Ecotourism Did You Mean Ecotourism?

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Ecotourism essentially means ecological tourism, where ecological has both environmental and social connotations. It is defined both as a concept / tourism movement and as a tourism sector. Born in its current form in the late 1980s, Ecotourism came of age in 2002, when the United Nations celebrated the "International Year of Ecotourism". The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people". However, this is a vibrant, new movement and there are various definitions.

Many global environmental organizations and aid agencies favor ecotourism as a vehicle to sustainable development.

Ideally, true ecotourism should 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-economic benefits with local communities and indigenous people by having their informed consent and participation in the management of ecotourism enterprises.
increase of environmental & cultural knowledge
minimisation of tourism's own environmental impact
affordability and lack of waste in the form of luxury

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.

The concept of ecotourism is widely misunderstood and, in practice, is often simply used as a marketing tool to promote tourism that is related to nature. Critics claim that ecotourism as practiced and abused 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.

Although academics argue about who can be classified as an ecotourist, and there is precious little statistical data, some estimate that more than five million ecotourists--the majority of the worldwide population--come from the United States, with other ecotourists coming from Europe, Canada and Australia.

Currently there are various moves to create national and international ecotourism certification programs, although the process is causing controversy.

External links

Ecotourism at traditional Fijian Villages through FijiBure.com
Tourism Insight - ecotourism
green-travel group
TIES
Planeta
Ecoclub
Nature Conservancy ecotourism
Conservation International
Ecotourism definition & literature review
Planeta Vivo Society
Ecotourism Directory
Ecotourism Resource Centre
Links to ecotourism accration and certification programs
Big Picture TV Free video clip of Jane Goodall discussing eco-tourism in Africa

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