CORRESPONDENCE LEARNING MODULE

TOUR 1043 (Ecotourism Management)

A.Y. 2020-2021

Lesson 1: Introduction to Ecotourism

Topic:

Understanding the importance of ecotourism in the industry

LEARNING CONTENT

Introduction:

This course explores the current and future impacts and benefits of ecotourism. It presents
ecotourism as a form of sustainable development; discusses the principles and goals of ecotourism
development in the Philippines and other countries. This subject also covers discussions on ecotourism
planning and development process, including the institutional and legal frameworks for ecotourism, the
need for collaborative planning and assessment criteria for ecotourism from a broad perspective with
focus on ecotourism market segments and best practices.

Lesson Proper:

Before we dive in to the definition of ecotourism, let’s talk about the four different perspectives of
tourism. This pertains to the different perspectives of the people involved in tourism. It is important to
understand these four perspectives because they are all involved in one way or another in relation to
ecotourism.

The tourist
- The tourist seeks various psychic and physical experiences and satisfactions. The nature of these
will largely determine the destinations chosen and the activities enjoyed.

The tourist is basically the clients in tourism. They are considered as the consumers of our industry.

The businesses providing tourist goods and services

- Business people see tourism as an opportunity to make profit by supplying the goods and
services that the tourist market demands.

These include everything that tourists consume or avail, may it be a product or a type of service.
The government or of the host community or area
- Politicians view tourism as a wealth factor in the economy of their jurisdictions. Their
perspective is related to the income their citizens earn from this business. Politicians also consider the
foreign exchange receipts from international tourism as well as the tax receipts collected from the tourist
expenditures, either directly or indirectly.

The government can play an important role in tourism policy, development, promotion, and
implementation.

The host community

- Local community usually see tourism as a cultural and employment factor. Of importance to this
group, for example is the effect of the interaction between large numbers of international visitors and
residents

With this, tourism may be defined as the processes, activities, and outcomes arising from the
relationships and interactions among tourists, tourism suppliers (the businesses), host governments,
host communities, and the surrounding environments that are involved in the attracting and hosting of
visitors.

Tourism is a composite of activities, services, and industries that deliver a travel experience:
transportation, accommodation, eating and drinking establishments, shops, entertainment, activity
facilities, and other hospitality services available for individuals or groups that are traveling away from
home.

Key Term:

Ecology

-The relationship of living things to one another and their environment, or the study of such
relationships.

- The relation of plants and living creatures to each other and to their environment; the study of this:

ECOTOURISM DEFINED

The term “ecotourism” was first heard in the 1980’s, but the accepted definition that was established by
the Tourism International Ecotourism Society (TIES) in 1990 is:

“The responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of
local people.”

Ecotourism is a relatively new concept, and it is still often misunderstood or misused. Some people have
abused the term to attract conservation conscious travelers to what, in reality, are simply nature tourism
programs which may cause negative environmental and social impacts.

As awareness and experience of the activity has grown, so has our need for a more comprehensive and
detailed definition. Most recently (1999), Martha Honey (ecotourism lecture, former director of TIES)
has proposed an excellent and more detailed version:

“Ecotourism is travel fragile to, pristine and usually protected areas that strives to be low impact and
(usually) small scale. It helps educate the traveler; provides funds for conservation; directly benefits the
economic development and political empowerment of local communities; and fosters respect for
different cultures and human rights.”

However, consensus exists among organizations involved with ecotourism (including The Nature
Conservancy) around the definition adopted in 1996 by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) which
describes ecotourism as:

“Environmentally responsible travel and visitation to natural areas, in order to enjoy and appreciate
nature (and any accompanying cultural features, both past and present) that promote conservation,
have a low visitor impact and provide for beneficially active socio-economic involvement of local
peoples. “

The Nature Conservancy has adopted the concept the concept of ecotourism as the type of tourism that
recommends to its partners the use in most protected area management, especially for national parks
and other areas with fairly strict conservation objectives. For the Nature Conservancy, ecotourism
represents an excellent means for benefiting both the local people and the protected are in question. It
is an ideal component of a sustainable development strategy where natural resources can be utilized as
tourism attractions without causing harm to the natural area.

