Saturday, February 20, 2010

Eco Tourism - The Future of Tourism

Eco Tourism - The Future of Tourism

Nature-based traveling has existed in the world for centuries, but it is only lately that it has been given a name-eco tourism. This form of tourism is predominantly tourism for the appreciation of nature. People who go on these tours head out to places that are naturally beautiful in some way or the other. They might be the Amazonian rainforests or the Hawaiian coral reefs or the sand dunes of the Great Australian Desert or the savannahs in Africa. Or, these people might go to view animals and birds in their natural habitat. They may go out in the seas to see whales or dolphins or manatees. All these are forms of eco-friendly tourism. This is the form of tourism that is currently in vogue.

What Does Ecological Tourism Entail?

The first and foremost requirement of such a form of tourism is to create awareness about nature in the minds of the travelers. The people who travel are interested in seeing nature in its real, unblemished glory, that's as untouched by humans as can be. They want to check out how earth was before humankind stepped on it.

People who head out on such tours go as naturally as possible. Most of them won't even take their electronic gadgets, especially if they are going to spoil the environment they are heading off to. They camp out under the sky as far as possible and live as nature ordained humans to do.

Eco tourism doesn't just mean viewing the sights of nature. It also means being as harmonious with the naturally beautiful place that the people are touring. These people visit the place and then move out of it, without leaving any mark or sign that they had been there. The whole point of ecologically-friendly tourism is to learn that, if needed, humans can be as unobtrusive to the environment as possible.

What Are the Benefits of Ecological Tourism?

The first benefit is that people learn about the nature of a country. The bulk of such tours are within the same country. Hence, these tours are a means for people of the country to understand how their own nature keeps them. Some people who are international travelers get to see a glimpse of how diverse nature can be in other parts of the world. The best thing about such tourism is that it can be a great learning experience, and also a humbling one, when one sees how marvelously nature has managed itself without any human intrusion whatsoever.

Then there is also the fact that eco tourism is big business. More than 125 nations today earn a large share of their national income through their tourism industry. These countries promote their nature destinations for international tourists and manage the whole affair so that their nature remains unspoiled.

Such tourism also helps people become more geographically and culturally aware. Since they usually travel to parts of the world that they haven't seen before, they also get to interact with people of a different culture. Once again, it becomes a learning experience that helps broaden the minds of the travelers.

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