Imagine thescene. You’re sitting in the hot sunshine beside the swimming pool of yourinternational luxury hotel, drinking your imported gin and tonic. In front ofyou is the beach, reserved for hotel guests with motor boats for hire. Behindyou is an 18-hole golf course, which was cleared from the native forest and iskept green by hundreds of water sprinklers. Around the hotel are familiarinternational restaurant chains and the same shops that you have at home. You’veseen some local people—some of them sell local handicrafts outside the hotel.You bought a small wooden statue and after arguing for half an hour you paidonly a quarter of what the man was asking. Really cheap!

 

Isthis your idea of heaven or would you prefer something different?

 

 

Nowadays,many of us try to live in a way that will damage the environment as little aspossible. We recycle our newspapers and bottles, we take public transport toget to work, we try to buy locally produced fruit and vegetables and we stoppedusing aerosol sprays years ago. And we want to take these attitudes on holidaywith us. This is why alternative forms of tourism are becoming more popular allover the world.

 

Butwhat is ecotourism?

 

Thereare lots of names for these new forms of tourism: responsible tourism,alternative tourism, sustainable tourism, nature tourism, adventure tourism,educational tourism and more. Ecotourism probably involves a little of all ofthem. Everyone has a different definition but most people agree that ecotourismmust:conservethe wildlife and culture of the area;benefit the local people and involve the local community;be sustainable, that is make a profit without destroying natural resources;provide an experience that tourists want to pay for.

 

So,for example, in a true ecotourism project, a nature reserve allows a smallnumber of tourists to visit its rare animals and uses the money that isgenerated to continue with important conservation work. The local people havejobs in the nature reserve as guides and wardens, but also have a voice in howthe project develops. Tourists stay in local houses with local people, not inspecially built hotels. So they experience the local culture and do not takeprecious energy and water away from the local population. They travel on foot,by boat, bicycle or elephant so that there is no pollution. And they have aspecial experience that they will remember all of their lives.

 

 

Butbefore you get too enthusiastic, think about how you are going to get to yourdream “eco” paradise. Flying is one of the biggest man-made sources of carbondioxide in the atmosphere.  say that one return flight fromLondon to Miami puts as much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere as the averageBritish car driver produces in a year. So don’t forget that you don’t have tofly to exotic locations for your “eco” holiday. There are probably places ofnatural beauty and interest in your own country that you’ve never visited.