Key Terms:

Sustainable - involving the use of natural products and energy in a way that does not harm the
environment:

- can continue or be continued for a long time

Conservation - the act of preventing something from being lost, wasted, damaged or destroyed:

PRINCIPLES OF ECOTOURISM

By The International Ecotourism Society, 1991

Minimize the negative impacts on nature and culture that can damage a destination.
Educate the traveler on the importance of conservation.
Stress the importance of responsible business, which works cooperatively with local authorities and
people to meet local needs and deliver conservation benefits.
Direct revenues to the conservation and management of natural and protected areas.
Emphasize the need for regional tourism zoning and visitor management plans.
Emphasize the use of environmental, and social base-line studies, as well as long-term monitoring
programs, to assess and minimize impacts.
Strive to maximize economic benefit to the host country, local business and communities, particularly
people living in and adjacent to natural and protected areas.
Seek to ensure that tourism development does not exceed the social and environmental limits of
acceptable change as determined by researchers in cooperation with local residents.
Rely on infrastructure that has been developed in harmony with the environment, minimizing use of
fossil fuels, conserving local plants and wildlife, and blending with the natural and cultural environment.

ELEMENTS OF ECOTOURISM

Contributes to the conservation of biodiversity

Sustains the well-being of the local people
Includes an interpretation/learning experience
Involves responsible action on the part of the tourist and the tourism industry
Delivers primarily to small groups by small-scale businesses
Requires the lowest possible consumptions of non-renewable resources
Stresses local participation, ownership, and business opportunities, particularly for rural people

The following factors are crucial to the ultimate success of the ecotourism initiative.

ECOTOURISM MUST:

have a low impact upon a protected natural areas resources;

respect local cultures and traditions;
involve stakeholders (individual, communities, ecotourists, tour operators, and government institutions)
in planning, development, implementation and monitoring phases;
educate all stakeholders in their role in conservation;
generate income for protected area conservation; and
generate sustainable and equitable income for local communities and for as many other stakeholders as
possible including private tour operators.

BENEFITS OF ECOTOURISM

Ecotourism helps in evading destruction of precious natural resources and wildlife. Ecotourism is a way
to boost local economies and create jobs. It encourages the market development of native products. This
helps in the preservation of cultural heritage.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ON ECOTOURISM

The following should be followed to ensure the success of ecotourism. These commandments act
as guides for those who would want to venture on ecotourism efforts.

Respect the frailty of the earth.

Realize that unless all are willing to help in its preservation, unique and beautiful destinations may not
be here for future generations to enjoy.

This reiterates the fact that our earth can be easily destroyed. A lot of these natural resources that
we enjoy are finite. This means that most aspects of nature can’t be brought back to life or be restored
back to its original condition.

Leave only footprints.

Take only photographs, No graffiti! No litter! Do not take away souvenirs from historical sites and natural
areas.

Vandalism is one the most common crimes of a tourist.

Educate yourself.
Learning about the geography, cultures, manners, and customs of the region you visit would make your
travels more meaningful. Take time to listen to the people.

Encourage local conservation efforts.

Reassuring and encouraging the efforts of the local community for conservation validates the work and
effort that they put into their cause.

Respect the privacy and dignity of other.

Inquire before photographing people. Some may find your actions offensive depending and demeaning.
The general rule is to be very cautious on actions and the words we speak.

Do not buy products made from endangered plants or animals.

Examples of these are ivory (elephant tusks), turquoise shell, animal skins, beaks and feathers.
Most of these animals and plants are already close to extinction. Once their extinct, they’re gone forever.
Most of these items were acquired by killing these animals and plants. Read about products that should
not be exported.

Learn about and support conservation-oriented programs and organization

Support the conservation programs and organizations by joining their activities and other
conservation efforts to preserve the environment.
Walk or use environmentally-sound methods of transportation
Whenever possible, choose to walk to your destination. These would lessen the negative impact
vehicles and other modes of transportation.

Encourage drivers to stop engines whenever parked.

Patronize those with advance energy and conservation methods

When choosing a hotel, restaurant, airline, cruise line, tour operator, or any tourism supplier,
make sure that they have a strong principles on conservation; quality water and air; safe management of
wastes and community involvement.

Encourage other organizations to subscribe to environmental guidelines

It is our duty to the environment to encourage other organizations with poor conservation
processes to subscribe and change their methods to a more nature-intensive guideline.

End of Lesson 1

COMPONENTS OF ECOTOURISM

Sustainability Component

One of the significant aspects of ecotourism is sustainability. Sustainability in tourism is like a

doctor’s code of ethics, “first, do no harm”. It is the foundation for stewardship.

Sustainable tourism protects its product: the destination. It avoids the “loved to death” syndrome
by anticipating development pressures and applying management techniques that preserve natural
habitats, heritage sites, scenic appeal, and local culture.

It conserves resources. Environmentally aware travelers patronize businesses that reduce

pollution, waste, energy consumption, water usage, landscaping chemicals, and excessive nighttime
lighting. Sustainable management recognizes that the world’s resources are limited and that they are
being used up every day without consideration of replenishing or protecting them (Godfrey 1996).
Tourism’s interest in sustainable development is very logical since the environment is the main product
for consumers. For local inhabitants, sustainable development is concerned on the well-being of the
people regarding health, economic, and social conditions. It concerns in developing environmentally-
friendly products.

