In LA ecotourism often:

 

• Guides have no preparation beyond knowing the name of wildlife.

•   When they are more prepared is often because they are natives.

•  In these cases their knowledge about the environment in good but they lack the

•  abilities to convey it and to deal with people coming from the first world.

 

• There is no there genuine effort to help the local economies.

 

• Resources are left intact for future generations.

 

• Many companies do not follow what they agreed with the tourists and there are

•  understanding problems between tourist and the company.

 

•There is a lack of independent labeling and evaluation processes.

 

• White manager. Indigenous or mestizo guide.

 

 

¿Do you have any experience of ecotourism?

 

 

Ecotourism often works best when it is controlled by community cooperative

 

•When communities become the beneficiaries

•   and custodians of their biodiversity, they are

•   much more likely to preserve it.

 

• Land tenure is one prerequisite to providing

•   an incentive to preserve biodiversity.

•   It involves local communities in the

•   decision-making process.

 

• Local landowners are less likely to support large scale “development” plans such as

•  dams, roads or harbors. Ej: “Hidrovia” promoters were landowners from outside.

 

• Empowering women.

•  The sociologist Deborah Tannen has shown that women are more community-minded

•  that men, regardless of cultural differences.

•  In many cultures men work outside and yield most of the power. An educated women is

•  more likely to be interested in the long-term welfare of the community and natural

•  environment.

 

• Foreign NGO´s tend to run short term projects.

 

In LA ecotourism often:

 

• Guides have no preparation beyond knowing the name of wildlife.

•   When they are more prepared is often because they are natives.

•  In these cases their knowledge about the environment in good but they lack the

•  abilities to convey it and to deal with people coming from the first world.

 

• There is no there genuine effort to help the local economies.

 

• Resources are left intact for future generations.

 

• Many companies do not follow what they agreed with the tourists and there are

•  understanding problems between tourist and the company.

 

•There is a lack of independent labeling and evaluation processes.

 

• White manager. Indigenous or mestizo guide.

 

 

¿Do you have any experience of ecotourism?

 

 

Ecotourism often works best when it is controlled by community cooperative

 

•When communities become the beneficiaries

•   and custodians of their biodiversity, they are

•   much more likely to preserve it.

 

• Land tenure is one prerequisite to providing

•   an incentive to preserve biodiversity.

•   It involves local communities in the

•   decision-making process.

 

• Local landowners are less likely to support large scale “development” plans such as

•  dams, roads or harbors. Ej: “Hidrovia” promoters were landowners from outside.

 

• Empowering women.

•  The sociologist Deborah Tannen has shown that women are more community-minded

•  that men, regardless of cultural differences.

•  In many cultures men work outside and yield most of the power. An educated women is

•  more likely to be interested in the long-term welfare of the community and natural

•  environment.

 

• Foreign NGO´s tend to run short term projects.

 

 

Costa Rica has created a robust ecotourism industry and preserved its National

but in those parks the land is being pressured by large- and small-scale agriculture.

Costa Rica has one of the highest deforestation rates in the world so the parks

are becoming islands.

 

Costa Rica´s $700 million nature tourism has surpassed coffee and sugar as a source

of income.

 

Ecuador is the other LA country where ecotourism generates an important income.

 

To evaluate ecotourism the system should include some non conventional indicators

like non-financial indicators, sustainability indicators etc.

 

Ecotourism fastest growing sector of the global tourism industry.

 

Requires the burning of large amounts of fuel for boats, jets etc.

to reach the often far away sites.

 

Other frequent terms

The main distinction between these terms is the motives and ethics behind them. 

 

Adventure Travel:   While travel to another country is often adventurous it is not

necessarily "Adventure Travel".  Most dictionaries define adventure similarly:

"an unusual experience including some level of risk and uncertainty". 

"Adventure Travel" includes this idea of risk and oftentimes some unconventional

means of transport.  A dugout canoe journey deep into the Amazon basin

with it's attendant difficulties meets this definition. "Soft" and  "Hard" adventures.

 

Sustainable Tourism:   Any form of tourism that

does not reduce the availability of resources

and does not inhibit future travelers from enjoying

 the same experience. 

 

Responsible Tourism:   Tourism which operates

in such a way as to minimize negative impacts

on the environment. "Leave No Trace" ethics

 

Nature-Based Tourism:   A more generic term for

any activity or travel experience with a focus on nature.

Large jungle lodges fall into this category as do cruise

ships to view penguins in Antarctica. 

These types of trips may or may not be environmentally sustainable or responsible

 

Green Tourism:    Often used inter-changeably with eco-tourism and sustainable

tourism  but more accurately described as "any activity or facility operating in an

environmentally friendly fashion". 

A lodge with composting toilets, gray water system, and solar powered lighting is

probably "green".  There are varying degrees of "greenness"; an awareness of where

resources are coming from and where wastes are going is at the heart of the idea.     

                                                                           

Multi-Sport Adventures:    These trips have a focus on physical outdoor activities. 

Rafting, mountain biking, climbing, surfing, diving, etc. all offered in the same package. 

Not necessarily sustainable or eco but might be since

many companies want to protect the areas where these

activities take place.

 

Cultural Tourism:   Interacting with and observing unique

cultures is the focus of this style of trip. 

The concept of learning from other cultures to broaden

ones perspective is usually a core value.

An artisan showing you how to weave a tapestry and

learning from them about their traditional dress would be a

form of cultural tourism. 

Buying crafts in the market with no more interaction

than the exchange of money does not provide the insight

 into another culture that is the central theme of cultural

 tourism