Ecotourism is defined as responsible travel to the areas of world where natural environment is conserving and efforts for the well-beings of local communities. Ecotourism involves the form of travel to low impact and small scale alternatives to standard tourism, pristine and fragile places tourism. There are many purposes served under the ecotourism being offered for local communities’ empowerment, fostering the respect for different cultures, economic and social development of a natural tourism place or working for the human rights for natural reserves.
Travel around the world has been increasing with more spending power of the people and many other factors which are contributing for the communication of people and easy to move across with world fastest transport vehicles available today. The ecotourism has been criticized as endeavor by economists after the 1980s, to bring such untouched destinations for next generations which were totally untouched from the current generations and without their intervention. There are many programs of universities which are using eth same description about ecotourism and creating of such natural environment where there should be no pollution and good for living of human beings.
Characteristics of ecotourism
According to definition and principles of ecotourism in 1990, Martha Honey has expanded the description of TIES and added the following seven characteristics of ecotourism
1. It involve traveling to natural destinations
2. Respect of local cultures
3. Provision of financial, empowerment for local community there
4. Provision of direct financial benefits for conservations
5. Building of awareness about the environment
6. Through ecosystem protecting, conservation of cultural and biological diversity
7. Minimizing the own impact of environment
Generally it has been found that ecotourism focus on sustainability of environment and socially responsible travel. These travels or ecotourism are made to the locations where cultural heritage, fauna and flora are the major attractions available. It also focuses on personal growth also. Ecotourism is intended to offer impact of people on the environment and appreciation of our natural places and habitats. In 1983, the word Ecotourism was first popularly used by Hector Ceballos. At that time, he was doing a dual role of Director General for SEDUE Mexican ministry of Urban development and been working as President of a Mexican conservation NGO. This NGO was working for conservation of many American habitats and making them grown for the future generations and preservations. Some people claim that this term was in use before and Claus Dieter was the adventurer and academic, term was used by him in early 1960.
The term ecotourism, the jungle or responsible tourism are used with sustainable development since after the 1980s when there was substantial increase in all the sectors of tourism. Now tourism has become a biggest industry and every year millions of the people visit France (as largest tourist country), with USA, Singapore, China, Switzerland and other similar countries. This was named as institutional changes and educational sophistication to visit for social identity of an individual. This was to preserve the Amazon rainforest or posterity reef of Caribbean. But a stretch from conventional to ecotourism was a broad scale local and social tourism. So it was required to give a broad definition to the ecotourism as different concept.
Environmental organizations insisting that ecotourism is more related to the natural-bases and managed properly, an environmental understanding and education along with supporting conservation. The issues with definition of word ecotourism have created many problems for environmentalists and academics as well as tourists. The major problem might be due to green washing, because it is natural based and conservation of habitats with no intervention of human beings there. Ecotourism, according to some writes, was started first in Africa during 1950s when hunting was legalized. So recreational places of hunting were kept as protected areas and they were made much beautiful through proper care and no human beings interventionthere.
Ecotourism is the fast growing industry
As compared to other forms of tourism, ecotourism is growing at much fast speed. The more people have become educated about it, ecotourism industry is moving upward continuously. We can say that ecotourism is the fastest sub growing industry of main industry, the tourism. People were not aware about preservation of natural resources and they gave no importance to them. They past people had given some value to the ecotourism industry; it would be the fastest tourism industry ever.
Whey Ecotourism is so popular?
Over the past, ecotourism has gained its value and people have come to realize the importance of preserving their own resources as well as importance for the wild life. With the intervention of human life, wild life was badly affected and it was required to keep our environment friendly and protective. Now more people are aware about what will happen when earth resources will end and people are much curious about such dilemma in future to occur. Now we are aware about exploiting of natural resources and our environment, with good deeds required at the same time.
Improving the sustainability- Accreditation and Regulations
Sometimes, the accreditation and regulations of ecotourism is not implemented successfully. Which usually result in green washed destructions like helicopter tours, under the water hotels or theme park for wildlife?This is categorized as an ecotourism with canoeing, photography and camping. Most of the environmentalists are in the view that accreditation global standards should be adopted.
The accreditation procedures however will be regulated by an international regulatory board. The most of ecotourism are owned by the local corporations or investors. So a great amount of profit from ecotourism is put into the pockets of investors instead of positively investing them for the wellbeing and development, empowering and awareness of local communities.
Most of the locals who are hired for such purposes to take care of protected areas for ecotourism, they are in two way problems and unable to do anything, neither they can live in such ecotourism areas because of high expenses and a two way market procedures there. Ecotourism can lead positively to the generation of empowerment and financial stability for that area, as well perseveration of areas which are naturally beautifuland our next generations can live there.