EcoTourism Web Blog

Ecotourism destinations In India And Honduras Are Worth Checking Out

mavisjezz — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 13:42:54 +0000

One of those special ecotourism destinations that you may have dreamt about is sure to be the lovely beaches of Kerala in India where there is plenty of natural resources including quite backwaters and a very pleasing climate that is supposed to be among the best in the world that attracts many people to it. Along with ecotourism, Kerala also has many festivals rich in color of local customs and the outstanding culinary delights that makes it a very special ecotourism destination indeed.

God’s Own Country

Many people in Kerala call this Indian state as being “God’s own Country” and the many attractions include clear skies, blue waters and also beaches that provide solitude and quiet. There are also hills where green tea is grown and there are also many bird sanctuaries as well as heavily wooded forests and a lot of wildlife as well. This ecotourism destination also attracts local tourists and those from abroad who also love the many festivals as well as the splendid houseboat rides in the backwaters of the state.

Ecotourism destinations that are found in Kerala give visitors the opportunity to experience what gentle nature is all about. Not only is there fantastic wildlife and bird sanctuaries to experience in Kerala, but this ecotourism destination also provides ample scope for rock climbing adventures, traveling down bird watching trails and also trying mountain biking while living in the tree houses and also getting to experience the thrill of the forest life complete with its wildlife.

Another exciting ecotourism destination is Honduras, the country that raises images of fields filled with fruits that ripen beneath tropical suns and which is a fast emerging ecotourism destination in the world. That is not surprising given that there is striking wildlife and rivers that run freely along with the cloud forests that seemingly are endlessly covered in mist. It also has a number of towns that are small in size, but are big in architecture and with tiled roof homes is harmony personified that is further enhanced by the friendliness of the local people. Here too, you can find bird watching very exciting, beach resorts and a basic trek in the jungles which contributes immensely to the country’s ecotourism industry.

This is a wonderful ecotourism destination that has both Pacific and Atlantic Oceans striking their waters onto its shores and the climate is temperate, and you will especially enjoy the Copan Ruins as also the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve that are the country’s two world heritage sights.

Learning About the Evolution of Ecotourism

mavisjezz — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 17:31:23 +0000

Although ecotourism is a fairly new concept for many, it has actually been around and alive since the 1980’s. In truth, it has been around longer than this, building up momentum until the term was officially recognized.

There is an entire story to tell about the evolution of ecotourism, and the tale is quite interesting in regard to what ecotourism actually means, and how far it’s come thus far. The timeline as mentioned before, dates back to the 1980’s and tells its story all the way to the present day.

The 1980’s

Little did people realize that this was the beginning of the path for the evolution of ecotourism. In the late 1980’s ecotourism was more of a novelty than anything, with entrepreneurs taking a leap in what they saw as an opportunity to make some cash. They realized people wanted more when it came to traveling. They wanted to see nature, live peacefully and visit places they’d never been. So, foreigners purchased or leased land and called them ecolodges where accommodations were simple and natural. And this was known as the beginning of the evolution of ecotourism.

The 1990’s

This is the time when communities and entrepreneurs realized the profitability in serving ecotourists. Ecolodges and ecotourism operators sprang up all over the place in more remote locations than ever before. This part of the evolution of ecotourism is the defining factor in what the word even means. This is because the more remote the place, the more interested people became in learning about the nature around them and how to preserve it.

In the late 1990’s, communities realized that they could even start getting people to help them make things better. Places would create projects for ecotourists to complete when visiting, whether it was restoring a piece of land or planting very needed trees.

The Present Day

The evolution of ecotourism has been defined to date, but continues to be defined for the next generation of curious people to learn about. Because ecotourism hasn’t been around too long and there haven’t been too many other areas of trying to save our lands, we’re at a great race with ourselves.

The present day represents everyone who looks to the future in trying to preserve our world and its resources. With too few people to help and because the issue has been neglected for so long, it’s a great race to the end in trying to inhabit ecotourism and programs like it.

Case studies of ecotourism Help In Understanding And Bettering Ecotourism In Different Parts Of The World

mavisjezz — Sat, 12 Jan 2008 02:05:17 +0000

There has been a lot of interest evinced on the subject of ecotourism and many case studies of ecotourism have been undertaken in different parts of the world for different locations and widely varying conditions in a bid to better understand what ecotourism is all about, and how best to improve it so that it can survive under any conditions.

Mgahinga Gorilla National Park Is A Case In Point

A case in point is the case study of ecotourism that concerns the Mgahinga Gorilla National Park in Western Uganda, which is a good attempt at investigating how important and also how relevant is ecotourism and also to understand the awareness and understanding of ecotourism amongst local peoples of the area. Such a case study of ecotourism has a number of different purposes that include assessing the awareness as well as understanding of local peoples regarding ecotourism, assessing how has ecotourism contributed to the local population and finding out if the locals are indeed sensitized on ecotourism as well as the environment. In addition, such a case study of tourism must also delve into finding out whether people that are more educated have better understanding of ecotourism.

