Preview

Eco-Tourism

Best Essays
Open Document
Open Document
4144 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Eco-Tourism
1. Introduction
The word ecotourism is something that has only recently become a mainstay in the English language. Tours to rainforest, gamer reserves, and wildlife sanctuaries are growing in every region of the world. They go in tent camps, on safaris, to jungle lodges, and to rainforest resorts. Inspired by zoos and the throngs of animal themed television shows, people are taking to the jungles and savannas to see the earth 's most fascinating creatures in the wild before it is too late. At the going rate, some say the Sundarbans will disappear within the next few decades unless drastic measures are taken. Other forests and regions are in danger too. Although in some places tourism growth has threatened wildlife, in most cases it inspires many to conserve it.

2. Definition of eco-tourism
Ecotourism is travelling to natural places that are vulnerable and the tourists are required to act responsibly in order to minimize the negative aspects of tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of the local people. Apart from evaluating environmental and cultural factors, an important function of ecotourism is to promote recycling, energy conservation, energy efficiency, and creation of economic opportunity for local community.
The Ecotourism Society defines it as "responsible travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the welfare of the local people". A walk through the rainforest is not eco-tourism unless that particular walk somehow benefits that environment and the people who live there. A rafting trip is only eco-tourism if it raises awareness and funds to help protect the watershed. A loose interpretation of this definition allows many companies to promote themselves as something that they are not.
Responsible ecotourism includes programs that minimize the negative aspects of conventional tourism on the environment and enhance the cultural integrity of local people. Therefore, in addition to evaluating



Bibliography: * Ecotourism. Wikipedia. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism * Merg, M. (January, 2007). What is Ecotourism?. Untamed Path. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.untamedpath.com/Ecotourism/what_is_ecotourism.html * Advantages and disadvantages of ecotourism.(2008) Benefits of Eco tourism. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from * Risks and benefits of Eco Tourism. (2008). Eco India. Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.ecoindia.com/sustainable-tourism/risks-and-benefits-of-eco-tourism.html Retrieved August 1, 2011, from http://www.articlesbase.com/marketing-articles/promoting- http://www.responsibletravel.com/copy/had-enough-package-of-shame * What is the definition of mass tourism? (2011) http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_definition_of_mass_tourism * Mass Tourism: Is it exploitation? ( August 9, 2001) http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/1468503.stm * Adventure Tourism.( July 29, 2011) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adventure_travel * What are the disadvantages of mass tourism? (2011)

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Best Essays

    Ecotourism has the ability through its economic benefits to increase conservation, improve the economic well-being of local communities and national governments and educate people on the threats facing fragile environments around the world. However, ecotourism is not without its drawbacks and ill-managed and uncontrolled tourism can impact badly on wildlife and protected areas. In this assignment I will aim to look at the relationship between people and ecotourism and analyse the benefits and weaknesses that they both have on each other.…

    • 1754 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    With the growing global concern for the environment, new products, industries, and sustainable practices have emerged across a number of industries. The industry of tourism on an international and domestic scale is no different. Over the past few decades, the global tourism industry has witnessed an immense increase in travel based on environmentally sound practices, devised to be sustainable . Travellers are becoming increasingly interested in natural environments, cultures, and adventures. For this new market segment activities such as wilderness viewing, wildlife observation and hiking/trekking opportunities have become more popular to a wider base of customers within the tourism and travel industry . This new form of tourism, also known as ecotourism, has also become an integral part of a number of country’s environmental and economic practices .…

    • 4256 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ecotourism has started growing in popularity as criticism has arisen over ordinary mass tourism. Mass tourists exploit tourist destinations in such a way that can cause environmental degradation. Ecotourism attempts to make tourism sustainable – that is, it encourages preservation of environmental quality and of traditional cultures, it educates tourists and it enables the local people to participate in certain services offered to the eco-tourists. As ecotourism extends towards increasingly exotic tourist locations, such as Antarctica, sustainability becomes all the more important. Thus ecotourism does have its advantages towards the environment. However, conflict can arise between different interest groups concerning debatable issues in ecotourism – as opposing groups (such as environmentalists and scientists) have different interests as to how to go about with an extremely exotic area such as Antarctica.…

    • 888 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tourists visit foreign countries to obtain a sense of paradise, and dabble in a society that has not yet been corrupted (Buchner, 2003). Sustainable Tourism aims to provide such paradise by meeting the needs of tourists, without effecting the economy, environment and society in a detrimental way. Thus far, Sustainable Tourism has had a vast variety of implications, such as ethical considerations and the suggestion that it may just be a marketing ploy (Lansing and Vries, 2007). It also has been confused with Ecotourism, a form of tourism that places emphasis on a sustainable connection with the natural environment (Weaver and Lawton, 2010). However, Ecotourism is actually a form of Alternative Tourism and potentially Mass Tourism (Weaver and Lawton, 2010) thus fitting with a number of other new forms of tourism.…

