Ecotourism: There Is No Universally Accepted Definition of ecotourism

You may be glad to know that when former Vice President Al Gore won an Oscar for his documentary entitled “An Inconvenient Truth” the topic has now found its way into the minds and hearts of many more people today than would otherwise have happened. And, now may be the right time for us to pause and reflect on how we should travel. Even for the compulsive traveler, ecotourism is a wonderfully fresh and enervating way of spending free time and also showing responsibility in one’s travel.

Two Aspects To It – Theoretical And Practical

Though there is no definition of ecotourism that is universally accepted there are also some doubts whether ecotourism is about a pure concept, or is a term that is for public consumption. In theory, one may think of definition of ecotourism as a form of tourism in which the environment, local community as well as the visitor all are beneficiaries of such a form of tourism. However, in practice the term is used by tour operators to market their products and relates to any form of tourism that is associated with nature.

Thus, one will really need to have the right definition of ecotourism in mind which will envisage public interest in the environment and also conserves the resources which go into marketing ecotourism.

There have also been many conferences held as well as literature developed on ecotourism that have brought to the fore many principles to which ecotourism must adhere to, and which must be followed if we are to arrive at a proper definition of ecotourism. Some principals and also guidelines have been theories that are propounded by ‘armchair geographers’ that point to what perfect ecotourism could be, and they have come up with certain principles about what ideal ecotourism must look and feel like, and which can be used as a definition of ecotourism.

There are certain organizations that have taken upon themselves the mission to preserve the animals, plant as well as natural communities that are representative of our diverse life on this planet we call Earth, and one such organization is The Nature Conservancy, which is a leading conservation organization working globally to protect ecologically important lands as well as waters.

They too have a definition of ecotourism in mind, though another definition of ecotourism is the one set forth by Ceballos-Lascurain who was the first to make such a definition which goes like this “Tourism that evolves traveling to relatively undisturbed or uncontaminated areas with the specific objective of studying, admiring, and enjoying the scenery and its wild plants and animals, as well as any existing cultural manifestations (both past and present) found in those areas”.

Another definition of ecotourism as set out by the International Society (TIES) is “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people”.