The Need for Teaching Ecotourism
When the subject of teaching ecotourism comes up, people may give the person who brought up the subject a quizzical look. This is not because there is a feeling of condescension towards the subject but because it seems like an odd subject to teach. After all, what could possibly be the importance of teaching ecotourism to people who are not involved in the hotel and tourism trade?
Well, if a teacher is successful in presenting the true facts of the subject of ecotourism, then the quizzical looks will quickly disappear as people begin to realize the absolute seriousness of the issue. Hopefully, they will understand that ecotourism is not all about leisure, but also about properly dealing with common threats to the environment.
If one perpetuates teaching ecotourism to where the awareness level of the subject arises, then the teacher will be doing the world a great service. Of course, in order to do this, the instructor must properly convey the information so that the desired result is achieved.
Stressing Importance When Teaching Ecotourism
In order to make teaching ecotourism effective, it becomes critical that the instructor stresses the notion that ecotourism is a serious issue that requires serious attention. This is not to say that an instructor should bring a sense of alarmism with him towards the issue. Alarmism never works and will more than likely backfire if employed.
But if the instructor brings a firm approach to the subject matter and infuses into the instruction a notion that action is required to help promote environmental causes that are helpful for the greater good, then the process of teaching ecotourism will prove successful.
Avoiding Preaching When Teaching Ecotourism
Keep one thing in mind, teaching is not preaching. That is, the teacher must not climb on a soapbox and perform the duties of an advocate. This undermines the purpose of teaching and will ultimately lead to the audience turning against the instructor.
The classroom is not a place where an advocate can climb on a soapbox and subject his feelings towards a captive audience. Regardless of how good the instructors intentions are, such a heavy handed approach is ultimately self defeating.
If the instructor does teach the material properly and it is the material is properly absorbed by the students, then they will take it upon themselves to do the right thing and advocate ecotourism when the need arises. When they do this, they will greatly aid in the conservation of the environment and the teachers main purpose will have been achieved. Is that not the goal in the first place?
New Zealand Ecotourism
Similar ecotourism examples can be seen in the Thai beach resorts known to be environmentally friendly, and also the jungle lodges in Kenya that together account for approximately fifteen percent of the global market for ecotourism, according to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES).
It is also quite usual to get ecotourism grants in areas that are being studied that are economically backward rather than to those areas where there is economic prosperity. The bottom line is that the impacts of eco and mass tourism can be positive and beneficial to the local peoples and host country if they are properly managed and there are in place well-thought out plans as well as programmes. There was near unanimity that the idea of ecotourism was good and was well supported by the respondents and that ecotourism would generate income through selling of goods and services to tourists. It has now become a form of tourism that embraces culture, nature as well as leisure and some amount of adventure as well.
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.
It is important that ecotourism benefits the local population and as ecotourism potential is leading to expansion of tourism to far-off corners of the world, this inflow of foreign money as well as goods will lead to changes in the culture of the peoples, which must be controlled if the benefits of ecotourism potential is to be sustained in the short and long term. There are more facts revealed by these ecotourism statistics which shows that the typical eco-tourist is aged between thirty-five and fifty-four years of age and of these, it is believed that as many as eighty-two percent have graduated from college, and are more than ready to pay more than what average tourists pay, which is about twelve hundred dollars for a trip. Since ecotourism means traveling responsibly there are many potential benefits of ecotourism that one can get and there will also be many improvements to the environment as also to the local economy. In the end, the heart of ecotourism is what you feel it is. As such, the present day history of ecotourism shows it as being the fastest growing tourism space in all of tourism as a whole.
Of course, there was nothing they could do other than stop further pollution.
Overall there are both positive and negative issues having to do with ecotourism, however if the situation is looked at seriously and properly and the problems are taken care of, then there will really only be positive results and aftermath from ecotourism, as there should be. Tourism has a changed face, as after the First World War, it has changed from domestic travel to incorporate traveling to far-off places and taken in a lot of international travel that has seen it grow exponentially even in developing countries. Ecotourism destinations that are found in Kerala give visitors the opportunity to experience what gentle nature is all about. cultural values and of course terrorist vs. Direct recipients of the benefits of ecotourism are the local communities who must therefore play an important role in the planning, development as well as management of the process of ecotourism. Thus, there is hardly any perceivable difference between the eco-tourist and the mass tourist and the former do not have a great chance to minimize the impact that they are having during their ecotourism travels. |
