Ecotourism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Ecotourism - Essay Example Particularly, the word â€Å"ecotourism† came into being in the late 1980s due to the world’s reaction and acknowledgement of global ecological practices and sustainable practices (Honey, 2008). This paper will seek to describe the emergence of ecotourism, current approaches to ecotourism, products of ecotourism, and provide a brief reflection on ways in which the provided approaches can ensure that the potential of ecotourism can deliver sustainable tourism development. Emergence of Ecotourism The term â€Å"ecotourism† defines responsible travel by visitors to natural areas, which conserves the environment in addition to improving the welfare of the local people. In many countries, the development of ecotourism was not an exemplified phenomenon (Hingham, 2007). The late 1980s show that ecotourism was an unknown entity which was beginning to gain grip in the popular lexicon (Fennell & Dowling, 2003). The ever-heating debate over tourism and environment spurred t he growth of ecotourism since environmental policymakers were enthusiastic about establishing an ecologically sustained development of ecotourism (Raina, 2005). The potential market base for ecotourism appeared small at first, but as time went by, it indicated large-scale growth. Nevertheless, this niche concept revolutionized ecotourism on the onset of 1990s when the term â€Å"ecotourism† became a basic building block of the tourism industry and other sectors such as travelling public and private agencies responsible for promoting tourism products. After striking a chord with these sectors, ecotourism turned into a travelling buzzword (Goeldner & Ritchie, 2009). When ecotourism secured a place in the minds of many academicians and industry leaders, governments with the aid of the directly involved institutions and agents brought about numerous policies that aimed at increasing growth and developing this sector. As such, they formed conferences that led to the establishment of both national and regional ecotourism associations (Rauschelbach & Forum International, 2002). This was due to the explosion of interests in the ecotourism. Simultaneously, this period is crucial in the ecotourism business as it saw not only an immense explosion of interests in ecotourism but also a rapid growth in the number of people taking ecotourism business to the next level, and the emergence of specialized tour operators, both retailers and wholesalers, who marketed ecotourism products. As of today, the ecotourism sector is still emerging even after a long series of introducing new flavors into the business (Fennel, 2007). Ecotourism has gained favor as an ideal form of sustainable development mainly because of its ability to advocate sustainability measures through its agents. Additionally, ecotourism is so favorable within the sustainable development framework since its ideal goal is to attain a sustained development through tourism activities (Patterson, 2007). Current Approaches to Ecotourism Development Generally, sustainability is not achievable in cases where capital expansion continues to increase the ranks of the poor people and impedes their ability to access resources required for mere survival. In that respect, it is understandable that people need profound changes in order for them to facilitate strategies of sustainable de