Examining the Positive and Negative Aspects of Ecotourism - Essay Example

?Running Head: TOURISM RESEARCH PAPER The new tourist and the rise of ecotourism: Examining the positive and negative aspects of ecotourism within the environmental world Name University Class The new tourist and the rise of ecotourism: Examining the positive and negative aspects of ecotourism within the environmental world Introduction The concept of ecotourism has gained in popularity as a form of socially responsible use of a tourist’s time as well as a way to exploit natural resources by businesses while keeping an eye on sustaining the beauty and stability of fragile eco systems. The concept of ecotourism is an extension of the rise in social awareness of the need to find ways to be socially responsible. Ecotourism can include the pleasure of experiencing the environment, but can also often include a volunteer effort that is aimed towards creating an improvement in fragile or endangered environments. The problems that are involved with ecotourism are often found within the activities of those who are there intending to make a positive difference. Those who enter a fragile environment without being properly prepared can inadvertently do more damage than good. As well, the companies involved in ecotourism are more often involved in the ways in which they make profits over the altruistic values of their company purpose. While providing an opportunity to increase the sustainability of certain regions of the world, ecotourism has just as much potential of harming the environments that are intended to be saved. Ecotourism can include active participation in improving or sustaining the environment, or can include passive participation where the costs of the eco-based experience go towards environmental causes or the education of the natural environment in the area are a part of an expanding awareness that helps to encourage those who have the experience to make changes in the way they use resources and to spread what they have learned to others. Active participation can include providing labor through volunteering to work in unique environments to provide increased sustainability or to help to right a wrong that has devastating consequences. This paper explores the many ways in which ecotourism is experienced and the consequences, both positive and negative, to the development of ecotourism in different regions of the world. This paper will first explore the concept of ecotourism, defining it and narrowing the focus so that the potentials that this type of travel provides can be explored. Types of ecotourism and what is involved in the experiences provided are examined with recommendations for how to frame an ecotourism experience so that impact is negated and benefit, the aim of all this type of travel, is discovered for the betterment of the environment. The negative issues involved in the events of ecotourism around the world will be explored, as well as an examination of how to create positive outcomes to this type of travel. After the examination of the positive and the negatives has taken place, overall recommendations will be made on how to explore ecotourism opportunities while providing practical benefits to the environment rather than creating a detrimental impact through intrusion into fragile environments. Once the recommendations have been explored as developed through the research into the different impacts that occur during an ecotourism event, a conclusion will sum up the information that has been explored, providing context and closure to the research paper. The Benefits and Potential Negatives of Ecotourism Ecotourism Tourism is defined as “the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity” (Singh, 2010, p. 3). Therefore, travel is displacing oneself from their own environment into another environment for social reasons that have nothing to do with incoming commerce. Most often travel for leisure reasons is done for the benefit of the self and for the family, the events chosen to embody the nature of the travel done so with the intent of personal benefits for health and happiness. Going on a vacation and experiencing a tour is done through the development of a desire to have an experience and to include that experience as a part of an individual’s influences within their life. The relationship between where people choose to travel and why they make that choice can be seen through Fig. 1. Fig. 1 Relationship between Leisure, Recreation, and Tourism (Singh, 2010, p. 6) Ecotourism has emerged as a popular and effective means of seeing a world that might not have been available through other means. An ecotourist is able to see the interiors of country that is highlighted by the natural world, the forests, rivers, and natural wonders experienced through engaging in planned activities that best explore those areas. Through planned excursions, tour operated groups, and through research and the development of a privately created group, the eco-tourist can experience the world in ways that were not accessible in previous history. The Amazon, the Maldives, and the areas of Costa Rica that were once the domain of legendary explorers can now be experienced by tourists with the stamina, will and finances to be a part of a tour that takes them on a memorable and inspirational journey. In addition to the experience, ecotourism is defined by its proposed or intended preservation of the environment, the practices in place intending to either sustain or improve the natural world. A series of terms have been used in reference to ecotourism and applied either depending upon the time period or the circumstances of the academically orientation of the usage. Terms such as green tourism, alternative tourism, endemic tourism, geo-tourism, responsible tourism, and sustainable tourism have all been used in regard to the idea of ecotourism. While these terms refer to more general or more specific aspects of tourism, ecotourism is most concerned with traveling to a fragile environment with the purpose of experiencing that environment while helping to sustain it or improve the ecological balance of that region. Honey (2008) claims that ecotourism began though excursions to the Galapagos Islands and that during the 1990s there began to be signs of irreversible changes within the ecosystem that were undoubtedly being caused by