Eco-Tourism

- Aritro Dasgupta

Relevant Quotes
Being the best kept secret is not a good

strategy when you are in the tourism

industry- David Kenney
The average tourist wants to go places
where there are no tourists- Sam Ewing

Origins of Ecotourism
Conventional tourism poses a lot of threats

to environment & society

To increase commercial viability, tourism
firms violate environmental & societal norms
at will
Leads to multi fold problems- environmental,
social, cultural, safety & even economic
These problems took time to be identified as
that can only be done over a period of time
when impacts start showing
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Origins of Ecotourism
Developing nations with a large number of

people below poverty line & with a heavy

reliance towards tourism for foreign
exchange, worst hit
Educated people presently are very
conscious about environment due to
increased awareness on topics like global
warming, climate change, sustainable
development, carbon footprint etc.
So need was felt for an alternate mode of
tourism which does not cause undue harm
to environment

Evolution
Up to the 1980s various terms were in

popular use to denote alternate tourismwildlife tourism, jungle tourism, sustainable

tourism etc.
Eco-tourism was one among half a dozen
odd such terms
It was Mexican environmentalist- Hector
Ceballos Lascurain-who popularized the
term
Eco-tourism over a period of time attained
a totally different meaning to the other
terms

Evolution
Globe 90 Conference in 1990 laid emphasis

on sustainable tourism
World Tourism Organization (representing
governments), World Travel & Tourism
Council (representing private players) & the
Earth Council (representing NGOs)
established Agenda 21- towards
environmentally sustainable tourism

Definition & Meaning

Ecotourism is a form of tourism involving

visiting fragile, pristine, and usually

protected areas, intended as a low impact
and often small scale alternative to
standard commercial (Mass) tourism
It has various criteria, following each of
which is necessary for the operators to be
accredited as an ecotourism venture
Should have multiple benefits Triple
Bottom Line concept
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Target Benefits of Ecotourism

Environmental
Social
Economic
Educational

Environmental
Minimum environmental damage
Off limit to plastic bags
No noise pollution zones; music from

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instruments allowed only up to minimum

permissible limits
Waste water treatment
Feeding or teasing of wild animals
(monkeys) strictly prohibited
Use of renewable, clean forms of energy
like wind or solar energy
Limited use of lights, dinner often under
candlelight

Environmental
Limited number of vehicles & operators allowed

for safari in the jungle

Limited honking of horns by those vehicles once
inside jungle
Some non-permanent structures constructed for
tourists accommodation to merge with the
ambience, & not create contrast with surrounding
forest
Basic accommodation; comforts to be provided
but no excess electronics like TVs
Use of wireless for communication so telephone
towers need not be constructed
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Social
Local empowerment
Revenue generation via tourism venture to

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remain in the area

Employment opportunities for the local
people
Indigenous technology
Encouragement of local industry
Removal of taboos & discriminatory
practices among people through exposure
to tourists
Due to employment opportunities, antisocial activities like poaching are curbed

Economic
Huge economic potential as educated

people looking for alternate, more peaceful

forms of tourism
Rates much higher to discourage mass
tourism, thus profit margins higher
In the guise of simplicity & earthiness, fixed
costs are often lower. eg: lower use of
electricity, fixed food options, locally
sourced material, local employees (no need
to recruit substantial number of hotel
professionals), simple room structures etc.
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Economic
Many indirect benefits as conservation

leads to better forests, which leads to

better capture of fresh water & protection
against natural calamities
Conservation can also provide international
reward points; form of niche tourism gives
better opportunities for international
recognition so greater chances of foreign
exchange

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Educational
Tourist must derive some learning; eco-

tourism not just for fun

Tourist must go back home with the
confidence & assurance of having
experienced wildlife & local culture in its
true form
Sensitization on socio-environmental issues

