ECOTOURISM: The New Face of Travel

Though there are many definitions of ecotourism, the term is most commonly used to
describe any recreation in natural surroundings. The International Ecotourism Society
defines ecotourism as: "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the
environment and improves the welfare of local people".
Worldwide, tourism generates annual revenues of nearly 3 trillion dollars and
contributes nearly 11% of the global GNP (Gross National Product), making it the
world's largest industry. Although the events of September 11th rocked the tourism
industry and made it difficult to predict long-term trends, ecotourism is a growing
component of the larger tourism industry, and several factors indicate that it is likely to
thrive over time. These factors include increased awareness of environmental
problems among tourist populations, willingness of tourists to engage in socially-aware
travel, and interest in visiting lesser-known countries like Thailand and Belize rather
than traditional vacation getaways.
In 1993 the World Tourism Organization (WTO) estimated nature tourism generated 7
per cent of all international travel expenditure. More recent research reveals this is
now much higher, accounting for 20 per cent of international travel in the Asia-Pacific
region and some areas, such as South Africa, experiencing a massive growth in visitors
of over 100 per cent annually.
Ecotourists tend to travel on economy and to use clean but private 2 or 3 star
accommodation. They typically stay with local families, or at small, environmentally-
friendly hotels called ecolodges. These opportunities for personal contact with
members of the host community facilitate cross-cultural exchange and add greatly to
the value of ecotourism experiences for some people.
Ecotourists are articulate, assertive and well educated. They demand quality
experiences. When they are planning their trips ecotourists have many questions. They
want to be informed on the best times to visit any particular site and what are the
trade-offs going there at other times.
Amongst international ecotourists, most come from northern Europe and North
America rather than from southern Europe or Latin America. Many Australians are also
keen to experience ecotourism.
Practically speaking, ecotourism includes activities in which visitors enjoy hands-on
experiences, such as bird-watching in the Brazilian rainforest, hiking in the mountains
of Nepal, participating in a traditional village celebration, or taking a canoe trip down a
river.
The following are just some of the many topics which interest ecotourists: local flora
and fauna, geology (people are interested in soils and what makes them different),
spectacular features (waterfalls, lakes, grand forests, rocky headlands, coral reefs),
history and culture. The aspects ecotourists find very interesting are: customs and
rituals, religion, traditional art and crafts (such as weaving), ceremonies (the Balinese
attract many hundreds of people to their cremation ceremonies), traditional music and
dance, traditional architecture and building, traditional lifestyle generally from the
forms of agriculture to the diet and style of cooking.
There are many factors which attract ecotourists. Apart from the destinations providing
quality information is the key factor to ecotourism. Ecotourists are prepared to endure
a great deal of discomfort to explore areas if the subjects can be made interesting.
The more that it explained and the better the explanations, the more time they will
spend exploring. Ecotourists don't want to be rushed. They prefer fewer stops with
more quality time at each. They want to watch the sunsets. They want to be assured
that they will get adequate, well planned quality-time.
Ecotourism has the capacity to deliver a lot of economic benefits to traditional
cultures. However whether those benefits are realized depends on how ell the
ecotourism is managed. Having a good resource to attract ecotourists is a good start
but to get the greatest local benefits requires careful management to maximize the
time which they spend locally.