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The Pros And Cons Of Ecotourism

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Over the past few decades, the tourism industry has grown leaps and bounds in regards to the amount of traveling and recreational opportunities available. Many of these options now include fine dining on airlines, unique lodging options worldwide, and other activities. Although the industry may be evolving, consequently many legal issues arise as a result. These issues become a challenge for travel officials, as they work together to find effective solutions to settle them. One of the larger issues at hand in the world today is ecotourism. Ecotourism allows people to visit areas around the world that have experienced little to no human impact such as pollution, traffic, and other types of invasive expansion. It revolves …show more content…

Essentially, “Showing people a rainforest rather than logging… is a good compromise if the forest is preserved” (qtd. in ). Then there are the negatives associated with ecotourism as a whole. Various reports such as the damaging of coral reefs by tourists involved in scuba diving activities have become a prevalent issue, while the building of “eco-lodges” in forests and jungles have resulted in the continual disturbance of the animals who live in those areas as well as the continuous removal of natural vegetation which may also contain food supplies for animals. Safari tours that take place in Africa also have similar results, as many tourists who ride in jeeps contribute to the disturbance of food sources, such as game that lions depend on for survival. In Africa, many indigenous peoples such as the Masai in Kenya have lost their land to the ecotourism industry, and have been forced to move elsewhere. Environmentalists argue that, “Unwittingly, the tourists are destroying the culture that they are paying to preserve. Ecotourism seeks to go to the remotest places. These places are often not well policed. There is nothing stopping people taking money from tourists as well as pursuing environmentally unfriendly activities” (qtd. in

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