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Ecotourism Spectrum
Supply Factors: nature & resilience of

resources- cultural or local community

preferences & types of accommodation
Demand Factors: types of activities &
experiences- degree of interest in natural
or cultural resources & degree of physical
effort

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Continuum of Ecotourism
Paradigms

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Tourism Venn
Relationships Among Tourism Categories
Adventure
Tourism

Conventional
Tourism

Sustainable
Tourism

Ecotourism

c Green consulting

Voluntourism
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Nature Tourism

Ecotourism Principles
Minimizes negative impacts to the

environment & local people

Increases the awareness & understanding
of an areas natural & cultural systems &
subsequent involvement of visitors in
issues affecting those systems
Maximizes early & long-term participation
of local people in the decision making
process that determines the kind & amount
of tourism that should occur
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Ecotourism Principles
Contributes to conservation & management

of legally protected & other natural areas

Directs economic & other benefits to local
people that complement rather than
overwhelm or replace traditional practices
(farming, fishing, local systems etc.)
Provides special opportunity to local people
& nature tourism employees & learn more
about the wonders that other visitors come
to see
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12 Pillars of Sustainability

Source: UNEP & WTO 2005

APPA Framework
Method of creating & finalizing eco-tourism

destinations
Appreciative Participatory Planning & Action
(APPA)
Contains 4 components (4 Ds):
Discover
Dream
Design
Deliver

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Development of APPA
Developed by Mountain Institute
Developed the general management

concept of Participatory Learning & Action

(PLA) into the ecotourism concept of APPA
Empowers all stakeholders & participants
Promotes policies & activities based upon
capacities, skills & assets of participants &
environments which are creative &
innovative

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Underlying Philosophy
If you look for problems you will find them;

or conversely if you look for successes you

will find more successes.
If you have faith in your vision or ideas for
the future, and these are believable, then
you will be able to achieve success
(substantial progress) without waiting for
government or an outside donor to take
you there.

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Problem Solving Approaches

Problem Solving Approaches

Discover
Collective identification & valuing of good

things about a community as assets

Natural features, resources and attributes,
such as mountains, forests, landscape
Cultural sites, traditions, and history,
including festivals, local food and dress,
legends
Location and proximity to other tourism sites,
building upon regional assets
Accessibility: distance from main cities, air
service, road conditions, telephone service
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Discover
Popularity or fame of tourism assets:

national or international recognition

People skills/knowledge, technology: local
knowledge of plants and animals
Local institutions, their capabilities and
alliances: effective community mobilization
Access to financial assistance: availability
of credit, joint investment potential

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Dream
Collectively visualize how their community

can develop and benefit

Define what the community sees as the
desirable form and characteristics of
Community-Based Tourism in the future
Build upon the tourism assets and
strengths identified in Discovery
Give clear and positive direction to the
development of a community tourism plan

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Dream Questions
what types of visitors are coming
what they are attracted to
When are they coming
what they are doing
where they are staying
who is hosting or guiding them
who else is benefiting from their visit
how the attractions are managed and

maintained
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Design
Assess the products of the Dream phase

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against the objectives of Community-based

Tourism, and eliminate those that do not
meet these objectives
Selection of the most viable products or
sets of products
Strategy development for Communitybased Tourism through an assessment of
factors that contribute to success
Formulation of action plan(s) for
Community-based Tourism
Monitoring and Evaluation design

Design- Key Points

The value of prioritization (based on key

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objectives of community-based tourism)

and the role of elimination
What information do we have, do we need
more information, on what, how do we
collect this information
Analyzing information in designing tourism
activities assessing the factors that will
help lead to successful Community-based
Tourism
Generating action plans, identifying
responsibilities and resources

Deliver
Relevance significance with respect to

specific needs and issues

Effectiveness performance in relation to
objectives
Efficiency rate and cost at which activities
lead to results
Impact relevant ecological, economic,
social political consequences
Sustainability continuation of impacts
after external support is withdrawn
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Thank You

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