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Sociocultural and socioeconomic impact of ecotourism
Is ecotourism causing more damage that benefits
Is ecotourism causing more damage that benefits
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ECOTOURISM AND SUSTAINABILITY Ecotourism is touted as a successful tool for promoting sustainable economic practices in developing nations, and for encouraging environmental conservation worldwide. The guiding principle of sustainable development is to meet the needs and aspirations of a region's present generation of people without compromising those of future generations. Sustainable development policies also seek to develop economic systems that run with little or no net consumption of natural resources, and that avoid ecological damage. Ecotourism, like other successful sustainable development strategies, provides a strong economic incentive to protect natural resources. 1.1 WHAT IS ECOTOURISM? The definition of ecotourism adopted by Ecotourism …show more content…
It is not driven by economic gains but focuses on educating tourists on travelling green. Providing accommodation that restricts mass tourism in sensitive environments ensures that the natural regeneration rate of the environmental asset is not compromised and ensures the longevity of the resource. By opting for an ecotourism experience/holiday over a conventional tourism package you are making a conscious decision to reduce your impact. This can be personally rewarding and travelers who choose ecotourism are responsible consumers. 3.3 THE BENEFITS OF ECOTOURISM There are a number of benefits to be gained from ecotourism. The first is the role it can play in economic development and diversification, particularly in regional areas. There are real economic benefits as the ecotourism market is higher yielding attracting tourists generally within a higher socio-economic group than mass tourism. These visitors have a tendency for greater expenditure and length of stay compared to tourists generally. Hence the economic benefit will stay in the local area. Employing local people ecotourism creates a value for local knowledge, and with this comes increased awareness. Tourism can act as a lever for protecting this local knowledge, local culture and local
This aspect is “The Double-edged Sword of Ecotourism.” In this chapter, Stanford expresses the positives and negatives of ecotourism. Ecotourism is a form of tourism which involves visiting fragile and undisturbed natural areas and in this case, the main reason is to see gorillas. Ecotourism has its good and bad. It is good because those poor communities that live close to the habitats of the apes can have a source of revenue. Those areas are really poor, and with ecotourism, they can earn about $9000 dollars a month. However, those areas may not exactly be the safest. Stanford cites a 1999 cross border attack by rebel groups in Rwanda in which 8 ecotourists were murdered and this attack deterred tourist from going there for many months. Another negative aspect of ecotourism is how it affects the apes. Although, many apes who do live in these areas of habituation and have tourists coming in and out, the apes develop really high stress levels. When humans move too quickly or make loud noises, the apes are stressed out and can flee. Not only that, but increased stress levels lowers their immune systems making them more susceptible to disease. Stanford ends this chapter saying that ecotourism is bound to happen if the countries are too poor to provide for their people and that “the apes will have to live with the results” (190). In
Eco tourism is a fast growing industry involving the tourist visits to natural areas to help minimize the endangered places and animals in that community. According to (ecotourism.org) Ecotourism is defined as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people." The Eco Certification program is put forth to certify tourist attractions to than help unite the communities, conservations and keep sustainable tourism. Their purpose is also to observe the wildlife and learn about the environment. There are certain basic requirements that gain you an Eco Certification and they are the location, Environmental manager, Customer satisfaction and minimizing any potential environmental damages that can occur these are just four of the ten requirements in order to be Eco certified.
In many South American countries, there is a program in effect called Ecotourism. When the idea was initially though of, many of the developing countries of South America, had very poor economies as well as many suffering people. To act as a means of improving the status of these poor countries, the idea of Ecotourism was developed. In essence, Ecotourism is a program that permits tourists to visit and explore countries in South America while contributing their foreign capital to local economies. For the tourist, this is a great opportunity to see places of the world that have not been destroyed or inhabited by many. Though the idea of Ecotourism was one with good intentions, the local people in the countries where Ecotourism has been in effect are not gaining much at all. For this reason, I do not think that Ecotourism should be a continuing program in these countries. If the native people (whose best interest was at heart initially) are not benefiting from Ecotourism, then why has it been allowed to exist? The answer is simple: greed and selfishness.
Alternative tourism is defined as making “optimal use of environmental resources whilst maintaining and conserving the natural heritage and biodiversity, respect the sociocultural authenticity of local communities, conserve the built and living heritage and traditional values, and offer a positive experience for all” (Weeden 7). This new type of tourism contrasts sharply with the type of ugly tourism described in Kincaid’s book and what experts call “mass tourism” (Weeden 13). Different kinds of alternative tourism include ecotourism, voluntourism, and ethical tourism. Travelers who partake in ecotourism have the environment in mind. These travelers go to parts of the world often endangered by over-consumption such as the amazon rainforest and even try to catch a glimpse of endangered species in their natural habitat (Weeden 7-8).
