Ecotourism is catering for holiday makers in the natural environment without damaging it or disturbing habitats
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Ecotourism, according to the International Ecotourism Society, is “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education.”
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Ecotourism is a form of sustainable travel that supports the local environment instead of putting more pressure on it and exploiting its resources.
This means that ecotourism is much more than traveling around the globe and sightseeing. Ecotourism is about ensuring that your visit also has a positive impact on the local community. This includes the people and their natural resources.
Objectives /Principles of Ecotourism
Raising awareness of the climate and community. The first step to doing something is by understanding what you should be doing.
Minimize impact. If you travel by plane. If you can avoid it, try a train instead. Walk or bike instead of driving or at the very least, use public transportation. Respect local resources and don’t waste.
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts. The first one is a given, but the second one is often neglected. Respect the locals, their community, and support them and their values.
Provide direct financial benefits for conservation. If it’s real ecotourism, much of the money you’re paying will go to conservation.
Provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people. Buy authentic local goods-they are of higher quality, real, and they help the local people. They get a lot more financial benefits than mass tourism, even though the number of tourists is much smaller.
Raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climate. This is the trickiest and hardest to accomplish the goal. It’s never easy to do, and sometimes it can be even hard to understand what it means
Importance of Ecotourism
Cultural Enrichment
Ecotourism helps build cultural awareness by fostering respect for the place you travel to and the community you visit.
Educational Experiences
Ecotourism is one way of informing the public about a certain area, and also about the value of environmental protection. Because of the damage of climate change, travelers are becoming increasingly aware of the urgency of action founded in education
Economic Growth
Unlike commercial tours, which are preoccupied with growing a private company’s bottom line, ecotourism operators are necessarily concerned about the welfare of the local community — including the economy
Environmental Conservation
Ecotourism is generally oriented towards the climate. Not only do ecotour operators cull activities that have a low impact on nature, but the income from legal eco-friendly activities would go towards resource management and environmental conservation.
Ecotourism Reduces our Carbon Footprint
When you travel, commuting is a major part of the experience. Some choose to rent cars and drive while others take planes or trains