What is ecotourism? “Ecotourism” is a very broad term. It may include visitors to public national parks, volunteers for community projects, or adventurous expeditions to remote regions. Some may even include hunting safaris.
People Also Ask
Camping, hiking, and wildlife viewing are all examples of ecotourism. A specific example of ecotourism would be visiting Tanzania to see native wildlife.
Both soft and hard ecotourism revolve around traveling to natural environments while limiting your environmental impact. One could argue that soft ecotourism is more economically and culturally sustainable, but does not offer a truly wild experience as hard ecotourism does.
The Four 'Cs' of EcotourismIn order to structure a framework around this interpretation of ecotourism we have adopted the 4Cs philosophy of the Zeitz Foundation: Conservation, Community, Culture and Commerce. The principles of each C are explored briefly below.
If tourism is “uncontrolled” and “threatens“ natural areas, it is NOT ecotourism. Greenwashing is rampant in travel and tourism. But if there is greenwashing, it is NOT ecotourism. A staged experience like a theme park is NOT ecotourism, even if it claims to be eco-friendly and researchers are involved.
However, many people don't realize that a lot of these tourist attractions are not actually sustainable. Cage diving with sharks, elephant rides, tiger petting, and even whale watching often come with their own set of consequences that are harmful to the surrounding wildlife.
Safari, in a broader sense, means exploring the wild, especially on the African land. Hence the bosses at Apple might have connected the name 'Safari' as a means to navigate or explore the web. Ohh – Navigate or Explore sound great but both these were already taken! So they settled for 'Safari'.
Ecotourism is about more than simply visiting natural attractions or natural places; it's about doing so in a responsible and sustainable manner. The term itself refers to traveling to natural areas with a focus on environmental conservation.