the contact of human beings to an environment that had not had an impact from human contact before that time. Costa Rico is more than likely the most popular area of the world for United States travelers looking for the ecotourism experience, while Cuba and South Africa are also two popular destinations for ecotourism travel. The International Ecotourism Society supports the nature of ecotourism into the lands in which sustaining the natural environment and supporting the local indigenous populations has become the purpose and goal of this type of travel. It is reported that it is the fastest growing form of tourism, but one of the problems is that where ecotourism has a specific goal of sustaining the environment, the types of travel that are lumped in with ecotourism are not always engaged with this goal in mind. Travel that is done in order to engage wildlife, see nature or to have adventure is combined into the category when those activities do not specify a need to sustain the environment in which they occur. According to Buckley (2009), the definition of ecotourism in comparison to other forms of tourism is as follows: “The critical issue distinguishing ecotourism from tourism more generally is the potential positive contribution to conservation of the natural environment (p. 3). Buckley (2009) goes on to describe the incentives that the profitability of ecotourism gives to businesses to contribute towards sustaining natural environments in order to continue to exploit the potential of ecotourism profits. Where the altruistic goal of sustainability and environmental preservation does not hold much sway in the board room of corporations and within the decision making processes of business, the potential for profitability provides enough of a business reason for heading the needs of the environment as deterioration threatens worlds that are defined by their natural beauty and purpose. The unfortunate reality of the concept of ecotourism is that while it is intended to be an extension of conservation practices and attention to the preservation of the environment, the exploitation is experienced with the minimal of environmental preservation with an eye leveled on profits over ecological responsibility. There is a gap between how an ecotourism resource should work and how most of them do work. Ecotourism allows intrusion into the natural world where nature is not defined by the needs of human sustainability. Thus, by virtue of that intrusion, the natural world is affected by the event. According to Buckley (2009) the natural environment, either in its totality or in part, becomes a product that is sold by companies to consumers who indulge in the benefits of exposure to an experience. Through the commercialization of ecotourism, the event has become defined by experiences that are nature oriented, but not through the intended service to the environment. Lowering impact is often a tool that is used to promote the event of ecotourism, but having a lessoned impact on the environment through socially responsible practices is not the same as making that environment better. To truly be defined as ecotourism, a tourist experience must involve giving to the environment or the indigenous population in such a manner as to leave that experience with improvements to the traveled to environment. Examples of Ecotourism One of the best forms of ecotourism can be seen through the idea of volunteering and providing resources for a venue, rather than going to an area and using up something of what they have to offer. Volunteering can be both a fruitful and fulfilling experience, as well as providing increased benefit to the object of tourism. The idea of travel becomes an opportunity for giving back; taking time from one’s life to experience something new while providing service to a place that has a need. The idea of service is appealing, creating an outlet for urban guilt to those who make more than they need. Where a vacation is an indulgence in personal pleasure, the person who volunteers during their time away from work can come back having accomplished something for the greater good. An example of one type of volunteer experience that can provide a great sense of reward can be achieved through volunteering at the Elephant Sanctuary in Hohenwald, Tennessee. This facility is housed on 2700 acres of land on which 100 elephants can be given care and rescue from environments that are less than ideal for the welfare of these animals. The sanctuary provides an opportunity for volunteers to come in and offer care, although not interaction, with these great animals, giving the visitor the opportunity to create a sense of accomplishment for contributing to a valued cause. The elephants are not accessible to volunteers as their years of service as entertainment for humans has been ended, but the visitor who desires to volunteer can provide services that vary in type, thus helping to perform duties that need to be done and require funds or volunteer services to accomplish. In supporting this cause, human enlightenment about the abuse of nature and specifically of elephants can be personalized (Acampora, 2010). The unfortunate fact of ecotourism is that even when it helps one area of need, it may not help all areas equally through development. As an example, the population of the small, impoverished village of Dadia in north-eastern Greece has experienced economic growth through the development of tourism in the area of the Dadia Forest Preserve in Rhodope Mountains. The natural development of the 40 species of rare and unusual reptiles and birds have brought people into the area increasing economic stability and providing for an elevated standard of living that improved the lives of the local population. However, there has been an experienced impact on local wildlife populations and often the lack of education to those participating has created problems from those who do not understand how to minimize their impact. In Asia, the impact of tourists on natural resources has been addressed through providing mechanized rope systems to prevent actual entry into the natural areas, while still providing a scenic and informative experience. Throughout the Huang Shan heritage site, the ropeways provide a scenic experience without creating a situation in which the human impact deteriorates the surroundings. Without having to