Saturday, July 7, 2007

A Tourism No-No: Why Ecotourism is Bad

If you love the environment, perhaps an idea of yours is to spend a vacation in the wilderness, or a place with natural wonders, such as the Grand Canyon. You are not alone in this, because more and more people like the idea of spending time in an environment free from cars, traffic, and tall buildings. However, while ecotourism was initially invented to help preserve the environment, there are actually a number of reasons why ecotourism is bad.

Reason #1 Why Ecotourism is Bad

The first reason why ecotourism is bad, specifically in woodland areas and areas where animals live, is the element of surprise to the animals. Animals that have lived their entire lives in the forest are not tame, and pose a problem to humans, especially if those humans are carrying food. The presence of humans alternately causes stress to wild animals.

Reason #2 Why Ecotourism is Bad

If you have ever visited a National Park, no doubt you have seen at least a few pieces of litter in different places. No matter how diligent the park rangers can be, sometimes the forest is too big to find every single piece of litter. Not only does litter make the environment look messy, but it also can be hazardous to the animals in the environment. Remember, plastic especially is very hard to destroy and is not biodegradable. It really all has to do with how diligent the tourists themselves are about not littering.

Reason #3 Why Ecotourism is Bad

One of the most prevalent reasons why ecotourism is bad has to do with the structures that are built for various ecotourism events. For example, if a park decides to have a nature walk aspect to it, paths will be cleared and some trees cut down to make way for the paths. Also, in parks, lookout towers are sometimes built in trees. While these structures have a purpose, they cannot help but damage the delicate environment.

For More Information

There are a variety of different ways in which ecotourism can be bad for the environment, and if you want more information there are a variety of different options. First of all, if you have environmentalist groups in your area that are know to oppose ecotourism, be sure to talk to them and see what information they can offer. You can also search the internet for more information, just be aware that opinions differ on this subject. You are sure to find interesting information with the proper research.

12 comments:

Chance said...

It seems to me that your examples refer only to normal tourism. The sheer volume of visitors to secluded areas of nature is indeed a problem, which is why greener methods have been proposed.

DX said...

You are talking bias. Tourism is far more bad than how bad is ecotourism. Ecotourism do has some drawbacks but has myriad of advantages over other tourism. It is not bad but is largely good.

DX said...

You are talking bias. Tourism is far more bad than how bad is ecotourism. Ecotourism do has some drawbacks but has myriad of advantages over other tourism. It is not bad but is largely good.

Broken Control said...

Hi im in school doing a assignment on ecotourism get me out of here!

Grayum_ian said...

This post is 3 years old, but I still have to comment. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE site your sources when blogging. Its great to have an opinion, but if you are going to present things as facts, you need to be able to back them up.

I don't think what you are referring to is really "eco-tourism", sounds more like nature excursion-ism. If you want to get REALLY technical, the "Tourists" invovled would need to be away from their homes for more than 24 hours or cross some kind of border, whatever comes first. In these (oddly specific) examples it sounds like people are going for a walk?

Unknown said...

costa rica condos

Hello everybody!
I want to share with all of you my point of view, I think tourism or ecotourism isn't bad, what is really bad is the bad behavior of selfish people that don`t want to stop polluting

"The Ray Of Anger" said...

thanks for this post! it helped me with my school project ECO-TOURISM.

Unknown said...

if you actually weigh the odds and did your homework you would know that ecotourism is FAR better than everyday tourism. yes paths cut down trees or brush but it's much better than cutting down the entire lot for a new infrustructure or resort. and yes the animals are invaded but at least they still have a habitat. do your homework.

Unknown said...

if you actually weigh the odds and did your homework you would know that ecotourism is FAR better than everyday tourism. yes paths cut down trees or brush but it's much better than cutting down the entire lot for a new infrustructure or resort. and yes the animals are invaded but at least they still have a habitat. do your homework.

mariah :) said...

Hello my name is Mariah. I am a high school student at the Robert J. Lister Academy in Portsmouth NH. One of our amazing teachers have built a curriculum around Costa Rica. Each of us (seven students) have to do a research project on something we can compare in Costa Rica to the United States. My project is on Eco-Tourism, what are the pros and cons but ultimately is it good or bad. If anyone has anything they could possibly help me out with don't hesitate to comment. Come check out my classes blogs! Thank You

Grayum_ian said...

yes, because this is a trusted and credible source of ecotourism info :)

Anonymous said...

I can understand the benefits of ecotourism or conventional tourism. There's the problem with deforestation, pollution and an myriad of other effects, depending upon the variable in question. However, I do feel just the act of visiting a pristine destination or untouched piece of rainforest is in itself effecting the ecosystem of that place. It's sort of like Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, the act of observation disturbs. This would seem to hold true with ecotourism. I do however, agree that the pros outweigh the cons, as the act of visiting itself provides funds for conservation.