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 reason 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 a sub-component of the field of sustainable tourism. Ecotourism must serve to maximize ecological benefits, while contributing to the economic, social and cultural wellbeing of communities living close to ecotourism venues.

Potential ecological, economic and sociocultural benefits associated with ecotourism are described below.

Potential Ecological Benefits

A primary challenge is to make sure that ecotourism does not compromise the ecological integrity of protected areas and welfare of local communities. Although ecotourism is not supposed to have negative ecological outcomes, these may occur regardless. Ecotourism is widely assumed to have many positive ecological consequences, and some of them are listed as follows:

Direct Benefits

• Incentive to protect natural environments
• Incentive to rehabilitate modified environments and lands
• Provide fund to manage and expand protected areas
• Ecotourists assist with habitat maintenance and enhancement through their own actions
• Ecotourists serving as watchdogs or guardians who personally intervene in situations where the environment is perceived to be threatened

Indirect benefit

• Exposure to ecotourism fosters a broader sense of environmentalism
• Communities experience changes in environmental attitude and behavior
• Areas protected for ecotourism provide environmental benefits

Potential Economic Benefits

For many decision-makers, economic factors are more compelling than ecological factors in deciding how natural resources should be utilized. Ecotourism economic benefits are presented below:

Direct Benefits

• Generates revenue (related to visitor expenditures) and creates employment that is directly related to the sector
• Provides economic opportunities for peripheral regions

Indirect Benefits

• High multiplier effect and indirect revenue employment
• Supports cultural and heritage tourism, sectors that are highly compatible with ecotourism.

Potential Socio-Cultural Benefits

A holistic approach on ecotourism must promote socio-cultural as well as economic and ecological practices. The direct and indirect socio-cultural benefits are outlined as follows:

Direct and Indirect Benefits

• Foster community stability and wellbeing through economic benefits and local participation
• Aesthetic and spiritual benefits and enjoyment for locals and tourists
• Accessible to a broad spectrum of the population

When assessing potential positive impacts of ecotourism, it is necessary to mention that ecotourism can have unintended negative effects as well. Negative impacts can be mitigated through regulations and codes of conduct that effectively and persuasively impart messages about appropriate visitor behavior.

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 frand 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.

Related terms

Sustainable tourism

This section is an excerpt from Sustainable tourism.

A Canopy Walkway at Kakum National Park in Ghana, ensuring that tourists have least direct impact on the surrounding ecology. The visitor park received the Global Tourism for Tomorrow Award the following year.

Sustainable tourism is a concept that covers the complete tourism experience, including concern for economic, social and environmental issues as well as attention to improving tourists’ experiences and addressing the needs of host communities. Sustainable tourism should embrace concerns for environmental protection, social equity, and the quality of life, cultural diversity, and a dynamic, viable economy delivering jobs and prosperity for all. It has its roots in sustainable development and there can be some confusion as to what “sustainable tourism” means.There is now broad consensus that tourism should be sustainable. In fact, all formsf tourism have the potential to be sustainable if planned, developed and managed properly. Tourist development organizations are promoting sustainable tourism practices in order to mitigate negative effects caused by the growing impact of tourism, for example its environmental impacts.The United Nations World Tourism Organization emphasized these practices by promoting sustainable tourism as part of the Sustainable Development Goals, through programs like the International Year for Sustainable Tourism for Development in 2017.There is a direct link between sustainable tourism and several of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Tourism for SDGs focuses on how SDG 8 (“decent work and economic growth”), SDG 12 (“responsible consumption and production”) and SDG 14 (“life below water”) implicate tourism in creating a sustainable economy. According to the World Travel & Tourism Travel, tourism constituted “10.3 percent to the global gross domestic product, with international tourist arrivals hitting 1.5 billion marks (a growth of 3.5 percent) in 2019” and generated $1.7 trillion export earnings yet, improvements are expected to be gained from suitable management aspects and including sustainable tourism as part of a broader sustainable development strategy.