Some Of The Differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism Include Scale And Attitude Towards Conservation
There is considerable acrimony among proponents of mass tourism and those of ecotourism concerning various factors including travel safety as well as security and even global or regional schisms are developing. There are indeed many factors such as the rich vs. poor, developed vs. developing, economic vs. cultural values and of course terrorist vs. tourist that needs to be considered. The question is whether we will choose one side or is integration possible. Tourism is it mass tourism or ecotourism is certainly a vehicle that promotes better learning about different peoples and their cultures.
Making An Informed Decision
Nevertheless, there are certain differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism and we need to explore these to arrive at an informed decision about which one is better and also to learn how to improve both forms of tourism. Mass tourism will generally have its own characteristics that include concentration of high volume sales, shifting of large groups of tourists, full utilization of holiday packages and also development of huge transport systems and infrastructure, and marketing is more hedonistic.
On the other hand, differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism show that ecotourism is more nature based, low impact as well as small scale, promotes conservation, supports local communities, helps maintain natural and cultural integrity, and makes use of environmentally friendly methods as also technologies. Thus, one can easily see that there are major differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism and mass tourism is normally associated with high volumes, large scale, fast pace as well as hedonism, while ecotourism is small scale, nature centric as well as conservation oriented.
Whereas mass tourism has been around for a long time, ecotourism only began in the eighties and this is another one of the major differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism. Ecotourism aims at balancing economic development of tourism, and conservation as well as protecting the natural resources is central to it, while mass tourism is like a juggernaut that pays scant heed to any lofty ideals and is instead hell bent on churning profits and thus pays little attention to sustainable development, and as such, this is another of the many important differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism.
In addition, while considering the differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism one can also think of tourist destinations themselves that are either suited for one form of tourism and exclusive to the other. Take for instance the Pacific Islands that are ideally suited for ecotourism and not for mass tourism. Thus, one can easily understand that if ecotourism is uppermost in the minds of tourists, they will naturally gravitate towards such places, where there is little or nothing for the mass tourist type of traveler. Ecotourism may also take one to places where the climate as well as constraints of smallness make such destinations unsuited for mass tourism. Other such destinations that do not make for ideal mass tourism include Fiji, Tahiti, New Caledonia as well as the Cook Islands; though they do see some amount of mass tourism along with ecotourism, which of course is the primary form of tourism it is helping in leading to a more integrated type of tourism, which is thus narrowing down the differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism.
History Of Ecotourism
Over the recent past couple of decades mankind has got to understand as well as appreciate the importance of a better and cleaner environment that has resulted in a greater impact on our lives today.
In addition, while considering the differences between mass tourism and eco-tourism one can also think of tourist destinations themselves that are either suited for one form of tourism and exclusive to the other. In addition, it may also be in your best interest to review ongoing projects to see if your project falls in an applicable area. Another definition of ecotourism as set out by the International Society (TIES) is Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people. Perhaps the idea of ecotourism was formed with good intentions, but the fact is that there is much environmental damage that is caused by bad ecotourism. The Prince Edward Island encourages ecotourism in general and is seeking to keep intact its natural heritage to ensure that its legacy will remain as it has for tens of thousands of years.
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.
Such ecotourism debates are centered on the position that there is a blue-green environmental spectrum in which even nature has a basic economic value. Of course, in order to do this, the instructor must properly convey the information so that the desired result is achieved. National parks often allow people to camp in tents in certain areas, but some of these people do not respect their surroundings. A part of the world that is most closely associated with nature tourism and ecotourism is the continent of Africa where such concepts are best exemplified with the amount of tourism taking place in game parks and reserves where one can take in the exciting wildlife and birds and also marvel at the wonders of nature that can be found in different parts of the continent. Ecotourism in general means visiting significant as well as sensitive environments and one may choose places such as those that offer opportunity for bird watching as well as rainforest areas as possible ecotourism destinations. Supporting the ecotourism movement is not just a leisure activity; it is a vital part of the safety of out society and the natural world.
While private beaches that charge a fee require people to be clean and considerate of their surroundings, public beaches have no private funding, so people often end up littering.
Mostly, ecotourism grants such Rufford Small Grants do not accept applications from first world applicants, and are also not given for pure research, or expeditions and conferences or seminars. This great ecotourism potential is also throwing up many more ecotourism destinations and there is stiff competition among many countries which means that countries with more than beaches, coral reefs and marine biodiversity will profit more than others. It would also mean building capacity for the creation and also marketing of ecotourism environmental education products as also getting local people to participate in creating as well as developing new ecotourism environmental education products. The most important thing that you can do is not litter. If we could find a place that was worth visiting and it did not cost more than what we could afford, then that was all there was to taking a holiday. Another of the types of ecotourism is the type for which the aims are to enable participation from the local community, particularly in terms of the development and operations of tourism. |
