About Greenloons

  • Our Commitment
  • About Our Founder
  • Story Behind Our Name Greenloons
  • Criteria for Ecotourism Vacations on Greenloons

 


Our Commitment

Greenloons is committed to providing trusted, transparent information about authentic, responsible, sustainable and certified ecotourism travel vacations available around the world.

Our goal is to make it easy to directly connect travelers with meaningful, unique and awesome travel experiences by working with eco-certified guiding companies and sustainable tourism accommodation owners that have been independently verified as focusing on the triple bottom line of economic viability, social empowerment, and environmental responsibility.

Greenloons provides ecotourism information, search and reservation capabilities with no hidden fees.  Instead, Greenloons has established contracts with eco-certified tourism businesses all over the world and for each ecotour reservation made through this site, Greenloons receives a commission.  Browse through our Green Vacation Collection and Contact Us with any eco-vacation questions, customization needs or group requests.

About Our Founder

Eco Travel Entrepreneur Mom

Hi there! My name is Irene Lane and I am the Founder & President of Greenloons. I’m also a Mom – an eco-conscious Mom who loves to plan vacations and travel to exotic and inspirational places in an environmentally responsible manner.

Before I started doing mommy time, I completed by MBA in International Finance and was in the corporate world for 12 years as a consultant for federal government agencies as well as private information technology companies. I also worked for eBay in their information technology department specifically focused on customer service solutions.  In addition to being a dual EU citizen and living in 5 countries, I have had the pleasure of extensively traveling through 33 more countries in Asia, Oceania, South America, Africa and Europe.

I started Greenloons in May 2010 while completing my Certificate in Sustainable Tourism Management and after I realized that there was a lot of misinformation about ecotourism and very little transparency about the industry. Of course, I wanted to create a site that would present the facts about ecotourism, let consumers decide for themselves, and supply a forum to share their experiences. But, I wanted to go one step further and only offer vacation packages provided by certified or accredited tour operators.

It doesn’t need to be said that families are very busy these days and that vacation time is precious. I’m proud that each of the ecotours that Greenloons.com offers are safe, educational, and fun vacation experiences for all.

My hope is that you will begin connecting at a deeper level with the places and people you are visiting and will feel good knowing that each ecotour listed supports local communities, emphasizes environmental education, supports conservation efforts, minimizes tourist waste, and respects local cultural traditions.

This website is a testament to my love of culture, nature, and wildlife as well as the environment. I welcome you all to search through our Green Vacation Collection and would appreciate any suggestions you may have for improving Greenloons.com.  Feel free to contact me anytime.

Happy and safe eco-travels!

Story Behind Our Name Greenloons

The inspiration for the name actually came about because I wanted to signify a migratory bird that lives lightly on the land. An animal that needs to explore to survive. When I read up about the loon, immediately I recalled how so many people who are environmentally-conscious are called “loonies” or “loons”.  So, I thought I would flip the pejorative term sideways and say to the world “very well then, we’ll be loons calling out in the name of conservation education, we’ll be green loons!”

Criteria for Ecotourism Vacations on Greenloons

Greenloons only lists vacation experiences from guiding companies and lodges that have dedicated nature and wildlife tours, established energy and wildlife conservation policies, commitment to host destination economic prosperity, and adherence to environmental standards as set forth by recognized third parties including: Australia’s ECO Certification Program, Botswana’s Ecotourism Certification System, Brazil’s Adventure Tourism Certification(Aventura Segura), Costa Rica’s Certificate for Sustainable Tourism (CST), Green Globe Certification Program, Fair Trade in Tourism (FTT), South America’s Smart Voyager Program, Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program (STEP), or United Nations Global Compact. Additionally, the ecotour operator needs to have received a conservation or environmental award by a legitimate organization – you would be surprised how many companies make up awards and then award themselves!