporting environmental projects in the Cape. The organization, led by Jill Talladay as a project of CREST, continues till today: https://careforthecapeandislands.org/.
Travelers’ Philanthropy Handbook
(CREST, 2011): Edited by Martha Honey, this publication marked the first comprehensive manual on travelers’ philanthropy. This 250-page Handbook includes original essays, case studies, and surveys by some 30 experts, plus a Foreword by Nobel Peace Laureate, Dr. Wangari Maathai. The Handbook covers the principles, origins, and growth of travelers’ philanthropy and offers practical “how-to” advice, dos and don’ts, and best practices for travel businesses, community organizations, and travelers interested in developing or participating in travel give-back programs. In 2020, CREST produced a new version, Impact Tourism Handbook: Best Practices in Giving Time, Talent, & Treasure, dedicated to Martha Honey.
Assessment of Destination-wide Travelers’ Philanthropy, Osa Peninsula, Costa Rica
In 2011, Martha directed this project which included a team of field researchers from CREST and Fundacion Corcovado, a Costa Rican NGO. The team held a series of workshops to determine the feasibility of launching a destination-wide travelers’ philanthropy program in the Osa Peninsula. The project concluded that it was not feasible because, unlike in Monteverde, the region lacked a strong sense of community.
Impact Tourism: Giving Time, Talent, & Treasure
CREST’s 2019 World Tourism Day forum in Washington, DC unveiled the new name for Travelers’ Philanthropy through a series of six panels with experts and practitioners from around the world. This day-long conference was Martha Honey’s final public event and marked her official retirement as CREST Executive Director.
6| Certification and Best Practices
Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA)
In 2023, Martha Honey became a Certified Tourism Ambassador (CTA) in Dutchess Country, NY. To qualify, she took the CTA course and exam administered by Dutchess Tourism, an accredited provider of the Tourism Ambassador Institute. This professional certification program is designed to train individuals and businesses in how to better assist visitors in planning and enjoying their vacation in the Hudson Valley. For more details, click here.
Handbooks on Tourism Certification
In 2006, Martha directed the production of four user-friendly guides on critical certification issues, as part of a project financed by the InterAmerican Development Bank (IDB). Published together with the Rainforest Alliance and the International Ecotourism Society (TIES) in English and Spanish, the Handbooks show how tourism certification can become a reliable and useful tool for the tourism industry and its consumers. Although the Handbooks are focused on the Americas, many relevant examples are incorporated from sites and certification programs around the world. For Handbooks, click here.
Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Assessment, Cozumel, Mexico
In 2018, Martha oversaw a team of CREST researchers who assessed how well Cozumel, Mexico’s leading cruise destination, is doing in environmental, social, and economic sustainability based on the GSTC detailed assessment program.
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Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) Assessment, Southern Sinaloa, Mexico
In 2016, Martha oversaw a team of CREST and local tourism experts who conducted a GSTC Destination Assessment of five municipalities in the southern part of Sinaloa and presented the findings to the state business council, the media, government officials, and the tourism industry.
Promoting Sustainable Tourism Certification
In a three-year, multi-dimensional project (2003 – 2006), led by Rainforest Alliance, Martha oversaw the CREST team’s tasks of analyzing key issues, including financing and marketing that were slowing the adoption by tourism businesses of ecotourism and sustainable tourism programs. The project focused on small and medium-sized enterprises, including community-based and indigenous tourism.
International Conference on Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism Certification
Held at Mohonk Mountain House, New Paltz, New York in November 2000. This was the first international gathering of ecotourism and sustainable tourism certification programs. Organized by Martha Honey and Abigail Rome with a grant from the Ford Foundation, this historic meeting brought together some two dozen certification program practitioners who produced the “Mohonk Agreement: A proposal to create an International Certification Program for Sustainable Tourism and Ecotourism.” This meeting and document helped lay the foundation for the Global Sustainable Tourism Council (GSTC) which was created in 2010. Following the historic Mohonk conference, Martha Honey and Abigail Rome wrote Protecting Paradise: Certification Programs for Ecotourism and Sustainable Tourism (Institute for Policy Studies, 2001). For conference report, click here.