3. Eco Friendly Tourism
Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving visiting fragile, pristine, and
relatively undisturbed natural areas, intended as a low-impact and often
small scale alternative to standard commercial (mass) tourism. ... Ecotourism
focuses on socially responsible travel, personal growth, and environmental
sustainability.
The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as “responsible
travel to natural areas which conserves the environment and improves the
welfare of the local people.”
4. Types of Eco Tourism……(1/2)
Ecolodging
Ecolodging involves accommodations that have been built with
environmental awareness and conscientiousness or that are simply in natural
settings. Ecolodging options vary greatly, from hotels or hostels built with
sustainable or alternative materials to "eco resorts" in remote locations with
access to activities such as bird-watching, sea kayaking and tours of local
outdoor attractions.
Agrotourism
Agrotourism is a type of ecotourism that capitalizes on rural farm
communities as tourist attractions. Some agrotourism venues serve to
encourage and protect threatened agrarian communities in disadvantaged
countries. Others offer demonstration sites for sustainable farming methods.
5. Types of Eco Tourism……(1/2)
Community Development
Some ecotourism opportunities focus on protecting the land and livelihood of
communities threatened by industry, deforestation and other byproducts of
modernization. Such organizations offer opportunities for ecotourists to
interact with the local population by planting trees, learning local trades or
building homes.
Eco Treks
Eco treks involve excursions to exotic, endangered or otherwise appealing
locations. Treks might include rafting, rock climbing, swimming, caving,
hiking, sailing or bird-watching for the purpose of increasing awareness about
a particular region and its associated environmental threats or habitats worth
preserving .
6. Benefit of Eco Tourism
Ecotourism can bring about economic, socio-cultural and environmental
benefits for the government, private sector and local communities if well
implemented.
Revenue from tourist visits help create job opportunities for locals,
which in turn, lead to more diversified economy for them.
More importantly, ecotourism can support conservation and
environmental management if properly carried out. For example, entry
fees imposed on visitors can be channelled towards the maintenance
and management of the areas.
Ecotourism can also be a tool to raise awareness about the environment
and to educate the public on conservation.
7. Characteristics of Genuine or Authentic
Ecotourism:
Involves travel to natural
destinations
Minimizes impact
Builds environmental
awareness
Provides direct financial
benefits for conservation
Provides financial benefits and
empowerment for local people
Respects local culture
Supports human rights and
democratic movements.
Sources: Honey, 1999, p. 22-24
8. Disadvantage of Eco Tourism
Degradation of Environment: We might claim to be ‘environmentally
sophisticated’, but the truth is that we do not realize how the
transportation through which we are traveling or the food / drink which we
are consuming there are taking a toll on the nature. All these inadvertent
vicious infrastructure accelerate the environmental degradation to a large
extent.
Disturbance Caused to the Wildlife: Each and every type of tourism
interrupts the quiet and peaceful wildlife. Inspite of lots of promotion of
eco-tourism, people do not care much about the inconvenience caused to
the birds and animals due to their illogical demands, wishes and behavior.
They really do not try to become proper eco-tourists. It eventually
imposes negative effects on the ecosystem and affects the ecological
balance.
9. Economic Dimension
According to the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), 83% of
developing countries rely on ecotourism as a major export while
others, such as Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nepal, Kenya, Madagascar
and Antarctica, also rely on ecotourism as the major
contributory factor in their gross domestic product and
employment level calculations.
10. Economic Dimension
With the tourism industry now experiencing growth rates of 7%, the
current rebound is not only good news for these aforementioned
countries, it is also good news for the protection of natural resources
and ecosystems. But, with the ecotourism industry growing 5%
annually worldwide (representing 6% of the world gross domestic
product and reflecting 11.4% of all consumer spending), are other
countries really prepared for rising consumer expectations with
respect to ecotourism?
The answer largely depends on the level of consumer awareness
concerning ecotourism certifications, cultural and family ecotourism
experiences, host community poverty alleviation measures, and
mitigation of environmental damage.