    • 1889 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Dolnicar, S. (2010). Identifying tourists with smaller environmental footprints. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 18, 717 –734. Dolnicar, S., Crouch, G.I., & Long, P. (2008). Environment-friendly tourists: What do we really know about them? Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 16, 197–210. Dolnicar, S., & Leisch, F. (2008). An investigation of tourists’ patterns of obligation to protect the environment. Journal of Travel Research, 46, 392–402. Dunlap, R.E., Van Liere, K.D., Mertig, A.G., & Jones, R.E. (2000). Measuring endorsement of the new ecological paradigm: A revised NEP scale. Journal of Social Issues, 56, 435– 442. Eagles, P.F.J., & Mccool, S.F. (2002). Tourism in national parks and protected areas. Planning and management. Wallingford: CABI Publishing. EUROPARC Federation (2007). The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas, Updated version of May 2007. Retrieved from http://www.european-charter.org/Documents/ charter_full_text.pdf Fairweather, J.R., Maslin, C., & Simmons, D.G. (2005). Environmental values and response to ecolabels among international visitors to New Zealand. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 13, 82 –99. Fennell, D. (1999). Ecotourism. London: Routledge. Fennell, D., & Weaver, D. (2005). The ecotourium concept and tourism-conservation symbiosis. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 13, 373 –390. Floyd, M.F., Jang, H., & Noe, F.P. (1997). The relationship between environmental concern and acceptability of environmental impacts among visitors to two US national park settings. Journal of Environmental Management, 51, 391– 412. Font, X. (2002). Environmental certification in tourism and hospitality: Progress, process and prospects. Tourism Management, 23, 197 –205. Font, X., & Clark, S. (2007). Certification of protected areas: The case of PAN Parks in Europe. In R. Black & A. Crabtree (Eds.), Quality assurance and certification in ecotourism (pp. 299–315). Wallingford: CABI.…

    • 9792 Words
    • 40 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Hospitality Management

    • 4441 Words
    • 18 Pages

    • The International Ecotourism Society (1990) International Ecotourism Society. Washington. Available from: < http://www.ecotourism.org/site/c.orLQKXPCLmF/b.4832143/k.BD87/Home.htm> [Accessed 27 September 2009].…

    • 4441 Words
    • 18 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    Eco Tourism

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages

    ECOTOURISM: Is a form of tourism that is designed to reduce harm to the environment (e.g. by attracting people to see its special qualities without harming what they have come to see).…

    • 550 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Alternative Tourism

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages

     Sustainable tourism’s objective is minimizing tourism influence on the local environment through promoting its conception to tourists before and during their holiday as well as provoking nature conservation practices ever since the conception stage in the outgoing sector.…

    • 379 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Tourism Planning

    • 3884 Words
    • 16 Pages

    Cater, E. (1993). Ecotourism in the Third World: Problems for sustainable tourism development. tourism Management.…

    • 3884 Words
    • 16 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ecotourism

    • 3206 Words
    • 13 Pages

    Ecotourism is responsible travel to fragile, pristine, and usually protected areas that strive to be low impact and (often) small scale (as an alternative to mass tourism). Its purpose is to educate the traveller; provide funds for ecological conservation; directly benefit the economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and foster respect for different cultures and for human rights. Since the 1980s ecotourism has been considered a critical endeavour by environmentalists, so that future generations may experience destinations relatively untouched by human intervention. Several university programs use this description as the working definition of ecotourism.…

    • 3206 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Ecotourism

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages

    * Honey, Martha. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development. United States : The New York Times, 2008.…

    • 939 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Ecotourism Notes

    • 2152 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Ecotourism can be defined as: ‘Tourism in remote or natural areas that aims to enhance knowledge and appreciation of the natural environment and cultural heritage without damaging the environment or the experiences for others.’…

    • 2152 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Best Essays

    Ecotourism

    • 4761 Words
    • 20 Pages

    The term ecotourism first emerged in the late 1980s and was quickly adopted by both academics and practice (Weaver, 2008). The evolution of ecotourism can be explained by Jafari’s (1989) four platforms theory. In the advocacy platform, tourism was regarded as the activity that brings “good things” for destinations. Thus, the main philosophy people hold against tourism was “all tourism is good”. The cautionary platform emerged in the 1970s as people started to aware the negative consequences of tourism which means “not all tourism is good”. It then transformed into adaptancy platform in the 1980s where people perceived tourism can bring both positive and negative consequences to destinations. However, options that were considered bringing more positive outcomes than negative were proposed at this stage. This was also when people have awareness of “ecotourism”. Tourists had shifted away from mass tourism towards experience that is more educational and enriching in related to the environment (Diamantis, 1999). Another evidence of the emergence of ecotourism is the paradigm has shifted form the dominant western environmental paradigm to the emerging green paradigm (Weaver, 2008). Knowledge-based platform was emerged from the 1990s which takes consideration into the…

    • 4761 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Ecotourism, as responsible and sustainable tourism, with beneficial effects to tourists and local communities, and as a means to visit, enjoy, study, and reflect upon the wonders of nature and its intricate workings, is so far removed from traditional tourism in its philosophy and activities to warrant radical programmatic changes.”(Ecotourism and the management, Fekri Hassan and Hala Barakat).…

    • 691 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    helping hand

    • 3342 Words
    • 14 Pages

    to deal with the threats and opportunities of international tourism. Finally the opportunities and challenges of ecotourism will be briefly…

    • 3342 Words
    • 14 Pages
    Good Essays

Related Topics