What are the problems with so called “Ecotourism?”?
Genuine eco-tourism is an effective (not perfect) way for rich folks to share some of their wealth and to not cause to much damage in the process. Not all of what is labelled eco-tourism is genuine. Some eco-tourism is in rich countries and really its purpose is to allow as many people as possible to see an environment as possible without destroying it. This is important as people find it difficult to value things they can’t see for themselves. And some environments are really quite fragile eg alpine ones. Some eco tourism is in less developed countries and might equally be called cultural tourism as often it is as much the local culture that is being offered. Too many people come to see and the culture soon changes. To be successful the number of visitors has to be limited and the money flow restricted. Even then what is the point for the culture being visited if it cannot profit from it? If it profits from it it cannot help but change. In a well run model, less than half of the tour
