The Costs of Ecotourism in the Global Community - Term Paper Example

Ecotourism Introduction The boom in the holiday market gave rise to a lot of leisure activities within the boundaries of tourism. In the recent years, the world had seen a rapid growth of revenue derived from these activities. Notably, these huge influx of revenue was spurred by the expansion of one segment-ecotourism. (Clayton 2004) Currently, ecotourism brings large profits to "ecotourism" companies as well as provide leisure to individuals seeking "ecological adventures." The popularity of ecotourism as an activity has been exploited by profit maximizing firms and utility seeking individuals for their mutual benefit. (Ecobits and Ecopieces 2002) However, the costs of ecotourism have become a controversial issue among different sectors and institutions in the global society. Even though ecotourism is seen to promote ecological awareness for travelers and serve as a significant revenue generator for rural societies, a lot of people question its real function in the community. Some groups like Tourism Concern in UK argued that ecotourism harms the environment, together with the people in it. (Ecobits and Ecopieces 2002) This paper aims to further explore the costs of ecotourism in the global community. In order to fully understand ecotourism, this paper will first tackle its definition and cite specific activities pertaining to it. The next section will then lay down the costs associated with this activity by specifying the harms it brings to the environment, to people, and the society as a whole. The paper will then offer an analysis on each argument and will conclude with a summary of its findings. What is Ecotourism Currently, the word ecotourism is used loosely in conversations. "Ecotourism" is often used to denote activities involving nature. "Ecotourism" can designate a wide array of activity like mountain climbing, water rafting, and other ecological explorations. However, it can be surprising to find out that various ecotourism institutions give definitions which are way to far from the colloquial perception. Ecotourism means "ecological tourism," which possesses both "ecological" and "social" connotations. Ecotourism can denote both "concept/tourism movement" and as a "tourism sector (Ecotourism 2005)." The existence of ecotourism dates back in the late 1980s and United Nations declared the year 2002 as the International Year of Tourism. During that year, the UN has recognized the impact of ecotourism in the global community and aimed to promote a "sustainable tourism (International Year of Ecotourism 2002)." The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) defines ecotourism as "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well being of local people (What is Ecotourism 2004)." This also implies that people who implement and take part in this "responsible travel" should adhere to principles so as promote the objectives of ecotourism. With this consideration, companies and participants alike are required to "minimize" their impact to the ecological society visited. Ecotourism activities should also be designed to establish environmental and cultural awareness and respect, as well as provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts. Since ecotourism is geared to develop the "destination," it should be able to benefit the society financially for the conservation of the environment. Ecotourism is also promoted to boost the traveler's sensitivity to host countries' political, environmental, and social climate. Aside from generating income for the host society, ecotourism is also seen to enhance the economy through the generation of employment opportunities (What is Ecotourism 2004). Ecotourism in this sense sounds almost perfect. It seems to pertain to a fruitful activity which is mutually beneficial to all the stakeholders in the tourism industry. However, the real world situation is far from the definition given and the significant principles in it are not properly adhered to failing in its main task to become a "sustainable tourism." Scott-Bey (2000) asserted that in order to for ecotourism to become an acceptable tool in sustainable development is should be "economically viable, ecologically nave, ecologically sensitive and socially accepted by native people." These considerations however, are lacking as evidenced by the empirical situations cited in the next section. The Cost of Ecotourism Ecotourism has a significant impact in the global community. Irrefutably, this activity has brought both positive and negative spillovers in the economic, environmental, cultural, and even in the social aspects of the host countries. These impacts are now more largely felt as more and more ecological havens are opened up and ecotourism expands. The main issues nowadays are centered on the costs of tourism and the harm it brings. (Lusseau 2004) Costa Rica is known is regarded as one of the primary site of ecotourism in the world. Aside from this, the country is also known as an active promoter of its natural heritage through environmental conservation. Costa Rica is known for its wide array of flora and fauna and "untouched wilderness." The country's tourism industry is unquestionably one of its primary income generators (Ecotourism: Natural History 2004). However, this country also exhibits how ecotourism has become a front by profit maximizing businessmen who earns in the expense of the community and biodiversity. Ecotourists, as one of the principles of ecotourism asserts are responsible in minimizing their impact to an ecological haven (What is Ecotourism 2004). Ecotourism destinations are often ecosystems which were carefully maintained for a long time and are very susceptible to change through the subtlest manipulation (Scot Bey 2000). This will mean leaving the destination the same way as they find it, "leaving only footprints and taking only memories." However, it is irrefutable that the whole process of ecotourism disrupts the natural functioning of the ecosystem. Ecotourists are often unaware of how uncaring they become while visiting ecotourism destinations. These individuals are often not ecological minded enough to consider the