Ecotourism

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Llano del Muerto waterfall in El Salvador

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and relatively undisturbed natural
areas, intended as a low-impact and often small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass)
tourism. It means responsible travel to natural areas conserving the environment and improving the
well-being of the local people.[1] Its purpose may be to educate the traveler, to provide funds
for ecological conservation, to directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment
of local communities, or to foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s,
ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavor by environmentalists, so that future generations
may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention.[2]:33 Several university
programs use this description as the working definition of ecotourism.[3]
Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components of the natural
environments.[4] Ecotourism focuses on socially responsible travel, personal growth, and
environmental sustainability. Ecotourism typically involves travel to destinations where flora, fauna,
and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Ecotourism is intended to offer tourists an insight
into the impact of human beings on the environment and to foster a greater appreciation of our
natural habitats.
Responsible ecotourism programs include those that minimize the negative aspects of conventional
tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition
to evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an integral part of ecotourism is the promotion
of recycling, energy efficiency, water conservation, and creation of economic opportunities for local
communities.[5] For these reasons, ecotourism often appeals to advocates of environmental and
social responsibility.
The term 'ecotourism', like 'sustainable tourism', is considered by many to be an oxymoron.[6][unreliable
source?]
Like most forms of tourism, ecotourism generally depends on air transportation, which
contributes to global climate change. Additionally, "the overall effect of sustainable tourism is
negative, where, like ecotourism, philanthropic aspirations mask hard-nosed immediate self-
interest."[7] An ecotourist is different from a tourist in the sense that, he or she is mindful of his
environment, in most cases contributing to the sustainability of such surroundings.
 What is Ecotourism?

Conservation Communities Interpretation

Offering market-linked
long-term solutions,
ecotourism provides
effective economic
incentives for conserving
and enhancing bio-
cultural diversity and
helps protect the natural
and cultural heritage of
our beautiful planet.
By increasing local With an emphasis on
capacity building and enriching personal
employment experiences and
opportunities, ecotourism environmental awareness
is an effective vehicle for through interpretation,
empowering local ecotourism promotes
communities around the greater understanding
world to fight against and appreciation for
poverty and to achieve nature, local society, and
sustainable development. culture.

The Definition
Ecotourism is now defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the
environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and
education" (TIES, 2015). Education is meant to be inclusive of both staff and guests.

Principles of Ecotourism
Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means
that those who implement, participate in and market ecotourism activities should adopt the
following ecotourism principles:
Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.
Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry.
Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to host
countries' political, environmental, and social climates.
Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
 Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous People in your community and
work in partnership with them to create empowerment.
Click Here to read the full articles announcing the revisions.

Eco-tourism focuses on local cultures, wilderness adventures, volunteering, personal growth and
learning new ways to live on our vulnerable planet. It is typically defined as travel to destinations
where the flora, fauna, and cultural heritage are the primary attractions. Responsible ecotourism
includes programs that minimize the adverse effects of traditional tourism on the natural
environment, and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to
evaluating environmental and cultural factors, initiatives by hospitality providers to promote
recycling, energy efficiency, water re-use, and the creation of economic opportunities for local
communities are an integral part of ecotourism.

Historical, biological and cultural conservation, preservation, sustainable development etc. are
some of the fields closely related to Eco-Tourism. Many professionals have been involved in
formulating and developing eco-tourism policies. They come from the fields of Geographic
Information Systems, Wildlife Management, Wildlife Photography, Marine Biology and
Oceanography, National and State Park Management, Environmental Sciences, Women in
Development, Historians and Archaeologists, etc.

Ecotourism is considered the fastest growing market in the tourism industry, according to the
World Tourism Organization with an annual growth rate of 5% worldwide and representing 6%
of the world gross domestic product, 11.4% of all consumer spending - not a market to be taken
lightly

Some definitions, views, statements and objectives -

Tourism is changing rapidly as nature, heritage, and recreational destinations become

more important, and as conventional tourism is forced to meet tougher environmental
requirements. This presents a challenge to government and private enterprise to
develop new approaches to the tourism market. Successful tourism must benefit local
populations economically and culturally to give them incentives to protect the natural
resources which create the attraction. Strategies must be economically feasible if
private investors are to support the projects.

