Ecotourism as a sustainable alternative to traditional tourism

Ecotourism

The Emerging Ecotourism Market

Eight years into the 21st Century, people from the industrialized world are beginning to grasp a fuller understanding of how their actions impact those across the globe. Where there was once little interest in protecting the environment, many are beginning to understand how using resources irresponsibly depletes not only the resources of those in Third World countries, but also those of their future, and their children's future. It is for this reason, among others, that a focus on sustainable living has become center focus. Now, more and more people shopping, even at discount food stores, are using reusable shopping bags, carpooling, and buying organic foods. Just as many practices, such as shopping and traveling have now "gone green," so to has tourism. While traditional tourism often encompasses harmful activities, such as mass transport, and benefits the creators of large, wealthy tourist traps like Disney World, many of which do similar harm to the environment, ecotourism encourages sustainable practices and benefits local groups. Despite the fact that ecotourism practices were so prevalent in the 1990s to inspire the creation of the International Ecotourism Society (TIES), many of those living in industrialized nations know little about this type of tourism. By comparing ecotourism with traditional tourism, exploring the ecotourism market, and determining how ecotourism affects developing countries, one can determine that ecotourism is a promising practice that will serve to increase tourists' knowledge of other cultures and sustainable living, in addition to benefiting developing countries and the world.

Ecotourism's Market

While traditional tourism is tourist centered, the market for ecotourism has been growing as of late. In fact, the International Ecotourism Society states that "interest in visiting natural areas, experiencing authentic local living, and observing wildlife has continued to grow." In addition, the ecotourism advocacy society notes that the word "ecotourism" has been more frequently used as of late, governments are more interested in developing "ecotourism strategies," ecotourism agencies are growing, and "the ecotourism community is expected to be more inclusive of innovative and socially equitable approaches." What this suggests is that ecotourism, as well as the market for ecotourism, is continuing to grow. In fact, as the importance of conservation, sustainability, and respect for other cultures grows, the majority of people who are traditionally interested in tourism not only want to practice responsible tourist behaviors, but they also wish to see the glory of the environment.

Regardless of the changing attitude towards tourism and ecotourism, however, proponents of ecotourism still face the challenge of appealing to a wide range of people -- from those who go on vacation to see the glories of nature, to those who just want to relax, to those who want to learn about other cultures. In fact, marketing ecotourism itself can be a major challenge for many. The Internet is riddled with advertisers who claim the ability to market ecotourism with great success. The International Ecotourism Society, however, recommends supporting education in ecotourism, making more information about ecotourism visible and available, and using the media, as well as smaller ecotourism agencies, to raise awareness about ecotourism excellent marketing skills. In fact, this way of marketing ecotourism is superior because it tackles one of ecotourism's major problems -- visibility. Thus, while the market for ecotourism is growing steadily larger, ecotourism agencies must realize that they need to appeal to a wide variety of people in order to market their brand of tourism. Because one of ecotourism's primary problems is visibility, the International Ecotourism Society's methods of increasing education and visibility is the perfect immediate solution.

Ecotourism in Developing Countries and Conclusion

In addition having benefits for both tourists and the environment, ecotourism is a "soft development strategy" for third world countries. Furthermore, for countries that rely primarily on an agricultural or subsistence income, tourism "could represent an additional income source for the villagers and is generally favoured by the communities as an effective way to enhance the standard of living in the area." Thus, ecotourism can be seen as a win-win situation for the developing and developed world. Developing nations can reap benefits from tourists in the form of additional funds to supplement those already earned through agriculture and other practices. Tourists can earn the benefit of learning about an authentic culture, and widening their horizons. The environment, as well as international relations, stand as passive benefactors from this action, in that they both receive benefits -- increased conservation and a greater sense of global civil society -- from ecotourism without having to contribute to the type of tourism in any real sense. Despite these benefits, however, it is possible that ecotourism could result in negative impacts. For example, Hasse suggests that establishing ecotourism in the Parque National Cusuco may be harmful in the fact that funds from tourism could further exacerbate current cultural and political problems.

Thus, while ecotourism can be beneficial to tourists, the environment, developing countries, and international relations in a variety of ways, the ecotourism market also faces a variety of challenges. Some of those challenges include marketing ecotourism to a traditional tourist target audience, as well as insuring that ecotourism does more good than harm. Because an increasing interest in ecotourism has been discovered, ecotourism could very well be an important service in the future.