ECOTOURISM – IS IT REALLY MAKING A POSITIVE CHANGE OR IS IT JUST A NAME CHANGE?
With sustainability becoming a word associated with almost all aspects of life, there is yet again a new aspect that it has touched. Ecotourism involves traveling to local areas in a responsible way .It can help in minimizing negative impacts on the environment and can economically support local communities . It also provides tourists first-hand knowledge about environment and culture of places that are less travelled by.
However , in leu of the benefits that it can provide ,we can’t deny the harm that ecotourism may cause for local communities and economically weaker countries .For instance, In Costa Rica in order to develop more ecotourism attractions , lands have been taken from local populations . Ecotourism in a way leads to cultural voyeurism and it can also affect the privacy of indigenous people . In addition to this , in practical life it may not create a lot of difference for climate as it appears on text , like the amount of fuel to reach the destination and to travel around is not changed . Furthermore, some companies may claim to be engaged in eco-tourism but may not be actually practicing it . In today’s world it is also referred to as greenwashing .
In a nutshell , ecotourism is an upcoming branch of tourism which has like everything in this universe both advantages and disadvantages . While it has several shortcomings, it will be unfair to conclude it as failure in a time when climate change is dominating . Each step towards sustainability needs to be encouraged but on the same hand regulations are necessary in order to prevent greenwashing and to prevent it to be tourism with just a name change having no impact .
By: Harbani Kaur Chandhok
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