 Eco-tourism (also known as adventure travel, sustainable tourism, responsible tourism, nature-based travel, green travel and cultural tourism) is the act of traveling responsibly to natural destinations that support the environment and enhance the welfare of the local community. Eco-tourism can also be defined as travel that does not negatively impact the environment. Eco-tourism is a term that encompasses a broad range of choices—how you get to your destination, where you sleep, what you eat and what you do while you're there.
True eco-tourism is defined by two factors:
- Tourism that is environmentally responsible.
- Tourism that improves the local community.
So, even if you go to a beautiful waterfall in a remote area, if your hike to the waterfall doesn't somehow improve the lives of the locals, it's not considered to be eco-tourism. If, however, you go on a rafting trip that is run by locals of the area, you'd be enjoying eco-tourism at its best.
Eco-tourism should also be sustainable, meaning that the tourist activities you partake in should not reduce the availability of resources or inhibit the ability of future travelers from having the same experience. The idea of tourism being sustainable is tricky because the more tourists go to a place, the more depletion will occur over time. Ecological systems have finite limits of the amount of stuff that they can tolerate, whether that stuff is tourists, waste, resource extraction or pollution.
The best eco-friendly hotels implement green features within their buildings, such as composting toilets, gray water recapturing systems and rainwater catchment systems, the use of green energy (like solar or wind) and energy-efficient lighting. Other features, like on-site organic gardens and community programs, are found at the best-of-the-best eco-friendly hotels.
Eco-tourism is all about uniting conservation with sustainable travel. According to The International Society for Eco-Tourism, the principles of eco-tourism include minimizing environmental impact, building environmental and cultural awareness and respect, providing positive experiences for both visitors and hosts, providing direct financial benefits for conservation and communities and to raise sensitivity to host countries political, environmental and social climates. Eco-tourism is about more than just visiting natural, pristine places. If you stay at a huge, conglomerate hotel and spend some time on a beautiful beach, that's not eco-tourism. Eco-tourism is a unique way of traveling so that your entire trip, from the moment you leave your home to the moment that you return, is eco-friendly.
Regardless of your destination, do your best to be as eco-friendly as possible. Buy local souvenirs, eat at local food, skip a rental car if you can and rent a hybrid rental car if personal transportation is necessary. Conserve resources on your trip and support local conservation organizations. EnviroCitizen.org has found that Eco-tourism really is what you make of it and the possibilities are endless.
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