Courtesy : en.wikipedia.org

Eco-tour

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving responsible travel (using sustainable transport) to natural areas, conserving the environment, and improving the well-being of the local people.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. Ecotourism may focus on educating travelers on local environments and natural surroundings with an eye to ecological conservation. Some include in the definition of ecotourism the effort to produce economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources financially possible

Generally, ecotourism deals with interaction with biotic components of the natural environments.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. Ecotourism aims at minimal environmental impact on the areas visited. Besides fostering respect towards the natural environment, ecotourism also helps in creating socio-economic benefits for the communities of the area visited.

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. For these reasons, ecotourism often appeals to advocates of environmental and social responsibility.

Many consider the term “ecotourism”, like “sustainable tourism” (which is a related concept but broader), an oxymoron. Like most long-distance travel, ecotourism often depends on air transportation, which contributes to climate change. Additionally, “the overall effect of sustainable tourism is negative where like ecotourism philanthropic aspirations mask hard-nosed immediate self-interest.”

Benefits

Seal watching near Malusi Islands in Estonia.

Kikoti Safari Camp in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

Ecotourism is tourism which is conducted responsibly to conserve the environment and sustain the well-being of local people. Its benefits include:

• Building environmental awareness.
• Providing direct financial benefits for conservation.
• Providing financial benefits and empowerment for local people.
• Respecting local culture.
• Supporting human rights and democratic movements such as:
  • conservation of biological diversity and cultural diversity through ecosystem protection.
  • promotion of sustainable use of biodiversity, by providing jobs to local populations.
  • sharing of all socio-economic benefits with local communities and indigenous peoples by having their informed consent and participation in the management of ecotourism enterprises.
  • tourism to unspoiled natural resources, with minimal impact on the environment being a primary concern.
  • minimization of tourism’s own environmental impact.
  • affordability and lack of waste in the form of luxury.
  • local culture, flora, and fauna being the main attractions.
  • local people, who benefit from this form of tourism economically, and often more than mass tourism.

Ecosystem protection can occur as ecotourism can help the funding of the operation of protected areas (i.e. national parks) Protected areas such as national parks often need to employ (and pay for) park rangers, and if Safari lodges are foreseen, staff is needed for this as well.

For many countries, ecotourism is not simply a marginal activity to finance protection of the environment, but a major industry of the national economy. For example, in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, Kenya, Madagascar and territories such as Antarctica, ecotourism represents a significant portion of the gross domestic product and economic activity.In Tan-awan, Oslob, Philippines, the ecotourism of swimming with whale sharks makes up to US$5 million a year, which is used to help stop overfishing and damage to the natural ecosystem. In Antarctica 2002, a study on ecotourism benefits was conducted by joint tourism research units from the US and Australia to assess ecotourism’s immediate influence of Antarctica cruise participation on tourists’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. They were also investigating the longer-term influence of Antarctica cruise participation on tourists’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Immediately after participation, scores on the general environmental behavior and associated intentions index increased 10% with respondents intending to increase significantly. However, three months after their tour, the retrospective respondents showed no significant increases in behaviors compared to the pre-visitation group.

Terminology and history

A hanging bridge in ecotourism area of Thenmala, Kerala in India – India’s first planned ecotourism destination

Ecotourism is a late 20th-century neologism compounded from eco- and tourism. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, ecotour was first recorded in 1973 and ecotourism, “probably after ecotour“, in 1982.

• ecotour, n. … A tour of or visit to an area of ecological interest, usually with an educational element; (in later use also) a similar tour or visit designed to have as little detrimental effect on the ecology as possible or undertaken with the specific aim of helping conservation efforts.
• ecotourism, n. … Tourism to areas of ecological interest (typically exotic and often threatened natural environments), esp. to support conservation efforts and observe wildlife; spec. access to an endangered environment controlled so as to have the least possible adverse effect.

Some sources suggest the terms were used nearly a decade earlier. Claus-Dieter (Nick) Hetzer, an academic and adventurer from Forum International in Berkeley, CA, coined ecotourism in 1965, according to the Contra Costa Times, and ran the first ecotours in the Yucatán during the early 1970s.

The definition of ecotourism adopted by Ecotourism Australia is: “Ecotourism is ecologically sustainable tourism with a primary focus on experiencing natural areas that fosters environmental and cultural understanding, appreciation and conservation.”

The Global Ecotourism Network (GEN) defines ecotourism as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and creates knowledge and understanding through interpretation and education of all involved (visitors, staff and the visited)”.

Ecotourism is often misinterpreted as any form of tourism that involves nature (see jungle tourism). Self-proclaimed practitioners and hosts of ecotourism experiences assume it is achieved by simply creating destinations in natural areas. According to critics of this commonplace and assumptive practice, true ecotourism must, above all, sensitize people to the beauty and the fragility of nature. These critics condemn some operators as greenwashing their operations: using the labels of “green” and “eco-friendly”, while behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways.

Although academics disagree about who can be classified as an ecotourist and there is little statistical data, some estimate that more than five million ecotourists—the majority of the ecotourist population—come from the United States, with many others from Western Europe, Canada and Australia.

Currently, there are various moves to create national and international ecotourism certification programs. National ecotourism certification programs have been put in place in countries such as Costa Rica,Australia, Kenya, Estonia, and Sweden.