After making such case studies of ecotourism, it has been found that even though not many respondents were employed in tourism there was widespread support for ecotourism and conservation of wildlife. There was near unanimity that the idea of ecotourism was good and was well supported by the respondents and that ecotourism would generate income through selling of goods and services to tourists. However, there is a need to put an end to illegal activities that continues to exist even in spite of international interventions.

In any case, different case studies of ecotourism involving different destinations must highlight the potential of ecotourism as an activity that brings economic prosperity and which also will contribute towards a sustainable as well as social development of the host country, and which also promotes preservation of that country’s environmental as also cultural heritage, and at the same time ensures that local communities are also advantaged as a result of ecotourism.

Another good example of ecotourism is Belize, on which subject too there have been conducted many case studies of ecotourism, and this was among the pioneering countries to have embraced ecotourism which focused on attracting tourists to its own rich natural environment, which offered many attractions including diving for which divers came in great numbers regardless of any particular season of the year.

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Nature Tourism And Ecotourism: Making A Transformation From One To The Other In Tanzania May Be Possible

mavisjezz — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 08:07:18 +0000

Nature tourism and ecotourism are things one would associate with traveling to places of natural attractions, where the emphasis is not on exploiting the resources, but to conserve and sustain such cultures and places. There is a lot of travel to destinations where eco-tourists build on environmental awareness and help in a small way in providing benefits in conserving the ecology and culture of local people and their communities.

Africa Is Closely Associated With Both These Forms Of Tourism

A part of the world that is most closely associated with nature tourism and ecotourism is the continent of Africa where such concepts are best exemplified with the amount of tourism taking place in game parks and reserves where one can take in the exciting wildlife and birds and also marvel at the wonders of nature that can be found in different parts of the continent. In addition, you can revel in the age old cultures and traditions that meet and interact with modern day thoughts and lifestyles.

As both nature tourism and ecotourism began to become more popular there was a realization that nature, recreational destinations and also the heritage of these places were to be preserved if people were to remain attracted to these forms of tourism, and this is probably best exemplified in the case of South Africa that is a natural haven having the most outstanding vistas, beautiful sights as well as abundance of nature’s resources.

Another example of what is needed to transform nature tourism into ecotourism is seen in the case of Ngorongoro Conservation Area in Tanzania. And, of late ecotourism is being promoted as an alternative to mass tourism, and thus there is a case for nature tourism and ecotourism to be viewed as a means of protecting, conserving and developing natural environments and also a way to provide economic benefits to local peoples and communities.

When economic benefits trickle down to local people, it allows, in theory at least, for the benefits to act as incentive to protect nature and also makes the locals take to behaviors that promote conservation rather than exploitation of natural resources. Thus, there is much research being conducted on whether nature tourism and ecotourism are indeed effective enough tools to sustain development in communities that lie close to protected tourist destinations.

Most often, such protected areas are used in promotion of nature tourism so that people can enjoy as well as experience in its true form. Even so, ecotourism is seen more as ‘responsible tourism’ and it means taking eco-tourists to places where the environment is conserved and which also sustains the local people.

Thus, a place such as the Ngorongoro Conservation Area in the north of Tanzania allows experts to investigate what is required to transform nature tourism into real ecotourism. The bottom line is that nature tourism is taking place in protected areas while the ecotourism is taking place in remote areas where conservation is the key.

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Research Ecotourism for a Clearer Understanding

mavisjezz — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 08:07:17 +0000

Ecotourism has become the rage in recent years as many people have become interested in the concept of a vacation that mixes fun and leisure with an environmental social consciousness. While this description may seem, on the surface, to portray ecotourism as an overly cerebral activity, the reality is that ecotourism is just plan old fun. Unfortunately, there is a significant volume of the population that is not entirely familiar with ecotourism as they possess a surface value understanding of the subject. This makes performing research on the subject of ecotourism prior to forming an opinion on the subject.

Part of the reason why it is so important to research ecotourism rests on the fact that the more serious research is performed on the subject, the clearer the understanding of the subject becomes. In other words, there will be a significant reduction of the common misconceptions associated with ecotourism will be dispelled. Knowledge is, after all, a form of power that derives from a clear and deliberate understanding of a specific subject matter. If one develops a solid knowledge base through extensive research ecotourism self study, then one will be able to more effectively take advantage of the benefits that ecotourism provides while simultaneously eliminating and dispelling myths.

