Environmental tourism, or travel to places of environmental interest, has increased as people become more aware of conservation issues. It can include volunteering in ecologically fragile areas, but can also have negative impacts on the environment and culture. To address this, responsible and sustainable tourism practices are being implemented.
With an increased awareness of our planet’s fragile nature and its beauty, it is no surprise that the demand for travel to unique and extraordinary environments around the world, known as environmental tourism, has also increased. This is the phenomenon of increasing travel to places of environmental interest. It is a journey that focuses on the ecological environment of the destination, which is generally a place overflowing with natural beauty and wonder.
Environmental tourism can include trips to unique and endangered areas, such as the Galapagos Islands. In addition to visiting places for its uniqueness, many people engage in this practice as a “volunteer” mission: this is a form of tourism where people travel to a destination for a short period of time to volunteer somewhere way. In the case of environmental volunteering, this means traveling to an ecologically fragile part of the world to offer assistance in fixing it, such as cleaning up an oil spill.
The concept of environmental tourism is that people will become more involved in the world’s ecological and sociocultural concerns through direct experience, and thus will be more active in conservation and change. The idea evolved in the late 1980s along with growing consumer awareness of conservation and consumption issues. Not only is environmental tourism a wilderness adventure aimed at helping save the planet, but it also expands the lucrative travel industry in developing countries where jobs are scarce and economies are struggling. While the goals of this type of tourism are well-intentioned, there are consequences that come with the practice.
When people travel to historically inhabited places in disparate ways, the presence of increased and new populations inevitably impacts on the environment and culture of the place. The first impact on the environment comes from arriving at your destination. Traveling to remote places where wildlife thrives can be costly to the environment by using more fuel than a typical vacation at times. Housing and life are further stresses of the local environment. Building new housing often means destroying a natural ecosystem, and bringing a Western way of life to a developing country often means improper disposal of the larger quantities of waste. In a sociocultural sense, environmental tourism can present a problem with the displacement of people and their resources, as well as hinder and endanger their daily habits by introducing new difficulties and cultures.
Therefore, in an effort to more effectively achieve the goals of environmental tourism, a focus on responsible and sustainable tourism has been added to the concept. To this end, more regulation is being implemented for developers; education is encouraged for travellers; and growth management is employed. With these measures, local communities have more control over the conservation of the environment and culture, while still reaping the benefits of environmental tourism.
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