Our goal is to enable people to enjoy and learn about the natural, historical and
cultural characteristics of unique environments while preserving the integrity of those
sites and stimulating the economic development opportunities in local communities.

Specifically, we believe that successful ecotourism projects must:

 effectively promote the preservation of entire local ecosystems, not just
individual species, vistas or sites;
be economically viable in order to attract financing and be sustainable:
be well planned, financed, managed and marketed in order to meet the
stringent environmental and recreational demands of a true ecotourism
development.
Eco-Tourism International

Ecotourism is cultural tourism (a cross-cultural experience), nature tourism (assisting

with conservation programmes), a travel-learn experience (discover how we are
coping with modernity), a little bit of soft adventure (just being here is an adventure),
and benefiting the well-being of indigenous peoples.
Western Samoa, National Ecotourism Programme

Around the globe, eco-tourism is quickly becoming one of the most popular forms of
vacationing.

In an era of heightened environmental consciousness and accessibility to exotic

locales, countries are busily promoting their natural resources as lures for tourists. The
trick with ecotourism is to preserve the natural resources while also promoting them
and accommodating volumes of tourists.

Businesses are creating camps and eco-lodges, and natural resource managers are
designing trails and tours. Most of the popular eco-travel destinations have fragile
eco-systems, however, so it is important to maintain a careful balance between
preservation and promotion -- "sustainable development" -- in order to ensure the
long-term health of both the eco-systems and the tourism economies.
Science and the Environment

Tourism Concern advocates

1. Tourism that is just, yielding benefits that are fairly distributed.

2. Tourism that is participatory, recognising the rights of residents.
3. Tourism that is sustainable
Tourism Concern
The term ecotourism was coined by Hctor Ceballos-Lascurin in 1983, and was
initially used to describe nature-based travel to relatively undisturbed areas with an
emphasis on education. The concept has, however, developed to a scientifically based
approach to the planning, management and development of sustainable tourism
products and activities.

It is an enlightening, participatory travel experience to environments, both natural and

cultural, that ensures the sustainable use, at an appropriate level, of environmental
resources and, whilst producing viable economic opportunities for the tourism
industry and host communities, makes the use of these resources through conservation
beneficial to all tourism role players.

It is not a marketing ploy, nor is it scenic or nature-based travel

It is an approach that creates a variety of quality tourism products that are:

environmentally/ ecologically sustainable

economically viable
socially and psychologically acceptable

The result of which reflects:

an integrated and holistic approach to product development

capacity building in host communities
a sense and uniqueness of place
commitment to the greening of the tourism industry

Ecotourism and Protected areas

According to the UNWTO's definition, ecotourism refers to forms of tourism which have the following

characteristics:
 1. All nature-based forms of tourism in which the main motivation of the tourists is the observation
and appreciation of nature as well as the traditional cultures prevailing in natural areas.
2. It contains educational and interpretation features.
3. It is generally, but not exclusively organised by specialised tour operators for small groups.
Service provider partners at the destinations tend to be small, locally owned businesses.
4. It minimises negative impacts upon the natural and socio-cultural environment.
5. It supports the maintenance of natural areas which are used as ecotourism attractions by:
Generating economic benefits for host communities, organisations and authorities
managing natural areas with conservation purposes;
Providing alternative employment and income opportunities for local communities;
Increasing awareness towards the conservation of natural and cultural assets, both
among locals and tourists.

Source: The British Ecotourism Market, UNWTO 2002

UNWTO has been involved in the field of ecotourism since the early 1990s and developed a set of
guidelines focusing on the strong link between protected area and tourism, with the aim of ensuring that
tourism contributes to the purposes of protected areas and does not undermine them.

In the framework of the UN-declared International Year of Ecotourism (IYE) 2002, UNWTO undertook a
wide range of activities, including the organization of regional conferences and the World Ecotourism
Summit, and published guidelines and methodologies for ecotourism development and market studies,
as well as supported regional and national activities.
At the request of the United Nations General Assembly, the World Tourism Organization prepared
a report on the activities undertaken by States and major international organizations in the framework of
the International Year of Ecotourism. Also UNWTO prepared a series of market reports to increase the
knowledge of seven important countries considered Ecotourism generating markets.
The UNGA resolution Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and
environment protection
In 2012, the Second Committee (Economic and Financial) of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted
the resolution A/C.2/67/L.30/Rev.1 on the Promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and
environment protection (available in English, French and Spanish). The resolution, facilitated by
Morocco and sponsored by a record 105 delegations, draws on the recommendations contained in a
report prepared by UNWTO on the basis of responses from 48 Member States which, in a notable
departure from its normal practice, was welcomed by the UN General Assembly (download the UNWTO
press release). This report builds on a UN resolution of 2010 on the same subject, and reflects
developments since then, namely the inclusion for the first time of tourism in the outcome document of
the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (RIO+20) and the results of the 11th meeting of the
Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biodiversity.