Research Ecotourism to show it is not politically motivated

One of the more common myths is that ecotourism exists solely to promote a political agenda. This is not an accurate assessment, but rather a knee-jerk criticism towards a subject by an individual who is not knowledgeable on the subject matter. While there are certain political sentiments that are environmentally conscious that are supportive of ecotourism, ecotourism by its very nature is not a purely politically motivated. In fact, if one performs a little bit of ecotourism research, one will discover that the primary purpose of ecotourism is to have fun while learning enjoying the natural world at the same time.

When you research ecotourism, you can pinpoint those areas most beneficial to you

The various choices and activities that one could take part in, in the realm of ecotourism are vast and all-encompassing. As such, it can be difficult to make a decision as to which type of ecotourism vacation to take. If a person opts to research ecotourism and learn more about the subject as well as explore the various activities that ecotourism offers, then the person will be able to select a specific ecotourism vacation that is most agreeable to individual needs.

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A Need For Planning And Proper Programming Should Help In Reaping Positive Impacts of eco and mass tourism

mavisjezz — Fri, 28 Sep 2007 12:59:08 +0000

The impacts of eco and mass tourism can be seen in widely differing ways with mass tourism not doing what ecotourism does which is to bring renewed internal consciousness as well as instills pride in the native culture of the destination and maintaining the historic sites as well. Ecotourism brings with it many local arts and crafts being developed and revived while mass tourism may see the renovation of sites of historic importance as also the many monuments that are mass tourist attractions.

Lopsided Distribution Of Wealth

The positive impacts of eco and mass tourism can often be negated by the adverse effects of tourism on the locations and also sometimes on the peoples, especially in the case of mass tourism. Though ecotourism does pay heed to preserving the natural resources, there are often instances when it does negatively impact the host country. A good example of the impacts of eco and mass tourism is that though there is increased inflow of foreign capital, the distribution of this wealth may not be even and fair, with much of it, in the case of mass tourism especially, going into the pockets of foreign investors that have ownership of hotels, communication systems and also transportation means.

One of the impacts of eco and mass tourism is that the wealth created it causes an increase in wage divides among the local population, and also between workers in the tourism industry itself who have access to foreign currency as opposed to those who work outside of tourism industry.

In fact, among the impacts of eco and mass tourism you can find that there is an increase in racial and gender divide with the locals being relegated to the lesser jobs while the cream jobs often may go to the foreigners or their representatives. Also, cited as other impacts of eco and mass tourism is the fact that such destinations may often lack for proper infrastructure which means that local governments are not able to properly control influx of people and goods.

The bottom line is that the impacts of eco and mass tourism can be positive and beneficial to the local peoples and host country if they are properly managed and there are in place well-thought out plans as well as programmes. Otherwise, the impacts of eco and mass tourism can lead to devastation of natural habitats and a great culture shock that can put the lives and survival of the local people in danger.

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The Importance of the International Ecotourism Society

mavisjezz — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:04:29 +0000

When people hear the name of a governing body or organization, they may be somewhat put off by the mere mention of the name. This would betray the fact that there is a certain level of cynicism on people’s part towards any organization that oversees the activities of a particular movement or ideology.

In the case of the International Ecotourism Society, such cynicism is not well founded. The International Ecotourism Society has done a great deal of good in the world for the ecotourism movement having raised public awareness on the subject of ecotourism to a high level and, in addition to the tremendous benefit to the environment that such awareness has brought, it has also brought a great deal of fun an joy to people’s live by providing them with an educational hobby and activity that people of all ages can enjoy and take part in. Full Stories Review About International Ecotourism Society

A Popular Question: What Are the Components in Ecotourism?

mavisjezz — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:36:02 +0000

You are a person that is very much interested in how the environment is fairing. Recent changes in the global environment, especially in the form of global warming, are really starting to make people take notice of their environment. You have decided that your next vacation will have to do with educating yourself about the environment, so you would like to know the answer to the question: “What are the components in ecotourism?”

What Are the Components in Ecotourism? Is There a Definitive Answer?

A Review on the Different Types of Ecotourism

mavisjezz — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 15:23:58 +0000

There are actually many different types of ecotourism that exist, one in particular being agro-tourism. This is one of the types of ecotourism which encourages visitors to experience the agricultural life at first hand, and this type is gathering strong support from smaller communities as well as rural communities, as rural people have come to realize the benefits of sustainable development brought about by similar forms of green tourism.

Another of the types of ecotourism is the type for which the aims are to enable participation from the local community, particularly in terms of the development and operations of tourism. One of the most important features of this type is that a reasonable share of all the revenues gained is enjoyed by the community. As well this is one of the types of ecotourism which truly maintains and respects the local culture and heritage. Read Full Stories A Review on the Different Types of Ecotourism