Ecotourism: A New Revolution In The Making
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. 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.
A Welcome Departure From The Usual Tourism Hotspots
About twenty years ago, how we took our vacations used to follow a tried and tested path, which meant going to places based on interests and budgets. 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. But, with new concerns about our environment coming to the fore, there has been a gradual shift in position and rethinking has led to the beginning of ecotourism.
Basically, ecotourism is making a trip to locations that are environmentally significant as well as sensitive and though it is now gaining in popularity, has in fact been known to us in one form or another for quite some time. Excursions to watching birds is something we may all be familiar with and this is just one good example of what ecotourism is all about. We can even think of Charles Darwins trip to the Galapagos Islands as being the pioneering form of ecotourism.
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. The popularity of ecotourism increased when in 2002 the United Nations declared it as being the Year of Ecotourism. 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. It is also almost a custom to leave a tiny footprint when one visits such places.
Most ecotourism operators provide facilities, tours as well as allow you to interact with the habitat so that you come away better educated and also do not impact the habitat too adversely. Sustainability is another aspect to ecotourism and very often it has been seen that there are some places where there are people hell bent on exploiting these sensitive areas, which require giving jobs and putting money into the local economy to prevent such from happening.
Ecotourism Practice
While there is some benefit to such psychology, there will always be a negative cloud of a doubt of legitimacy thanks in part to the over commercialization of the product.
The year 2002 was designated the Year of Ecotourism, which is a healthy sign of things to come. The flip side is that if such ecotourism were to be denied, it would harm the economic well-being of such ecotourism hotspots and make the poor countries even poorer for lack of tourism. You are a person that is very much interested in how the environment is fairing. 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.
This is not to mention people, while camping, cutting branches for firewood.
Because ecotourism hasnt been around too long and there havent been too many other areas of trying to save our lands, were at a great race with ourselves. Because of this, those who sponsor ecotourism need your support and patronage. In fact, introducing children to ecotourism may prove a valuable investment in their future.
If there was no ecotourism, there would not be enough interest generated to preserve as much of the world as we do now.
Otherwise, the impacts of eco and mass tourism can lead to devastation of natural habitats and a great culture shock that can put the lives and survival of the local people in danger. The term ecotourism was first brought to the attention of the world when a person named Hector Ceballos-Lascurain coined this word, which describes nature as being the focus of travel tourism which generally takes visitors to places that are relatively obscure and undisturbed, and where the focus of eco-tourists is to become more educated. This is the time when communities and entrepreneurs realized the profitability in serving ecotourists. One of the impacts of eco and mass tourism is that the wealth created it causes an increase in wage divides among the local population, and also between workers in the tourism industry itself who have access to foreign currency as opposed to those who work outside of tourism industry. Economic benefits are the most direct and are seen in better employment and more income. You can also see the benefits of ecotourism in the design and construction as well as maintenance of eco-resorts that use technologies and also principles adhering to eco-friendly methods that are throwing up a whole new industry in itself. |
