Ecotourism in the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica and Tanzania
When it comes to the topic of ecotourism, most of us will readily agree that it is a less harmful alternative to mass-tourism and that it promotes responsible and low-impact travel to areas where flora, fauna and cultural heritage are the primary drawing power. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of what the impact of ecotourism actually is and what its long-term consequences are. Whereas some are convinced that ecotourism provides the basis for sustainable development, particularly in places that suffer from exploitation and excessive resources’ usage, and that could only improve the general conditions of the local people, others maintain that we are still far from true ecotourism, for many are those in the tourism business who market as ecotourism what is actually nothing short of a green varnished conventional tourism. In order to gain a deeper understanding of this thorny issue it is fundamental to examine the experience of the countries that have, at least in theory, profusely embraced ecotourism, evaluating its natural and social impact on fragile environments, and the national cases of the Galapagos Islands, Costa Rica and Tanzania provide notable examples of how the success, or failure, of ecotourism is greatly determined by the extent to which national laws and development strategies are implemented.
Ecotourism is a form of tourism in which the conservation and preservation of the natural environment have a major emphasis, as well as the improvement of the well being of the local people and the building of cultural awareness through an ecologically and socially-centered behavior. These were the main motives behind the adoption of ecotourism in the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of beautiful volcanic islands located six hundred miles from continental Ecuador. As one of the most precious ecosystems in the world, the Galapagos are often cited as the place where ecotourism originated; in fact, as a guidebook puts it, “[t]ourists
Ecotourism is a form of tourism in which the conservation and preservation of the natural environment have a major emphasis, as well as the improvement of the well being of the local people and the building of cultural awareness through an ecologically and socially-centered behavior. These were the main motives behind the adoption of ecotourism in the Galapagos Islands, an archipelago of beautiful volcanic islands located six hundred miles from continental Ecuador. As one of the most precious ecosystems in the world, the Galapagos are often cited as the place where ecotourism originated; in fact, as a guidebook puts it, “[t]ourists