How can Ecotourism Support Environmental and Social Sustainability?
Photo by Josh Hild
Ecotourism as a form of sustainable tourism goes beyond simply visiting natural places and attractions, it's about traveling sustainably and responsibly and learning from the environment and its biodiversity.
As society has sought out more authentic and sustainable experiences in nature, destinations offering these types of tourism products have been able to reap the benefits. Some ecotourism hotspots like Kenya, Costa Rica, and Madagascar have benefited greatly from sustainable travel taking advantage of these key markets for economic and GDP growth. While this is beneficial, it is important that communities continue to take the responsibility of ensuring that tourism growth continues to be sustainable for their communities and that the environment is not sacrificed in the name of profit.
In this blog, we’ll dive into the meaning of Ecotourism as well as its environmental and social benefits with examples of how these practices could be integrated into tourism offerings.
What is ecotourism?
Ecotourism is in simple terms tourism that focuses on traveling responsibly and taking care of the planet by creating environmental awareness through activities such as cleanups.
There are two types of tourism that we’ve seen in recent years :
Mass tourism. Where focus is put on bringing in as many tourists as possible for economic benefits with oftentimes implications for the environment and host communities.
Alternative tourism. This can include sustainable tourism, ecotourism, regenerative tourism and other forms of tourism that aim to leave no negative impacts behind and contribute positively towards the host society.
When done right, alternative forms of tourism, like ecotourism, can create a lasting positive impact on ecosystems and communities.
What is great is that tourists have the power to make any travel into sustainable travel if they know and understand the principles of what this type of tourism entails. Understanding the importance of environmental conservation, buying local crafts, reducing water consumption, and taking part in recycling are already good fundamentals that tourists can easily abide by.
The ecotourism principles include:
Building environmental awareness
Offering direct conservation benefits
Traveling to natural destinations
Community empowerment
Respect for the local culture
Support for democratic movements and human rights
As an ecotourism business, you can share these principles with tourists in fun and create ways to encourage them to take these lessons with them on the road.
Conservation and the protection of natural ecosystems
Another important aspect of ecotourism is environmental conservation. As ecotourism and environmental conservation are so closely related, this form of tourism can also promote and engage tourists in educational activities for knowledge sharing on conservation topics such as biodiversity loss, climate change and other environmental challenges. Conservation offers sustainable and long-term solutions focused on protecting nature and enhancing the protection of biodiversity and protecting endangered or threatened species.
The tourists seeking nature-based experiences can contribute to conservation by paying park entry fees and other small donations. One way to engage the community is by partnering with research institutes who can help sharing information with tourists and raising general awareness on species by creating campaigns to raise funding and encourage tourist donations to conserve local biodiversity.
Opportunities to explore nature
It is difficult for people to understand something they have never seen before with their own eyes. Ecotourism offers tourists an opportunity to explore nature and learn about environmental challenges by seeing them firsthand. On top of that, tourists can learn about how human behavior and negative impacts like pollution impact different species. By fostering this knowledge, it is the hope that tourists taking part in these ecotourism experiences applying them to their everyday life. The next time they go out in nature then they’ll know how to interact with species, dispose waste and leave no footprint behind.
Ecotourism for sustainable income
Tourism companies offering ecotourism products should also support social sustainability by, for example, hiring local guides and operational employees. Since formal work experience is often not a requirement to guide tours in natural habitats, training local guides who have indigenous or local knowledge about the environment can enrich the tourism offerings available to tourists, generate meaningful employment opportunities and transformative exchanges between locals and guests.
Since sustainability is at the heart of ecotourism, the industry has the potential to support local communities, contributing to job creation and poverty alleviation by offering employment opportunities for local communities. With this, the communities will in some cases be deterred from pursuing unsustainable activities such as poaching or overfishing. Therefore, by supporting local community members, you are also indirectly supporting the conservation of nature and knowledge-sharing about the local environment.
There you have it. Now you know the many benefits that ecotourism practices can have for businesses, the community, the environment as well as tourists themselves. When tourism is managed correctly, everybody wins!
Author Bio:
Dennis Lodge is a freelance journalist, blogger and copywriter who writes unique and research-based content in the field of education, travel, and mental and physical health. He is working for a site that provides assignment help and essay help to students and is currently preparing to climb Mount Hood.
Sea Going Green is a sustainable tourism consultancy based working with clients in the tourism industry to generate a positive impact in the area that they operate in from their environmental impact to their relations with the local community.
Ready to take the leap into becoming a sustainable tourism business?