Ecotourism

Ecotourism

Ecotourism consists of ecological tourism whose principal objective is in benefitting from nature, landscapes or specific species (e.g. lions or elephants in Kenya, watching whales, and so on). The tourism industry defines it as being "environmentally responsible travel to relatively undisturbed areas, to enjoy and appreciate nature and accompanying cultural features and to become aware of the need for preserving natural capital and cultural capital,. Ecotourism should have low visitor impact and should contribute to the well-being of local populations."

Basically, the definition of eco-tourism involves appreciation, conservation, admiration, enjoyment, and benefiting from local culture and environment.

Many global environmental organizations favor ecotourism.

It must satisfy several criteria, such as

conservation (and justification for conservation) of biological diversity and cultural diversity, through ecosystems protection
promotion of sustainable use of biodiversity, by providing jobs to local populations
sharing of socio-economical benefits with local communities and indigenous people by having their informed consent and participation in management of ecotourism business.

For many countries, ecotourism is not so much seen as a marginal activity intended to finance protection of the environment than as a major sector of national economy and as a means of getting currencies. For example, in countries such as Kenya, Ecuador, Nepal, Costa Rica and Madagascar, ecotourism represents a significant chunk of foreign revenue.

Some are not convinced by the rather flexible definition of ecotourism. They claim that the ecotourism often consists in placing a hotel in a splendid landscape, to the detriment of the ecosystem. According to them, ecotourism must above all sensitize people with the beauty and the fragility of nature. They condemn some operators as "green-washing" their operations--that is, using the label of "ecotourism" and "green-friendly", while behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways.

More than five million ecotourists--the majority of the worldwide population--come from the United States. The majority of the other ecotourists come from Europe. Wealthy or high-ranking individuals of other nations also engage in ecotourism.

See also