Transport and tourism

• Eco-tourists

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Tourism and the environment can be mutually supportive

In a number of destinations, tourism helps to ensure higher water quality and better protection of nature. It can generate additional resources to invest in environmental infrastructures and services.

A social dimension

Eco-tourism also has an active social dimension. It seeks to benefit local communities by giving them control over how the tourism develops, and by helping locals to use their lands and resources in more sustainable ways.

A growing industry

Ecotourism has become one of the fastest growing sectors in the tourism industry, growing annually by 10-15 percent worldwide.

But be careful...

“Greenwashing” is a key problem in the industry, meaning that some agencies use the term “eco travel” much too loosely.

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2. What does it mean (1 of 4)

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  Ecotourism can be defined as “Responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being of local people.” It is a growing niche market, but its elusive and multifaceted nature makes it difficult to measure its size and market share. An extremely rough estimate of the world’s international ecotourism arrivals (notwithstanding the domestic visitors to natural areas) would be 7 percent of all tourism arrivals, which is expected to amount to 70 million visitors in 2010.
  • Report: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030, p412
  • Ecotourism.org: What is Ecotourism?
  • Untamed Path: Defining Ecotourism

• 1. Tourism and the environment can be mutually supportive

     • Report: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030

  2. A social dimension

     • Report: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030
     • The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) (pdf)

  3. A growing industry

     • Wikipedia - ecotourism

  4. But be careful...

     • Wikipedia - ecotourism
     • Untamed Path: The Greenwashing Of The Travel Industry

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