Green-speak in Costa
Rica
By JILL SCHENSUL,
Northjersey.com
Some things naturally go
together: beach
vacations and sunburn,
airplane seats and neck
stiffness, five-star
hotels and five-figure
bills for a week's stay.
Other things just do not
naturally coexist:
chewing gum and
Singapore, AOL and Time
Warner, sustainable
tourism and 650-acre
seaside resorts.
OK, you knew by those
last two I had something
specific in mind, didn't
you? It's this Steve
Case guy -- the
co-founder of AOL – and
his Revolution LLC.
Specifically, the
Revolution Places
division of this company
he started in 2005.
Case has shifted his
"welcome!" from those
legions of basic e-mail
users to a more elite
group of travelers
looking for pampering in
paradise. On Aug. 3, he
announced that
Revolution Places would
be developing an $800
million luxury resort on
650 acres in Cacique,
Costa Rica. "Revolution
Places is an entirely
new approach to
destination resort
development," said Case,
adding it will "develop
a new authentic vacation
experience that retains
the local environment
and culture.
"With a full complement
of sustainability
principles and community
involvement, Revolution
Places will create
high-end developments
that provide consumers
with treasured and
limited for-sale
vacation real estate."
Now "sustainability" has
become one of those
words that, like
"ecotourism," is good
for business. It's
politically correct,
cutting edge,
enlightened – and now
that it's gone
mainstream has often
been rinsed of meaning.
Yet this isn't a word to
be thrown around
lightly; its principles
and implications are
really quite profound.
The United Nations'
World Tourism
Organization considers
sustainable tourism one
of the most powerful
forces for alleviating
poverty in undeveloped
areas of the world.
Among the principles
integral to
sustainability, the WTO
lists: doing no harm to
the environment,
conserving biodiversity,
respecting the local
culture and values,
promoting intercultural
understanding, involving
the community in
development of tourism
projects and
distributing benefits
fairly and creating a
meaningful experience
for tourists (see world-tourism.org/sustainable/top/con
cepts.html for more).
I'm not sure Case has
the same principles in
mind when he talks about
sustainability at
Cacique. What he has in
mind for his 650 acres
seems pretty
antithetical to the
whole philosophy.
Case strongly believes
that brand names are
what attract business,
and so he's bringing in
several high-end
hospitality brands to
realize his Revolution
vision:
- One&Only Resorts, a
luxury lodging chain
with properties in Dubai
and various tropical
islands, will develop
120 villas, each on its
own lush, green compound
designed for privacy and
unobstructed views of
the Pacific Ocean. The
California architectural
firm is designing the
resort to be
"environmentally
sensitive with an
emphasis on privacy
while evoking a 'sense
of place' with the
choice of materials
showcasing the natural
elements of Costa Rica."
- Miraval: Life in
Balance, a pricey and
much-lauded destination
spa in Arizona (which
Case bought a couple of
years ago), will create
its first outpost in
Costa Rica, with 120
luxurious rooms and 60
villas on 50 acres. The
design will be "inspired
by the local
surroundings" and
include "a full family
experience offering 100
adventurous programs
while providing private
grounds."
- Exclusive Resorts,
another Case-owned
company, is the top
luxury destination club
in the world, its very
wealthy members able to
take advantage of a
portfolio of amazing
properties in exotic
locations. Exclusive
Resorts will
custom-design and buy 30
of the 300 private
residence properties
that will be sold at
Cacique.
- Andre Agassi and
Steffi Graf will also
try their hand at
branding with their
first Agassi-Graf Tennis
and Fitness Center. And
Tom Doak will design the
18-hole golf course.
Other than using a few
local rocks for some
walls, I don't see a lot
of preservation of local
culture and tradition
here.
There will be
sustainable practices as
far as conservation is
concerned: The resort
will be designed to
reduce water and energy
waste and will purchase
its electrical power for
the community from
renewable sources. Then
again, if people paying
$3,000 don't want to
reuse those bath towels,
they will get nice, new
ones.
Then there is the matter
of involving the
community. While it does
seem that privacy and
seclusion are major
elements in the design
of the resort,
"Revolution Places
understands that the
success of its
developments is
contingent on the
well-being of the local
community and the
environment."
So it will be making
several "donations" to
the community: a million
trees; hydro-geological
studies of the Panama
aquifer and watershed;
computer learning
centers to four towns;
$1 million to encourage
and support the
development of local
non-profit efforts to
improve and protect the
Costa Rican environment.
"Costa Rica reminds me
of Hawaii when I was
born there nearly 50
years ago," said Case.
"We are aiming to take
the things that make
authentic Hawaii so
special, such as the
connections to the local
people, restaurants,
shops and the spirit of
aloha, while bringing
together the best brands
and applying the best
principles and practices
of today."
If the connections to
the local people etc.
are so important, why is
Case importing all these
international brands?
Yes, there will be new
jobs, but all the people
in charge are
foreigners. Not only
foreigners, but people
who haven't got a good
track record for
environmentalism: Sol
Kerzner, who will be
running One&Only, is the
man responsible for the
African fantasyland of
Sun City in South
Africa, and, more
recently, the
mega-resort-cum-theme-park
Atlantis, Paradise
Island. Philippe
Bourguignon, vice
chairman of Revolution
Places Group and CEO of
its development group,
was chairman of Club
Mediterranee and
chairman and CEO of Euro
Disney.
Do you want these guys
developing your pristine
beachfront?
Even if Cacique doesn't
turn into some Disney-esque
playground for the rich
and indulged, what are
the odds that putting in
hundreds of villas,
spas, sports facilities
and a golf course, not
to mention 300 private
estates, can avoid
having an impact on the
environment? Not to
mention the local
community? We see the
results of such
invasions throughout the
Caribbean and the world.
Understanding between
cultures? Authenticity?
A better way of life?
For Steve and Sol and
Philippe, perhaps.
Costa Rica has long been
a leader in monitoring
tourism growth, but its
standards seem to be
sagging, according to
several longtime
conservationists from
that country. Carlos
Manuel Rodríguez, the
country's former
minister for environment
and energy and now
director of Conservation
International's Mexico
and Central America
program, told a United
Kingdom reporter, "But
in my time as
environment minister it
was always a battle with
the tourism ministry. We
are sending mixed
signals now to the world
about our tourism. ...
"We began well: While
the rest of Central
America was at war, we
were developing our
national parks. At
first, it was only
tourists interested in
wildlife who came here,
but this has changed.
...
"There is simply a basic
lack of vision. There
are no guidelines, for
example, about building
higher than trees or in
areas where turtles
nest.
Everything in tourism
should be
environmentally
certified, but at the
moment the scheme in
Costa Rica is voluntary.
On these issues we
always say that we are
the champions of the
second league, but we
just can't get into the
premier league."
These destinations need
first-league defenses
fast. Because the
Revolution has begun.
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