Ecotourism

By
Md. Humayun Kabir, PhD
Associate Professor
Department of Geography and Environment
University of Dhaka

Tourism
-can be defined as travel for recreational,
leisure, or business purposes. The World
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) defines
tourists as people "traveling to and staying in
places outside their usual environment for not
more than one consecutive year for leisure,
business and other purposes.

Tourism contd----Tourism is a major contributor to the

economies of many countries; sometimes it is
considered the engine of economic growth.
However, the impacts sometimes overshadow
the benefits.
--The discussion on environment-based
tourism has been quite long; i.e. some aspect
of nature attracts the visitors walking,
climbing, skiing, viewing scenery, sport
fishing, hunting.

Tourism contd----The idea that tourism could help pay to care

for the environment and a growing awareness
of the desirability of minimising the physical
and social impacts of tourism have developed
since about the mid 1980s, and this may be
described as the greening of tourism.

Tourism contd---- Tourism is a huge money earner in rich and poor

nations, and some countries are very dependent on it.
-- Tourists are influential, sometimes in a negative
way, but they can also bring innovations, and
sometimes return home with new ideas. Local people
may acquire much of their view of the outside world
and aspirations from contact with tourists.
--Sometimes the only real basis for claiming to be
environmentally friendly is that the tour company
donates a tiny fraction of its profits to environmental
charities (WWF, 1995).

Tourism contd--The following generalizations of categories of

tourists based on deep (dark) green to light
(shallow) green.
Hard-core ecotourism minimum negative
impact/maximum benefit to environment and host
population. Tourist interest is genuine and deep, and
tourists learn from the trip. These tourists are willing
to tolerate indifferent accommodation and catering to
enjoy pristine sites and reduce impacts.

Tourism contd-- Dedicated tourists limited negative impacts and

reasonable benefits for the local economy and some
contributions towards environmental care. These
tourists learn something and they are not just present
because they are bored by mass tourism or keen to
return with tales and photos to impress others. They
tend to be keen on an active pastime such as bird
watching, diving, hill walking and climbing, rather than
general environmental or cultural interest. Standards
of accommodation and availability of alternative
activities and attractions are important.

Tourism contd-- Marginal: little benefit to the locality and some negative

environmental and socioeconomic impacts. These tourists

probably learn a little, but do not shed negative attitudes.
Possibly they have become bored with mass sun and sand
tourism and are seeking an experience to use to impress
others. Comfort is important, their attention span is often
limited, and attractions probably have to be enhanced
(swimming with dolphins, crocodile farms, four-wheel-drive
safari trips, and similar). They are more tolerant of
crowding, but unlikely to accept non-air-conditioned
accommodation and basic food and beverages.

Tourism contd-- Casual on the whole a negative impact. They have

little interest beyond an entertainment visit or two, make a
minimal contribution to local economy and environment,
learn little and retain original attitudes. Many will stay
within the boundaries of hotel or beach resort, which has a
considerable eco-footprint.

Overview on Eco-toursim
The term Ecotourism is difficult to define precisely;
While the International Ecotourism Society (USA) has
made one of the many attempts to define it--responsible travel to natural areas which conserves
the environment and improves the well-being of local
people (Barrow, 2008).

Overview on Eco-toursim

--IES is a nonprofit organization dedicated to

promoting ecotourism. Founded in 1990, IES has been
in the forefront of the development of ecotourism,
providing guidelines and standards, training, technical
assistance, research and publications. IES' global
network of ecotourism professionals and travelers is
leading the efforts to make tourism a viable tool for
conservation, protection of bio-cultural diversity, and
sustainable community development.

Eco-toursim
--Ecotourism, sustainable tourism and sustainable
development are all interrelated and overlap and share
techniques, but there is variation in approach and
interpretation. However, all are multidisciplinary
activities with an integrative approach, dedicated to
environmental protection and the improvement of
human well-being (Pforr, 2001).
--Ecotourism should be a symbiotic relationship,
whereby the environment attracts tourists, and tourists
pay a significant amount for environmental
management

--Even before the 1920s tourism was seen as a way of

paying for conservation areas (e.g. the Yellowstone
Park in the USA), and as a means of educating tourists
to improve themselves through contact with nature.
This was, however, by no means mass tourism. As
numbers of tourists grew in the 1980s, the literature
on tourism and recreation expanded, and
-attempts have been undertaken to make planners
more aware of environmental and social side-effects
of tourism and the problems and opportunities posed
by nature and local people for tourism (Edington and
Edington, 1986).

--Tourists are increasingly seeking more differentiated

and interesting attractions, and host countries like the
promise of non-destructive natural resource
exploitation offered by green tourism. Natural history
programmes have become more frequent on TV in
richer nations and this is helping encourage
ecotourism.

--Modern forms of ecotourism (or eco-tourism)

appeared during the 1980s and spread rapidly the
First Asia Ecotourism Conference was held in 1995,
and 2002 was the UN International Year of
Ecotourism.
--Some of these depend a great deal upon it for
conservation funding and it can be a major foreign
exchange earner.
--Ecotourism is essentially a set of principles which
may be connected to any nature-related tourism.
Some forms are more passive visitors just look;
others are more active, such as- paying volunteers
working on conservation, land rehabilitation,
environmental research and so on.

Ecotourism in Protected Areas

-income for management objectives/authorities
-create awareness of nature and provide information
on nature and problems relating to nature
conservation.
-create public support for protected areas
Techniques of Ecotourism
-brochure & leaflets
-specialized guides and species checklists
-public lectures by experts or park rangers
-self-guided trails or nature trails to be used with the
help of brochures and signboards.
-guided tours
-wilderness trails (well-marked trails without
signboards)
-visitor information centres
-education centres

Problems of Ecotourism
-disturbance of wildlife
-destruction along trails
-pollution/waste
-fire
-danger to visitors

Techniques of Visitor Control

-identify specific visitor zones for different intensity of
use
-concentrate visitors in certain areas by providing
facilities
-direct visitor movement by providing well-laid-out
paths
-restrict visitor access to certain areas by not
providing transport pr accommodation facilities
-completely closing certain areas either permanently
or temporarily
-setting a quota for number of visitors for specified
time periods
-training visitors on correct behaviour in protected
areas