What is Ecotourism?

What Does it Really Mean?

On it's most basic level, ecotourism is travel that leaves the smallest possible impact on the environment. On a slightly larger scale, ecotourism can be a pretty broad term; if you check out the definition by Conservation International, or even the United Nations, you'll find two variations on what ecotourism means, but the idea is always the same.

Everyone seems to call it something different as well. Ecotourism, eco-travel, sustainable travel, responsible tourism; whatever you decide to call it, the important thing to remember is that everywhere you go is going to be a little different, and the exact definition and possibilities for ecotourism will change along with your location.

Positive Impacts of Ecotourism

Discover Nature

A vast majority of eco-friendly travel packages are built around nature/bio-diversity tours. That can be anything from scuba diving off in some exotic locale, spotting elephants on an African safari, or trekking through a rainforest on foot. One of the best ways to help maintain the environment is to learn more about it, and the best way to learn about something is to experience it first hand.

Family-friendliness is a driving ideal of ecotourism as well; these are adventures to share with your kids, and there is no denying the broad educational aspect of these outings.

Get Active

Physical activity is a large part of ecotourism. After all, the more you work off of your own energy, the less you'll take from the surrounding environment. Nature tours aside, the best way to really experience any place is to physically immerse yourself in it as much as possible.

And if walking through cities and hiking through forests isn't quite enough for you, trips involving more extreme forms of motion are available to those of us with a penchant for living dangerously. Rock climbing, repelling, even hang gliding can be a part of your eco-friendly vacation.

Improve People's Lives

By working with smaller, locally based tour guides, hotels, and resorts, you'll be making a huge impact on the economy wherever you go. You'll be providing jobs for locals, which will improve their quality life, and in turn improve the environment where they live.

Negative Impacts of Large Scale Tourism

Over Usage of Natural Resources

No one is going to deny the intense euphoria of visiting a theme park; they're family friendly, the kids go nuts, the rides are fun, the scenery awesome, and it's always nice to close out your day with a fireworks show. However, a weekend (or even one day) at a theme park isn't exactly conducive to eco-friendliness.

While a lot of theme parks have made concerted efforts to reduce their waste and energy usage, the issue is large scale, mass-tourist destinations in general.

When most large scale resorts are built, it places a heavy load on the environment, potentially breaking down local bio-systems and endangering the animals that inhabit them, all the while releasing harmful emissions during construction.

The idea of sustainable travel isn't for travelers to stop going to tourist hot-spots or make any concessions while traveling; it's about having the option to do things in a healthier way for yourself and the environment.

EVO's Eco-Travel Tips

Why These Companies?

The companies offering travel packages that we've decided to feature on our site all abide with the general rules of ecotourism without compromising the potential of your vacation. Whether you plan on roughing through the rainforest in Brazil or relaxing in fancy hotel in Spain, you'll find what you're looking for in one of these companies while minimizing the environmental impact of your vacation.

General Ecotourism Tips

Here are some things to be mindful of if you want to make sure your trip remains green without compromising the potential of your vacation.

Hotels/Resorts :: Eco-friendly hotels tend to be smaller operations than their counterparts. Employing local workers and getting their food from local suppliers are paramount issues, since improving local economies is always a big step towards eco-librium.

Larger hotels tend to waste copious amounts of water. Something that seems as inconsequential as washing sheets too often or the maintenance of golf courses can all drastically overuse water. For several tourist destinations, that means water shortages for the local eco-system and population.

Try and find out if the hotel your staying at has water & energy saving policies and what they do with their waste and recyclable items.

Tours/Tour guides :: The key word here is local. Working with smaller, locally based tour operators is best way to insure a more personal understanding of the place you're visiting and a smaller impact on the environment. In many cases the best tour guides are local villagers, and it's these individuals who tend to know the area best anyways.

Carbon Offsetting :: Some ecotourism locales and travel packages will have programs in place for carbon offsetting on a local level. Some hotels and resorts will donate some of their income into these programs, while others may take a more hands on approach by simply planting more trees for every visitor that comes through their doors.

Longer Vacations Less Often :: Taking one long flight over the course of a year is going to be substantially less detrimental to the planet than taking a bunch of short ones. Stay a bit more local for those weekend getaways; if you're visiting San Francisco from Los Angeles, book a train instead of a flight or driving. A couple of hundred people riding a train will be more efficient than a couple hundred cars on the freeway.

Things to Remember

Because it's still a budding movement, ecotourism can be a really broad term. The exact definition, potential, and need for sustainability is going to differ slightly everywhere you go.

The companies we've looked at and feature throughout our travel section are all strong launching points, but ultimately it is up to the individual traveler how big (or hopefully small) of an impact your vacation has on the environment.

Eco-Tourism Resources

Check out these companies and programs to learn more about ecotourism and sustainable travel.

Lonely Planet :: As passionate travelers, it makes sense to give back to the incredible places that have inspired us for so many years. Through the Lonely Planet Foundation, we commit 5% of our annual profit to our charity partners around the globe. The charities we support are based mainly in the developing world, and focus first and foremost on health and education and secondarily on conservation and environmentalism.

World Travel & Tourism Council :: Humanity is facing new challenges. With its close ties to the natural, social and cultural environment, Travel & Tourism has a significant responsibility and role to play, not only in global dialogue, but more importantly in implementing solutions which will lead to a better use of our limited resources. Recently, at the 2007 Tourism for Tomorrow Awards, four destinations and businesses were recognized for their achievements in furthering the industry while keeping the environment on their mind and exemplifying these ideals.

Sustainable Travel International :: Conscientious consumers are now demanding best practices within the travel industry that protect the places they visit, and the planet at large. In response to this demand, Sustainable Travel International has developed the Sustainable Tourism Eco-Certification Program™ (STEP) and is working with NSF International to offer this voluntary initiative that's designed to assist travel and tourism providers in measuring and managing their impacts.