Ecotourism

5 Pages 1307 Words

Ecotourism
There are two related, but distinct, economic concepts in ecotourism: economic impact and economic value. This paper focuses on economic impact, which refers to the change in sales, income, jobs, or other parameter generated by ecotourism. A common ecotourism goal is the generation of economic benefits, whether they are profits for companies, jobs for communities, or revenues for parks. Ecotourism plays a particularly important role because it can create jobs in remote regions that historically have benefited less from economic development programs than have more populous areas. Even a small number of jobs may be significant in communities where populations are low and alternatives are few.
This economic impact can increase political and financial support for conservation. Protected areas, and nature conservation generally, provide many benefits to society, including preservation of biodiversity, maintenance of watersheds, and so on. Unfortunately, many of these benefits are intangible. However, the benefits associated with recreation and tourism in protected areas tends to be tangible. For example, divers at a marine park spend money on lodging, food, and other goods and services, thereby providing employment for local and non-local residents. These positive economic impacts can lead to increased support for the protected areas with which they are associated. This is one reason why ecotourism has been embraced as a means for enhancing conservation of natural resources. Several studies in Australia and elsewhere have assessed the economic impacts of ecotourism. Predictably, the level of benefits varies widely as a result of differences in the quality of the attraction, access, and so on. In some cases, the number of jobs created will be low, but in rural areas even a few jobs can make a big difference.
Still, ecotourism benefits should not be oversold, or there may be a backlash as reality fails to live up to expectati...