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The Concept Of Ecotourism And Its Effects On The Environment

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The concept of Ecotourism ( a concept pioneered during the early 1970’s to combat the negative impacts of mass tourism) is defined as “environmentally conscious, enlightening travel, to relatively undisturbed natural areas in order to enjoy and appreciate nature, while promoting local environmental conservation…and providing local socio-economic benefits through the participation of the local communities”. Responsible ecotourism programs are those that (1) minimize negative aspects of mass tourism on the environment, (2) contributes to environmental preservation efforts, (3) is economically beneficial for the local population and, (4) educates the tourist themselves. Ecotourism today is one of the tourism industry 's fastest growing subsector, with an estimated global annual growth of 15-19%. With this much money involved, governments as well as, tourism corporations heavily promote ecotourism programs, with their claims of environmental and social sensitivity but, there exist well founded concerns on its actual environmental impact, and whether it is viable as a solution to the world 's environmental problems. In this paper we will try to dissect the supposed benefits brought by ecotourism and provide an alternative and more viable solution.

We will start by attacking the claim (1) which is that ecotourism minimizes the negative aspects of mass tourism. Due to the fact that environmental regulations in areas where ecotourism programs are often badly implemented or

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