分类：
2008-09-30 15:49:37
I'm not sure if this is a service I would choose to launch this week: is a new site, launching Tuesday, that's focused on "sustainable （sustainable [sE`steInEbl] adj.可以忍受的, 足可支撑的, 养得起的）" or "green" travel. Given that most of us are likely to have a lot less green in the coming months, I worry about the concept.
Still, CEO Matthew Davie says the time is right to "shift the paradigm (paradigm [ 5pArEdaim, -dim ] n.范例) of
travel search." He says that his audience is "not price sensitive," nor date or
location sensitive. Apparently, his 29- to 35-year-old demographic (demographic [demE5^rAfIk] adj.人口统计学的) with $100k+
incomes can come and go when they please, but these folks do want to be
eco-friendly (eco-friendly adj.对生态环境友好的，不妨害生态环境的) when they're traipsing (traipse [ treips ] vi.漫步, 拖曳
vt.在...游荡, 走过 n.闲逛, 长途跋涉) around the globe without a care in the
world.
I'm being harsh (harsh [ hB:F ] adj.粗糙的, 荒芜的, 苛刻的, 刺耳的, 刺目的). There is something to this service. It doesn't constrain searching by region or by date, unless you want that. So if you're not sure where or when to go, Whole Travel will show you a lot of good options at once. Whole Travel rates destinations (hotels and the like) on economic sensitivity, social progressiveness (progressive [ prE5^resiv ] n.改革论者, 进步论者 adj.前进的, (税收)累进的, 进步的), and customer focus. For example, a small hotel that hires only local staff and feeds its guests in accordance (accordance [ E5kC:dEns ] n.一致, 和谐) to their naturopaths (naturopath [ 5neitFErEpAW ] n.自然疗者, 理疗家)' diets, from vegetables grown on its own land (watered by runoff (runoff n.流走之物, 决赛, 决定性竞选)from the roof), will rate highly on Whole Travel. It's similar to what () does for consumer products.
Travel responsibly.
Davie says the 4,000 global destinations in his database are mostly unique, that only 10 percent to 20 percent are the mainstream locations you'll find on other travel sites. You'd have to jump through pages of Google results, he says, to find the locations his system has. Whole Travel surveys each of its sites to determine their ratings; on-site visits and spot-checks from users are coming later.
The site will partner with to get you to your idyllic green hideaway far from the financial meltdown capital of the world, and with so you can buy the offsets to make up for the carbon compounds your flight dumps into the atmosphere.
It's a good thing to promote responsible tourism, and Whole Travel may be onto something even if its launch timing is not optimal. Whole Travel's business model is based on referral fees, so if he's right, he'll be able to pay rent. He also points out that Westin's new group of hotels caters to green travelers, and that someone has got to send those new eco-friendly destinations some customers.
