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Ecotourism

Ecotourism is a form of nature-oriented tourism based on more sustainable practices that suggest a lower environmental impact than conventional mass tourism. It offers nature-based adventure and environmental education and interest at destinations that are considered ecologically intact. At the same time, ecotourism emphasizes a more responsible form of travel that is more sustainable, operates under a higher ecological and cultural awareness, and offers a higher benefit to local income and employment opportunities.

Some aspects of ecotourism compared with conventional tourism have an actual positive effect on the destination resulting from local ecotourism operations. Many ecological arguments, however, refer to a mere reduction of a nevertheless negative effect, while accepting current consumption levels in society. The concept of ecotourism is subject to some critiques, and the industry faces several unsolved problems in practice.

Ecotourism emerged as an alternative tourism concept in the 1980s, when negative environmental and social impacts of conventional mass tourism were starting to be felt on a larger scale. Ecotourism has increased its market segment continually to an estimated 35 percent, with suggested further growth in the future. In Costa Rica, Kenya, Nepal, Ecuador, Madagascar, Antarctica, and many other places, ecotourism has become a significant economic activity.

Ecological Sustainability and Conservation

Ecotourism has been connected to various benefits in comparison with conventional mass tourism, such as a lower environmental impact on local ecosystems. Ecological low-impact efforts range from technical measures (e.g., increased energy efficiency, use of renewable energy sources, recycling, water conservation, use of more sustainable building materials, environmentally less harmful pesticides, or infrastructural planning leaving more natural habitat for local flora and fauna) to preventative approaches that focus on an overall lower consumption of the facilities and the individual tourist (e.g., low-impact activities, accommodation, and transport) and/or compensation efforts that offset the ecological impact (e.g., carbon credits, reforestation projects).

Ecotourism may offer educational programs and a rich implicit environmental learning experience that includes a heightened overall environmental awareness, green consciousness about individual consumption, ecological and cultural knowledge, and a stronger emotional connection to “nature” and sense of place that may support conservation efforts. Ecotourism projects can also encourage environmental conservation efforts toward the protection of biodiversity and ecosystemic integrity as a major economic agent for change. However, ecotourism projects have been related to indigenous dislocations when endorsing the creation of protected areas, suggesting negative influences, where selected economic interests are put above the cultural survival and basic livelihood needs of the local population.

Cultural Effects and Concepts

Ecotourism has a potentially less adverse effect on local culture than conventional mass tourism, and even a positive effect on some communities. Cultural appropriateness in interactions with the local population and a higher cultural awareness are easier to learn in smaller-scale ecotourism operations. Overall, ecotourism represents a significant opportunity for economic growth in rural communities because of its preference for remote destinations with little prior industrial activity. The small-scale nature of ecotourism makes local start-up businesses a viable option. Locally owned ecotourism operations can contribute to the income opportunities of the local population more effectively and make the local community socioeconomically stronger, thus contributing to local sustainability and poverty reduction. This may also have positive indirect effects such as capacity building or local empowerment. However, environmentally competitive tourism businesses may in some cases require investment capital that is locally unavailable, thus causing the need to attract investors to the area and diverting the tourism revenue into anything but local income. The suggested solutions range from Fair Trade elements to community-based management and local benefit sharing to a diversification of local income opportunities for poverty alleviation, but the economic needs and pressures of external investments remain problematic.

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