Hello everybody!
I was reading an article the other day in the online edition of the New York Times and it talks about Ecotourism.
I thought you might be interested because it is important to take care of our environment.
As we all know, mass tourism causes a lot of pollution and trash. So on the one hand tourism is great and many people have the dream of seeing the whole world but on the other hand tourism is really bad for the environment.
What does Ecotourism mean?
The official definition by TIES (The International Ecotourism Society) is “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people.”
Basically what it says is that Eco-tourism is when one goes on holiday to a remote destination in a natural area while simultaneously being cautious of the environment, thus leaving the smallest carbon footprint possible as well first the infrastructure improvements are built to not only benefit the tourists but also the locals and well-being of the local people is being sustained.
So what are the guidelines to ecotourism?
The first is to protect the environment. This means keeping to the footpath and not leaving litter. The second is to not interfere with the wildlife meaning that you shouldn’t feed or scare animals. Also protecting the resources, so do not waste too much water. And finally respecting local customs and traditions, which is done by wearing appropriate clothing and behave appropriately.
Eco-tourism can consist of many activities including surfing, cycling, walking, kayaking, swimming, diving, bird watching and many others.
An example of eco-tourism includes the Monteverde Cloud Forest in Costa Rica which is in Central America. This destination is attractive as the flora and fauna is very diverse and additionally creates many jobs and incomes.
If done rightly ecotourism has several advantages. Eco-tourism has many benefits to the forest, has created many new businesses and jobs which are directly related to tourism, the wildlife and nature is being protected and led undisturbed as well as the local arts and crafts have been revived.
Since the 1980s the ecotourism sector is growing. It is the fastest growing sector in tourism, growing at an annual rate of between 10% – 15%. Tourism is one of the few sectors of the world economy that continues to grow despite the ups and downs in the world economy.
Tourism will never be completely sustainable but according to the chart the large number of tourists will steadily increase and therefore it becoming even more important to take care of our environment. A balance must be found between limits and usage so that continuous changing, monitoring and planning ensure that tourism can be managed.
So what do you think about ecotourism? Please let me know what you think about it.
Regards
Jakob