impact of the actions on the environment. The mere presence of travelers in ecological site often brings disturbance to the ecosystem and is often amplified as the species' breeding and feeding processes are bothered (Fernandez-Juric E et al 2000). Ecotourism has become a solution in raising revenue for a developing country. In order to hide the exploitation behind this, it is argued that ecotourism will generate money to preserve and conserve the natural environment as well as the diverse species in it. Ecotourism has been widely utilized as a viable way for third world countries to "commoditize" their ecosystems in order to "cultivate' economic resources (Scot Bey 2000). However, we can see how deceitful it is in the real sense. Ecotourism often involves opening up the "untouched" ecological havens in the country in order to market it to the "eco-friendly" tourists who can afford to pay for an ecological visit. As legislators put it, the money which will be poured into ecotourism will be used to preserve the biodiversity along with all the flora and fauna in the tourist destination (About Ecotourism 2003). This doesn't make sense at all as conservation and preservation of ecological havens should mean leaving the ecosystem undisturbed. Intervention of the functioning of the environment by opening them up to a bunch of ecotourists is one way of not "conserving" and "preserving" these ecological spots. These cannot be remedied by simply putting up and raising funds to repair the damages and harm imparted to the ecotourism destination. Real protection and preservation does not simply pertain to establishing recovery plans once the site gets damaged but by sticking to a policy which will hinder the intrusion in protected areas. Also, one of the economic issues in ecotourism is a "top-down" distribution of profit. It can be noted that almost all ecotourism destinations in the world are found in developing countries where vast expanse of ecosystems remain untouched while visitors are often from first world nations seeking relaxation from the heavily industrialized environment they are used to (Scot Bey 2000). Logically, hosts countries should take the bulk of the money spent on ecological visits but in contrast the largest share of the revenue from ecotourism is reaped by the country of origin. These are accounted for by travel arrangements, travel agents, merchandise, transportation, and other pre-travel services procured (Eco-tourism 2000). Even within the host country, large travel companies have headquarters located in the country of origin due to the incapacity of the smaller companies to accommodate all the needs of the needs of the ecotourists. Since these large companies are not often concern with the environmental issues faced by the host countries, their main aim is to attract as many tourists as possible to gain substantial income. Ecotourism functions as opposed to its aim of generating livelihood and raising revenue to rural societies where ecological destinations are located. For one, the very "economic nature" of ecotourism makes it a very cumbersome business venture. People living in these isolated places are often clueless of how to make a living through ecotourism (Scot Bey 2000). These individuals are often satisfied in serving as a tour guides to ecotourists, unable to exploit other income generating opportunities. This also inhibits spending within these ecological communities. It is also important to note that tourists cannot spend a huge of money in the wilderness as there are only "little ways to spend money in the wilderness." From this analysis it can be deduced that most of the monetary benefits are channeled to the country of the tourists and not to the host country. As the revenue generated by the ecotourism sector is concentrated in the country of origin, the fund which is supposed to be used for preservation and conservation of the ecology is not allocated efficiently to serve its proper purpose. The result here is that elite countries gains from ecotourism while exploiting developing countries' workforce as a source of cheap labor. (Scot Bey 2000) Conclusion Ecotourism as an industry has expanded to cater to the growing demand for ecological leisure activities. Data from different part of the globe reveals its increasing viability as a revenue generating sector. However, from the above analysis it can be seen that the negative externalities of ecotourism are often shouldered by the host country. These undesirable impacts are seen in the form of ecological disruption, leading to the impossibility of sustainability. This paper also imparted how ecotourism has become a profitable venture for large companies in the developed countries. It has revealed that the bulk of money spent for ecological travel is often channeled to the tourists' country of origin and not to the host country. This implies that large, often foreign owned companies reap more profits than the local ecotourism industry. Ecotourism should be closely evaluated to fully understand its costs and benefits to the society. It can be seen that the costs associated with it are often carried by the host country while those few large companies take all the benefits. In this way, ecotourism is a viable way to generate profit at the expense of the biodiversity while its promise of environmental protection and conservation is all a lie. Bibliography About Ecotourism 2003. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://www.uneptie.org/pc/tourism/ecotourism/home.htm Clayton, Mark 2004. Global Ecotourism: Is it Really Green or Just More Greenwashing Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://www.organicconsumers.org/corp/ecotourism Ecobits and Ecopieces 2002. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://ecoclub.com/news/38/world.html Eco-tourism 2000. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://www.learningafrica.org.uk/downloads/casestudy_ecotourism.pdf Ecotourism 2005. Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecotourism Ecotourism: A Natural History 2004. 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Retrieved October 27, 2005, from http://www.gdrc.org/uem/eco-tour/Final-Report-WES-Eng.pdf Read More