come into direct contact, the mechanisms pull travelers through the region so that they have the benefit without the devastation of their presence. The increases seen in the local economy provide for sustaining the area as a nature preserve without having to strip any environmental resources (Weaver, 2000). There are a great many different types of ecotourism that can be experienced in the world. Some are based on physically activities that are geared towards those with health and a sporting nature. Others are designed so that people from all walks of life can participate. Some experiences are more educational, while others are more based on active participation in environmental preservation. Biking through Napa Valley can be considered ecotourism as much as trekking in Nepal. A guided tour through geological formations, a visit to a village preserved from the 19th century, indigenous craft co-ops, and even zoos that are geared towards natural environment presentation all participate in promoting education, experience, and the preservation of natural environments (Patterson, 2007). It is the intent of the experience through its altruistic outcomes that help to define it as an ecotourism product. The purpose of travel has changed dramatically since World War II as incomes in the Western world have increased to a point where pleasure is now a part of the priorities of life because of the available disposable income. Travel for the purposes of pleasure was not new during this time, but the number of people who had the means to participate in the idea of a vacation increased so that the lower middle class could also find themselves expanding their experiences. However, experiences have changed in definition for the traveler. Looking at Fig 2, one can see how priorities continue to emerge that suggests cultural desires in regard to vacations. Where the old tourist took their belief systems with them and tried to experience the world on their own terms, the new tourist is attempting to understand the world through the eyes of the indigenous populations and on the terms of environmental health. Through active participation within a culture, rather than approaching cultures and environments through the perspective of learning about them rather than merely observing and putting them into personal context, the use of ecotourism has the potential to express an evolution in cultural connectivity. Old Tourism New Tourism Search for the sun Follow the Masses Here today, gone tomorrow Show that you have been Having Superiority Like attractions Reactions Eat in hotel dining room Homogenous Experience something new Want to be in charge See and enjoy, but not destroy Just for the fun of it Being Understanding Like sport and nature Adventurous Try out local fare Hybrid Fig. 2 (Singh, 2010, p. 14) Potential Negative Effects Honey (2008) begins her discussion of the problems with ecotourism by discussing the golden toad. It seems that in 1987, scientists took an inventory of the golden toad in Costa Rica and found there to be 1500, but the following year there were only ten. In 1989 there was only one that could be found, and none have been seen since that time. The drop in the number of golden toads coincided with the increase in ecotourism trends into Costa Rico, which created a correlation between the two events. Although there are many speculations on why the golden toad has disappeared, a very real possibility is that a disease or fungus that was unknown in the region was brought in and transferred into the environment through human contact with a world that had not previously been exposed to this disease or fungus. Therefore, the idea of ecotourism might have impacted Costa Rica, and by association other environments where significant changes have been observed in the last twenty years, through contact that has blighted the previously pristine natural ecosystems. Therefore, one of the problems with the idea of ecotourism is that many times it is designed for the marketing of the tourism of an area rather than for the intended benefit of increasing the environmental preservation. One example of this can be found in the efforts from the Chilean government to package Chile as an ecotourism destination. Diamantis (2004) discusses the nature of ‘branding’ through global strategies in order to provide for an increase in tourism through creating an image of ecotourism opportunities for the traveler. In doing this, the cause of ecological preservation is not a goal, but an exploited concept that provides for a trendy concept without the substance from which to provide meaningful connection to that idea. The nature of the vacations that are offered are termed for ecotourism, but have little in the way of ecological preservation that is intended by the term. In packaging the travel experience as a trendy and socially responsible concept, the local tourism is exploiting the trend without the responsibility that it suggests. According to Honey (2008), true ecotourism involves “minimization of environmental and cultural consequences, contributions to conservation and community projects in developing countries and environmental education and political consciousness raising, such as the establishment of codes of conduct for travelers as well as wide variety of certification programs for components of the travel industry” (p. 7). Ecotourism is not about the adventure, the inspiration of nature, or any other direct benefit to the traveler, but it is about what the traveler can do to respond to the world around them. Those benefits do exist, the experience enhancing something in regard to the educational and entertainment factors that the tourist experiences, but it is the altruistic result that has the defining power. The concept of ecotourism is not about what is taken into the individual, but about what is given from them, the concept of service to the planet a central idea of the event. The problem with the way in which the idea has been perverted is through suggestions of ways to promote the benefit of the traveler, rather than the benefit that can be provided by the traveler. This is due, of course, to a consumerist culture that promotes a bottom line mentality in which the question ‘what does this do for me?’ is always a central premise. As a consumerist ideology sweeps over the world, one of the potential dangers is in