Eco-Tourism and its Implications

Have you ever visited a well-known tourist destination and immediately realised how excessive tourism has depleted the beauty of the place? People littering all around, overcrowding the famous spots, making loud noises, disturbing and even harassing the local communities, these are the harsh realities of the most popular tourist destinations because of which some governments have limited the number of tourist influx and in some severe scenarios, have banned tourists completely. This dark side of tourism is often less addressed by bloggers and travel agents, but since the problem is turning into a prominent one, activists, environmentalists, and avid travellers came up with the concept of ecotourism that primarily helps the environment and local communities to be less affected by the tourism activities and preserve the ecosystem and wildlife simultaneously. 

Ecotourism as a concept emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s and was popularized by the Mexican architect and environmentalist, Hector Ceballos-Lascurain who stressed how responsible travel should be taken upon by people to support the well-being of the local communities and environment as a whole. By the 1990s, ecotourism had gained a fair share of attention and has made this concern reach people. 

Ecotourism is majorly focused on environmental conservation and socio-economic development while also carrying out the functions of the tourism industry. It focuses on making people understand the importance of harmless travelling and how traditional ways of tourism disbalance the ecosystem and lives of the local communities in many ways. The huge corporations and conglomerates play major roles in the traditional tourism system and as a result, make the locals unemployed and underprivileged. Along with this, the biodiversity, wildlife, and natural habitats of species diminish with over-tourism and huge crowds. The commercialisation of destinations also cuts down on the authenticity factor of the cultural background and refrains the tourists from directly cultivating knowledge about the heritage, traditions and indigenous cultures of the place. Keeping all of the points mentioned above, all the environmentally conscious travellers and researchers have concluded that ecotourism seems to be the much-needed solution for all these problems which are visibly becoming more and more evident with every passing day.

 Ecotourism improves the environment and the economy. It provides employment to the locals and reduces poverty, improving their basic living standards. The direct interaction of tourists with locals helps them delve deeper into their cultures, customs, language, and beliefs, often making their travel more meaningful and profound. 

Unlike the traditional ways of tourism, ecotourism offers sustainable options of accommodation like eco-lodges and hostels where people are advised to adapt to sustainable and greener ways of living. Transportation is also picked on the basis of how carbon footprint can be minimized, and usually public transportation is preferred over private ones. 

Even activities are altered so that no harm is caused to the natural surroundings of the tourist spot in ecotourism and animals and plants are maintained thoroughly. Spots are picked because of their natural attraction and because of the artificial human-made advancements. This is how travelling is given a supposedly healthy makeover and also keeping in check the environment so that the coming generations do not have to carry masks or bottled water everywhere they go.