Sustainable

- involving the use of natural products and energy in a way that does not harm the environment.

- something which can continue or be continued for a long time

 It respects local culture and tradition. Foreign visitors learn local etiquette, including at least few
courtesy words in the local language. Residents learn to deal with foreign expectations that may differ
from their own.

It aims for quality and not quantity. The success of ecotourism is not measured by the number of
visitors, but by the quality of experience and positive impact of the traveler to the destination.

Planning for sustainability involves not only the host community, but also the government on both
regional and national levels. All need to work together for this goal to be achieved. The responsibility off
conserving the environment should not fall only on the hands of the locals. All stakeholders should be
involved.

A government’s planning and policy making body plays a major role on assisting sustainable
ecotourism practices. Governments around the world have realized the economic benefits that can be
derived from ecotourism and are therefore becoming more involved in its development.

The concept of sustainability is closely linked to the theory of carrying capacity (limits). This
relates to predetermined limits to development, population pressure and infrastructure in a particular
area. Three main areas that are subject to these limits are the environment, the society, the economy:

in an environmental setting, the concept applies to the maximum number of people who can utilize a
location without an unacceptable decline in the quality the place;
from a community viewpoint, carrying capacity relates to the destination’s ability to absorb tourism
before the community feels the negative effects;
and for the carrying capacity of the economy, it concerns on the positive employment and revenue for
the community.

A primary means of maintaining sustainability is limiting the number of tourists, and therefore the
possibility of environmental degradation.

image by unuk.es

Educational Component

Ecotourism seeks to promote responsible travel. This means that education and interpretation should be
the foundation, and it should aim to include the local community and both domestic and international
traveler. Ecotourism appeals to people who wish to interact with the environment and, to varying
degrees, develop their knowledge, comprehension, and appreciation of it. The aim of ecotourism is to
educate the visitor about the value of natural environment.

One part of the learning process is to provide onsite educational programs at the destinations.
Ecotourism operators are in an incomparable position to offer environmental and cultural interpretation.
This type of information can be provided during and after the event in the form of brochures, videos,
local guides, and through walks and talks.
The visitor will encounter different learning experiences during an ecotourism journey; the main focus is
the natural environment. When indigenous people are involved, their tradition and culture will be part
of the learning process.

Providing education and interpretation as a part of the experience make the visitor aware of the
environment and how their actions can contribute to the conservation of the same. This is especially the
case when visiting fragile resource sites – greater caution will arise from the visitor.

In the desire to understand and appreciate the natural attraction of a destination lies a desire to ensure
that those attractions are not destroyed but sustained for future visitors. The local community of the
destination will also take part in this learning process. They are encouraged to take part of the
knowledge by working together with the tourists in the educational programs.

Local Involvement

One of the most vital elements of ecotourism is the involvement of the host community. Tourism must
be incorporated to the social and economic life of the community. They should have a direct share from
the revenue generated employment, and most importantly, a control in the development and
implementation of ecotourism.

Part of the involvement of the community can come in the form of empowerment. There are at
least five areas that local people can bring about nature tourism activities:

information gathering
consultation
decision-making
initiating action
evaluation

Awareness is the first step before people can become concerned for the environment.

By having local involvement, the economy of the host community thrives well. The multiplier
effect increases through improved employment and high earnings of the local population. Care must be
given to the local community and not make them feel exploited by ecotourism.

In several destinations, the indigenous population is promoted as a major attraction. They are
used as guides and provide accommodation in traditional villages and houses. Thus, environmental
awareness of the local community is increased.

ECOTOURISM MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS

Economic Impacts

The impacts of ecotourism, or any economic activity, can be classified into three categories: direct,
indirect, and induced.

Direct impacts are those arising directly from tourist spending (Example: accommodation fee)
Indirect impacts are those suppliers or enterprises indirectly affected because of tourist activity.
(Example: farmers who supply ingredients to restaurant)
Induced impacts are those spending coming from wages earned by employees or workers from the
industry.

Key Term:

Mass Tourism

Overpopulation of tourists or oversaturation of a destination

One advantage of ecotourism is that the expenditure of an eco-tourist is in general, much larger than
that of a regular tourist.

Ecotourism can play an important role in the development of remote regions with slow progress.
The revenue that is gained can be used for various development projects. Revenue will also be generated
for conservation management. This could be generated from the entrance fees or by donations made by
the general public.

Employment, even in small numbers would also give a positive impact on the economy.

Operators should be careful to not be solely focused on financial gains only for this situation could
lead to mass tourism.

image by telegraph.co.uk

Example of Mass Tourism

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