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Ecotourism

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_65-1

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E
Ecotourism
Ralf Buckley
International Chair in Ecotourism Research,
Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia
Ecotourism is a widely used concept, but with no
universally accepted definition. The most author-
itative framework is the Quebec Declaration from
the 2002 United Nations World Summit on Eco-
tourism (UNWTO 2002). This recognizes it as a
subsidiary of ▶ sustainable tourism, which relies
on nature-based attractions; employs best prac-
tice environmental management; contributes to
conservation; involves local communities; offers
effective interpretation; and generally, though
not exclusively, favors smaller scale operation.
Framing Ecotourism
There are wide differences in the meanings
attached to the term ecotourism by different polit-
ical or business interests. It is promoted globally
by nongovernment and multilateral organiza-
tions, including the United Nations, as a
low-investment, low-impact sector that can com-
bine conservation with social and economic
development of impoverished communities. It is
promoted by tourism associations and govern-
ment portfolios in developed countries, however,
as a political mechanism for preferential
# Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015
J. Jafari, H. Xiao (eds.), Encyclopedia of Tourism,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-01669-6_65-1
commercial access and new property develop-
ment rights inside public protected areas.
Numerous related terms are also in use
(Buckley 2009). Outdoor or parks tourism refers
to the setting or place, nature based to the
▶ attraction, safari or adventure to the ▶ activity,
wildlife or bird watching to specific subsectors,
community to the major stakeholders or enter-
prise owners, and conservation to the net out-
come. There are also broader terms such as
sustainable or ▶ responsible tourism, which are
used principally in relation to social and environ-
mental management, but are not defined with any
precision. Other terms such as ▶ green tourism or
▶ geotourism have not been taken up as widely as
ecotourism.
The global economic scale and social and
environmental outcomes of ecotourism are not
known accurately, because of uncertainties in
definition, data, and accounting. Outdoor tourism
more broadly has annual turnover around US$1
trillion (Buckley 2009). Under strict outcome-
based definitions, however, only a small propor-
tion of this would qualify as ecotourism.
Ecotourism Development
There are several global compilations of ecotour-
ism case studies. These reveal regional geo-
graphic differences both in terminologies used
and in the types of enterprises established. In
▶ China, for example, definitions include a
2 Ecotourism
human-health component, not generally included
in other countries. In North America, the term
outfitter is widely used, referring particularly to
private concessionaires operating on public parks
or forests lands, while only some would qualify
as ecotourism operators. The same applies for
safari and game-lodge operators in sub-Saharan
Africa, and to a lesser extent in the Indian sub-
continent. The term ecotourism in ▶ Australia,
Asia, and South America is in widespread use,
without substitute terms.
Ecotourism seems to be most effective in
countries and circumstances where conservation
depends heavily on local landholders and resident
communities, and it can create sufficient income
to trigger a change in land use or social behavior.
The most widespread approach involves private
conservation reserves funded through tourism.
Some of these make significant net contributions
to conservation of globally threatened species, by
providing funding to protected area management
agencies (Buckley 2011; Buckley et al. 2012).
However, this revenue comes with social, finan-
cial, and environmental costs, and for publicly
managed lands the net outcome is difficult to
quantify. The most clear-cut benefits arise
where there is a demonstrable link, direct or indi-
rect, whereby ecotourism enterprises support
anti-poaching measures in public protected
areas (Buckley and Pabla 2012).
At the opposite extreme, there are enterprises
which use the ecotourism name as a cover to kill
endangered species for the illegal international
trade in animal parts. Greenwashing (self-
promotion as ecotourism without meeting
▶ UNWTO or equivalent criteria) is also wide-
spread. Ecocertification labels – claiming to dif-
ferentiate legitimate ecotourism from
greenwash – are widespread but ineffective.
Many countries have national ecotourism associ-
ations, and there are international equivalents
such as The International Ecotourism Society
(2013). These are commercial and nonprofit
organizations which promote their members’
interests politically. This may lead to lack of
independence.
Ecotourism Trends
Despite the many complexities as above, ecotour-
ism remains a valuable concept. The term con-
tinues to be used with increasing frequency in
both the academic literature and the mass
media, with the latter lagging the former by
about a decade. There are substantial bodies of
worldwide research on social, economic, and
environmental dimensions of ecotourism, includ-
ing ▶ economics, ▶ interpretation, impacts,
monitoring, ▶ management, ▶ conservation,
and community benefits (Buckley 2011; Weaver
2001).
Early proponents put forward ecotourism as an
alternative to mass or mainstream tourism. Its
enterprises, however, are subject to the same
social and commercial ▶ constraints as ▶ other
forms of tourism. In practice, ecotourism has
become integrated into the overall continuum of
tourism attractions, activities, ▶ service quality,
products, and price ranges. Three aspects exem-
plify this. First, there is continuing convergence
in the operational aspects of ecotourism on pub-
lic, private, and communal land tenures. Private
conservation tourism operations, community
ecotourism ventures, and ▶ visitor management
in public parks face similar issues and approach
them in increasingly similar ways. Some individ-
ual public parks now receive over ten million
visitors annually, far more than many ▶ urban
tourism destinations. Second, there is increasing
integration in the outdoor tourism sector,
between products previously differentiated as
nature, eco-, or ▶ adventure tourism.
Finally, there is increasing integration of eco-
tourism activities and environmental manage-
ment into mainstream tourism at all scales. In
June 2013, a well-known ecotourism lodge won
the title of world’s best hotel, beating self-
proclaimed 7-star establishments worldwide.
This is a convincing demonstration of integra-
tion. Future research in this field, therefore, will
be most valuable if it examines ecotourism less as
a small alternative activity defined in terms of
ethics and more as a manifestation of environ-
mental attractions, management, ▶ education,
Ecotourism 3

and outcomes in the mainstream tourism
▶ industry.
See also ▶ Certification, ▶ community-based
tourism, ▶ conservation, ▶ nature tourism,
▶ sustainable tourism.
References
Buckley, R. 2009 Ecotourism: Principles and Practices.
Wallingford: CAB International.
Buckley, R. 2011 Tourism and Environment. Annual
Review of Environment and Resources 36:397-416.
Buckley, R., G. Castley, F. Pegas, A. Mossaz, and
R. Steven 2012 A Population Accounting Approach
to Assess Tourism Contributions to Conservation of
IUCN-Redlisted Mammals. PLoS ONE 7(9):e44134.
Buckley, R., and H. Pabla 2012 Tourism Ban Won’t Help
Indian Tigers. Nature 489:33.
The International Ecotourism Society 2013 The Interna-
tional Ecotourism Society www.ecotourism.org.
Weaver, D. 2001 Encyclopedia of Ecotourism. Walling-
ford: CAB International.
UNWTO 2002 Quebec Declaration on Ecotourism www.
unwto.org/sdt/IYE/IYE/quebec/anglais/declaration.
html (Retrieved: 29 May 2013).

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