All Guides: Ecotourism Test Guide FY23: What is Ecotourism?

According to The International Ecotourism Society (TIES), ecotourism can be defined as “responsible travel to natural areas that conserve the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people, and involves interpretation and education”.

What are the Principles of Ecotourism:

Ecotourism is about uniting conservation, communities, and sustainable travel. This means that those who implement, participate in and market ecotourism activities should adopt the following ecotourism principles:

Minimize physical, social, behavioral, and psychological impacts.
Build environmental and cultural awareness and respect.
Provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts.
Provide direct financial benefits for conservation.
Generate financial benefits for both local people and private industry.
Deliver memorable interpretative experiences to visitors that help raise sensitivity to host countries’ political, environmental, and social climates.
Design, construct and operate low-impact facilities.
Recognize the rights and spiritual beliefs of the Indigenous People in your community and work in partnership with them to create empowerment.

What are the 3P's of Sustainability?

Ecotourism is sustainable when it has benefits local communities and economies while controlling for negative environmental impacts. This is known as "The 3 P's or Sustainability - Good for People, Planet and Profit".

Wallace's Six Principles of Ecotourism

Entails a type of use that minimizes negative impacts to the environment and to local people.
Increases the awareness and understanding of an area’s natural and cultural systems and the subsequent involvement of visitors in issues affecting those systems.
Contributes to the conservation and management of legally protected and other natural areas.
Maximizes the early and long-term participation of local people in the decision-making process that determines the kind and amount of tourism that should occur.
Directs economic and other benefits to local people that complement rather than over-whelm or replace traditional practices.
Provides special opportunities for local people and nature tourism employees to visit natural areas and learn more about the wonders that other visitors.

Ecotourism Guidelines
Some outstanding ecotourism guidelines have been written in the past. But no organization had attempted to bring together leading conservationists, tour operators, and academics to thrash out what the state of the art of delivering ecotourism services should be in the 1990s, until this project was undertaken. This document delivers the most comprehensive view to date, not only on what guidelines should be observed by tour operators working in natural areas but also how these services should be delivered, with what objectives, and for whose benefit.

Ecotourism / David Weaver.
Building on the strengths of the first edition, the text discusses the significance of ecotourism in the domestic and international tourism sector. Ecotourism is a high yield tourist category within the national tourism industry and issues such as site planning and development, operator obligations and best practice, strategic management and the role of indigenous communities have become crucial professional and industry considerations.
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Call Number: G156.5.E26 W43 2008

Brief Description of Ecotourism by Krahenbuhl
Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment. It is based on the concept of interconnectedness, the interdependence of all things, living and nonliving. The root “eco” stems from the Greek oiko, meaning home or environment.
The Business of Ecotourism Development and Management Volume Two
Ecotourism Development - A Manual for Conservation Planners and Managers
Ecotourism: Impacts, Potentials and Possibilities
Chapter Five: The role of interpretation in achieving a sustainable future.

It has been suggested that there is limited value in science (which provides the data upon which conservation is based) and management (which provides the tools) without communication to share their respective insights and directions (McCurdy, 1985). Past experience has shown us that many of the answers to today’s environmental problems are far from clear, based as they are on scientific prediction only after the accumulation of evidence and therefore after significant impacts have already occurred. This is compounded by scientists being notoriously poor at imparting information that is readily understandable to the lay person, and as such the message is often lost to the community at large.
An Introduction to Ecotourism Planning Volume One
Ecotourism Development - A Manual for Conservation Planners and Managers
Toward a Principled Evaluation of Ecotourism Ventures
This paper discusses a systematic approach to evaluating ecotourism operations in a given locale. It employs a set of six principles as the basis for evaluation. Indicators and standards are site-specific and agreed upon by managers and stakeholders. When possible, tour operators, protected area managers (public and private), visitors, and local people participate in the evaluation. The paper gives its definition of ecotourism, discusses how the principles and valuative methods were derived, and describes the evolution of the methodology by looking at ecotour operations in both the Brazilian and Ecuadorian portions of the Amazon Basin. Suggestions are then offered for improving the approach.

Forest Tourism and Recreation by Xavier Font; John Tribe
Call Number: G156.5.E26 F67 2000
ISBN: 0851994148
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
The demand for ecotourism and outdoor recreation is increasing and the pressures on land use are becoming more obvious. A large part of the experience of ecotourism and recreational landscape depends on the maintenance of forested land. Effective management of tourism and recreation in forests can provide extra income to help offset the costs of sustainable timber production and encourage biodiversity conservation. This book considers the compatibility between tourism, forestry and conservation, the management of natural resources and the involvement of stakeholders and the community.
Critical Issues in Ecotourism by James Higham
Call Number: G156.5.E26 C74 2007
ISBN: 0750668784
Publication Date: 2007-04-23

Ecotourism: Practices, Benefits and Environmental Impacts
Tourism is defined as the set of activities of persons traveling to and staying for the sake of rest, leisure, culture, health, etc. in places that are outside their usual environment for a period not exceeding one year. Ecotourism or green tourism is a form of sustainable tourism, focused on the discovery and preservation of nature and ecosystems. Ecotourism's main objective is to discover and preserve different forms of natural resources such as fascinating landscapes, local flora and fauna, while respecting ecosystems, even helping to restore, in a voluntary approach. This book examines the practices of ecotourism as well as its benefits and impacts on the environment.
Ecotourism: Pros and Cons.
Improvements in travel after World War II, especially the development of jet aircraft, dramatically increased the numbers of tourists in all areas of the globe. With this trend came increased interest in visiting exotic locations to enjoy unspoiled landscapes, view unusual wildlife, and participate in recreational adventures. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), by the late twentieth century tourism had become a main income source and the top export category for many developing countries.
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Authors: Clarkin, Thomas & Kähler, Karen N.
Source: Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2020.