Essay Sample on Ecotourism

Ecotourism is growing increasingly popular at a rate of 5% each year (O’Connor), with popular travel destinations such as Hawaii and Costa Rica, which begs the question; what is ecotourism, and why is it popular? As defined by TIES (The International Ecotourism Society), ecotourism merely means “responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment, sustains the well-being of the local people and involves interpretation and education of both the guests and staff.” 

Ecological tourism started in the 1970s; it intended to protect and preserve the environment while simultaneously promoting awareness of sustainable tourism (bbc.co.uk), which vastly grew into what we recognize today as ecotourism. Although ecotourism began in the 1970s, it was never considered tourism until the 1980s (ThoughtCo) when tourists became bored with typical destinations and wanted to try something new (bbc.co.uk).

According to the International Ecotourism Society, if a person is practicing in or providing ecotourism destinations, they must be accustomed to a certain set of principles, all of which are key during travels. The set of principles is as follows: they must keep physical, social, and psychological impacts to a minimum; create a positive experience for the hosts; be aware of and respect the beliefs of the locals; partake in environmental awareness as well as cultural awareness and respect; along with creating financial stability for locals. The ethics vary from the providers to the tourists. The ethics for the locals are as follows: providing a positive and safe environment for visitors, putting the profits toward maintaining the area, providing a positive and memorable experience for the guests while raising awareness about the country and its occurring events, and designing and building low-impact structures. With these principles, visitors can enjoy their vacation while conserving the environment and respecting others. Not all visitors share the same values, which can create a negative impact and cause damage to the environment. 

According to science writer Daisy Dunne of CarbonBrief.org, as a result of the growing middle-class, holiday travel is increasing at a rate of 3%-5% each year. From the year 2009 to 2013, as an effect of these travels, the Earth’s global tourism carbon footprint has increased from 3.9 to 4.5 billion metric tons of global C02 emissions, otherwise known as GtCO2e, resulting in 8% of global greenhouse gas emissions (Lenzen et al.). 

As stated in the article “Global Tourism” published by bbc.co.uk in 2021, tourism has had countless unfavorable effects on the environment. For instance, an uptick in tourism can cause noise and air pollution due to traffic increases in the area, as well as water pollution from nearby hotels dumping waste into mutually used bodies of water. Natural resources are constantly being destroyed to create souvenirs that ultimately get put into landfills. Even something as minuscule as walking on a popular path can cause soil erosion and damage to the surrounding vegetation, creating a hazardous environment for wildlife. An increase in foot traffic also puts frequently used routes and walkways at risk of becoming overused. Not only is the land being impacted by tourism, but so are the people. Locals are facing an increase in pressure to build more accommodations for tourists (Folk) while simultaneously being terminated at the same rate due to tourism off-seasons. Locals are also paid unfair wages for their labor. Even though they face low wages, they are also presented with the opportunity to create handmade products to sell to visitors as another source of income (bbc.co.uk). Although ecotourism is constantly presented as damaging to the natural world, it doesn’t miss the mark with benefits.