finding a homogenous world culture in which most of the world conforms to consumerist aesthetics in lifestyle choices. Quoting Spring (2004), he states that “Some environmental educators, such as Chet Bowers, worry that global citizenship will lead to cultural conformity” (p. 159). Spring (2004) discusses the idea that local communities have developed natural means by which their environment is sustained and when homogenized ideologies intrude, creating a change in the way in which cultures attend to their traditions and belief systems, it can change the way in which the local area is maintained. This can be devastating to a local natural area of resources, fundamentally changing the overall balance and system. As in the example of the golden toad, the effects can be monumentally destructive when one small element changes, creating a cascade of consequences. One of the very real fears about creating ecotourism in areas of fragile ecologies is that by the introduction of human exposures that are not indigenous, the area will suffer from that exposure. As an example, mountainous regions that are fragile because of shifting weather patterns and topography are difficult to sustain as the changes in the environment are constant, as are the impacts of non indigenous life. The use of these lands must be monitored and watched with great care in order to sustain the fragile cycles of life in the area. One unexpected factor can change the cycles of nature and deplete the resource as viable for tourism. Potential Positive Effects Even where ecotourism does not result in benefits that are provided by the tourist, sometimes there can be a portion of the proceeds dedicated towards preserving the environment, thus the tourism is an investment in the future of a region. As an example, the glaciers of Argentina, the volcanoes of Ecuador, and the Inca ruins of Peru all have packages that tourists can buy to experience those wonders with some of the proceeds going towards environmental projects in the specific regions. In these cases, it is the financial contribution that has the ecological power within the experience rather than the physical volunteerism that might otherwise define the experience as ecotourism. The message that is given during tours that are based upon the idea of being involved in ecotourism adventures is often an important part of a global message about saving the natural wonders and resources of the world. Information that provides information on how the devastation of one region has a direct impact on that of another, combined with the impressive beauty of some of the areas of the world, encourages the consumer to participate in sustainable practices that promote the continuation of a good ecological balance in areas that might otherwise be adversely affected. Seeing such beauty and awesome wonder is often enough to encourage change, even if small, in the tourist on how they use the world’s resources. The educational value can be an important part of the ecotourism experience (Spring, 2004). Change can come from convincing one person at a time. Conclusion Ecotourism has in some ways become nothing but a trendy word in which the development of an attraction can be packaged in order to provide for profits from encounters for travelers. There is a great deal of different impacts that can have a negative consequence for natural environments and the beauty of the world when they become a part of the ecotourism repertoire as an experience for travelers. However, through educationally based tours that expand the understanding of those in attendance, the natural world can benefit from changes made towards sustainable practices. As well, funding can be supplied through the engagement in activities for fees that are earmarked for organizations and programs to sustain local environments. In exploring the nature of ecotourism, it is hard not to see the exploitive nature of this type of travel, but the positive benefits, while gained only by inches, can provide for local economies while at the same time spreading a better understanding of the world. Ecotourism provides for a deeper meaning for the incident of travel. Travelers, through research and education, can create an event in their lives that leaves them with an experience that enriches their life through elevating their awareness. In learning about the world, the tourist can come away with more than just too much of everything indulgent which can be the experience at some of the created attractions of the world. In providing themselves and their family with a culturally diverse experience that provides for an experience that is defined by learning as well as fun, the traveler becomes more than he or she was before the experience. The ecotourism packaging of different environments when done with the benefit of the sustainability of that environment provides for the potential of a future for that region of the world that may not have had one previously. Although there is a danger of homogenization into a global culture, the economic benefits to a local economy can help to sustain an environment that might otherwise be in danger. Although there are great dangers in creating ecotourism packages for a region, there are also great benefits for the local area, the global understanding of the world, and for the benefits of individuals who may came away from their experience with a greater understanding of personal impact on environments that have such beauty that their loss is a great travesty. Works Cited Acampora, R. R. (2010). Metamorphoses of the zoo: Animal encounter after Noah. Lanham, Md: Lexington Books. Buckley, R. (2009). Ecotourism: Principles and practices. Cambridge, Mass: CABI. Diamantis, D. (2004). Ecotourism :management and assessment. London [u.a.] Thomson. Honey, M. (2008). Ecotourism and sustainable development: Who owns paradise?. Washington, D.C: Island Press. Patterson, C. (2007). The business of ecotourism: The complete guide for nature and culture- based tourism operators. Victoria, B.C: Trafford. Singh, J. (2010). Ecotourism. New Delhi: I.K. International Pub. House. Spring, J. H. (2004). How Educational Ideologies are Shaping Global Societies: Intergovernmental Organizations, NGOs and the Decline of the Nation State. New York: Taylor and Frances, Inc. Weaver, D. B. (2000). The encyclopedia of ecotourism. New York: CABI Pub. Read More