History of ecotourism Began In The Eighties And Is Now The Fastest Growing Segment In Tourism
Ecotourism is tourism that appeals to people who are concerned about ecology as well as social consciousness, and in most instances, it focuses on local culture as well as adventures in the wilderness and personal growth and also learning to live in a new way that benefits the planet and its peoples. Ecotourism or responsible tourism is something that came into the consciousness of us humans during the latter part of the eighties, and so the history of ecotourism can safely be said to have begun during this period.
Aware Of The Need To Conserve Natural Resources
The history of ecotourism can also be said to have maybe have begun and been known to mankind for many centuries and one can trace the adventures of Charles Darwin as being a part of this history though it is not formally recognized as being so. Now, after the history of ecotourism has seen many changes, we are becoming aware of the need to conserve our natural resources and find means to prevent the ravages to nature that mass tourism is inflicting. As such, the present day history of ecotourism shows it as being the fastest growing tourism space in all of tourism as a whole.
This fast pace of growth in ecotourism can be attributed to the growing awareness on the planet of the need to not destroy the precious natural resources that are the target of certain uncaring people, and also because more and more people are now desirous of wanting to explore more natural environments rather than visit places served by mass tourism.
This growing history of ecotourism saw a major step being taken forward in promoting it with the announcement that the year 2002 was to be designated as the Year of Ecotourism by the United Nations. Furthermore, ecotourism has grown and added sophistication in the lives of peoples living in areas of ecotourism, and there is thus more disposable income with them and places such as the Amazon rainforests and also the Caribbean reef are good examples of the growing influence of ecotourism.
A look at the history of ecotourism in places such as Costa Rica shows how it has developed into an ideal ecotourism destination as is evident in what has been taking place here over the past three decades. This, in spite of the fact that Costa Rica is the leader in the world as far as deforestation rates and ransacking of forest resources is concerned having lost approximately half its forest areas between the fifties and nineties to much cutting down of trees. However, when faced with a cutting off of funds unless such a situation was not rectified, Costa Rica has turned into a good example of what ecotourism can do to a region and also country and to also positively impact the environment as well.
Eco Tourism Definition
Such a case study of ecotourism has a number of different purposes that include assessing the awareness as well as understanding of local peoples regarding ecotourism, assessing how has ecotourism contributed to the local population and finding out if the locals are indeed sensitized on ecotourism as well as the environment.
Today, however this form of tourism is quite viable and it all really began in the early eighties though at that time its popularity was confined to small groups of people that showed their keenness in the environment. However, with global warming and other factors becoming more and more noticeable, people, including the governments of the world, will have to take more notice. This is not because there is a feeling of condescension towards the subject but because it seems like an odd subject to teach. Within this sphere of tourism is the new trend known as ecotourism whose main aim is to minimize the negative aspects of tourism on the host country. As everything that one does in life will have a positive and negative side, ecotourism will naturally have a negative side as well, though one can take heart from the fact that these are not so great as to cause any great upheaval in the ecotourism industry or the local environment and population.
Even for the compulsive traveler, ecotourism is a wonderfully fresh and enervating way of spending free time and also showing responsibility in ones travel.
We may have to look to the many ecotourism projects being undertaken in several parts of the world to find a new direction in which the planet should be moving. There are many forms of ecotourism though generally it means visiting places that have one of a kind environment, and one can easily think of places such as rainforests, and also endangered animals habitats as good examples of such ecotourism destinations. Now, more and more tourists are becoming attracted to the new concept of ecotourism that is taking place as something of a new revolution in the way that we are thinking about taking our holidays. In any case, different case studies of ecotourism involving different destinations must highlight the potential of ecotourism as an activity that brings economic prosperity and which also will contribute towards a sustainable as well as social development of the host country, and which also promotes preservation of that countrys environmental as also cultural heritage, and at the same time ensures that local communities are also advantaged as a result of ecotourism.
It creates awareness.
There are many businesses too that are engaging them in construction of camps and lodges as also trails and tours that facilitate the eco-tourist, and a continent that is particularly engaged in ecotourism is Africa mainly because of the many numbers of game parks and reserves that are ideally suited for ecotourism. In order to understand whether ecotourism is becoming a problem, you have to understand what ecotourism is. There is also no denying the fact that there must be a fit of cultural values that are essential if the host country does not want to have disruptive or counterproductive influences in the development of ecotourism. It is also a fact that all tourism development programmes will be used to advance government interests because they need the approval of the government before anything can be done, it can often result in government interference in the running of ecotourism projects and thus there may be little or no accountability and transparency in ecotourism. It may require a critical study of management practices and also problems as well as challenges that the ecotourism industry faces. |