Recognizing that ecotourism, within the framework of sustainable tourism, is a cross-cutting activity able
to promote job creation and education, the resolution highlights its potential to improve livelihoods in local
communities, achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as contribute to the sustainable
development and protection of biodiversity by encouraging communities and tourists to preserve natural
and cultural heritage. The text also underlines the importance of establishing national policies and
investments for promoting ecotourism, and encourages governments to use it as a tool for poverty
alleviation and environmental protection. It calls on international financial institutions and the UN system
to provide adequate support for programs relating to ecotourism and on a strengthened partnerships for
providing adequate capacity-building and training for people involved in the sector.
In 2014, a milestone resolution recognizing the contribution of sustainable tourism to poverty eradication,
community development and the protection of biodiversity was adopted by consensus by the United
Nations General Assembly. The resolution, Promotion of sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, for
poverty eradication and environment protection (A/RES/69/233), available
in English, French, Russian and Spanish, significantly broader in scope than previous ones on the subject,
builds on a 2012 UN resolution on ecotourism and draws on a report prepared by UNWTO. In line with UNWTO
recommendations, it underlines the importance of appropriate national policies, guidelines and regulations for
promoting sustainable tourism, including ecotourism, and encourages UN Member States and regional and
international financial institutions to support sustainable tourism projects, enabling the creation of small and
medium-sized enterprises, promoting cooperatives and facilitating access to inclusive financial services,
including microcredit initiatives for the poor, local and indigenous communities.

The goals of ecotourism are awareness and respect for culture and the environment, and the
preservation and betterment of local populations worldwide. To participate in ecotourism is to travel
to natural environments for vacation or volunteer work, and contribute to these goals using
productive or nondestructive means.

Agritourism
Agritourism is a form of ecotourism that attracts tourists and volunteers to the rural culture. It
encourages visitors to explore agricultural life in rural communities first hand, contributing to the
improvement of income in regional populations. The goal essentially is to improve the economic
development of small farms and rural communities. Visitors can participate in agricultural work
alongside farmers in the fields, haul in nets with fishermen and help manage livestock on a ranch.
Even shopping from local farmer produce stands while on vacation is a means of contributing to the
betterment of rural development.
Community Development
Community based ecotourism provides travelers the opportunity to experience cultural and
economic realities of life, most often in developing countries. Travelers stay with a local family to
learn about daily living, customs, traditions and ways to benefit the community. The host community
benefits by generating revenue, which increases economic stability while reducing the community`s
need to participate in unsustainable forms of economic support, such as resource extraction. The
individual host earns money for providing food and accommodations, and the community benefits
when a portion of that income is set aside for broader projects.
Ecolodging
An ecolodge is an accommodation venue for tourists, built with minimum impact on the surrounding
natural environment. It is built to meet particular standards for alternative, sustainable means of
water acquisition and careful waste disposal. It utilizes alternative, passive energy consumption
designs to limit its impact on the surrounding natural and cultural environment. Types of ecolodges
include luxury African tents, alpine huts, tea houses in Nepal and rustic lean-tos in Belize. Often
ecolodge owners offer tours from knowledgeable locals to familiarize visitors with the area and instil
a sense of respect for the culture, people and environment.
Eco Trekking
Eco treks are designed to increase a travelers awareness about the natural and cultural
environment of a particular region. Visitors learn about local threats to the environment and habitats,
as well as current and potential preservation techniques. Eco treks are often arranged by for-profit
organizations, and a portion of the proceeds sometimes goes to support the local population.
Individuals interested in eco trekking can choose from a wide range of excursions to exotic
destinations. Activities can include white water rafting, rock climbing, caving, hiking, bird-watching
and nature walks.