The article provides checklists to see whether or not it is ecotourism, with some key features being the companies relationship to the natives, if they act for convince or for nature, and if they are a certified ectourism company. The authors also talk of the consequences of ecotourism by exemplifying the Galapagos Islands boom in “ecotourism” as a negative impact that brought invasive plants, animals, and even pirates to the islands. They then point at the path to a solution for the Galapagos Islands through legislation, tour design and interpretation, and lessening their environmental impact. McElrath, Kolby. 17 February 2016.
Summary of Bursting the bubble: the socio-cultural context of ecotourism In the article, Bursting the bubble: the socio-cultural context of ecotourism, James G. Carrier and Donald V.L. Macleod addresses the topic on a rapid growing industry named Ecotourism, which presents itself as significantly different from conventional mass tourism since it is especially environmentally and socio-culturally responsible, and even beneficial to the local people and their surroundings (Carrier, 316). However, after meticulously considering the examples of two destinations in the Caribbean, Bayahibe and Montego Bay, and analyzing what the tourist industry has affected the local people and their relationships with their surroundings, the authors concluded
Tourism impacts can be generally classified into seven categories with each having both positive and negative impacts. These impacts include; economic, environmental, social and cultural, crowding and congestion, taxes, and community attitude. It is essential for a balance on array of impacts that may either positively or negatively affect the resident communities. Different groups are concerned about different tourism impacts that affect them in one way or another. Tourism’s benefits can be increased by use of specific plans and actions. These can also lead to decrease in the gravity of negative impacts. Communities will not experience every impact but instead this will depend on particular natural resources, development, or spatial patterns (Glen 1999).
In other words, ecotourism is a form of support where tourists can easily observe the endangered habitats which are risking the survival of many species who roam the area and the population. This can potentially be an eye opener to make people realize action needs to be taken
ecotourism. All visitors experience the same lifestyle at the eco-lodges as a local would, in their
It is the economic effects of tourism which bring the most benefit to the host nation. Tourism is a low import user which means more of the money earned here stays here. The government is earning money through tourist taxes such as the airport tax, increased export earnings and income tax revenue from people employed by the industry. A balance must be struck between these benefits and associated negative impacts on the community and the environment.
With the development of transportation and the acceleration of globalisation, tourism has become an important means to stimulate economic growth. According to the world tourism organisation (UNWTO), tourism has become the world’s fastest and largest economic sector. Moreover, international tourists have increase dramatically from near 25 million in 1950 to 996 million in 2011(Chang et al., 2014). However this figures have put high stress on not only environment but also on society and economy for the local areas.
Tourism is an important and intricate element to society. It affects economical, social, cultural and environmental elements. Tourism can be argued to have a negative impact on the environment and decrease our already depleting resources, but tourism can also be argued to be a major contributor to strengthening economies, spread cultural traditions and improve people’s lives. Tourism
Nowadays in the rea of globalization, according to the World Tourism Organization, “seven hundred million people travelled abroad in 2003”, and the number is estimated to increase to 1.6 billion by 2020. (International Labour Organization, 2005). Tourism is spreading in unusual places. A lot of people want to be in the midst of adventure. It is a vital source of revenues for the GDP of many countries. I partially agree that tourism hugely benefits the local community. This essay will discuss some of the economic, social and environment effect of tourism on the host community.
With global changes, various impacts of tourism are observed in a clear way now. Butler (1999, p.8) asserts that “if there is a single factor that has the potential to change the nature of tourism more than any other, it is the introduction of the concept of sustainable development” because it promises fundamental changes in the components of tourism. The concept of ‘sustainable development’ has been long recognized together with 1987 WCED Brutland Report, Our Common Future, which was commissioned by the United Nations (UN). It indicates that a sole economic success is not sufficient for the longevity of resources; that it is only plausible with intergenerational equity as well as intragenerational equity (Finnetty, 2001; Tosun, 2001; Macbeth, 2005). Here, sustainable development was explained as: "development that meets the needs of the present without
Tourism's economic benefits are advertised by the industry for a sum of reasons. The idea of tourism's economic significance gives the industry a much greater respect among the business municipal, public officials, and the public in general. This often translates into decisions to tourism.