University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...

Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature
Tourism is the world’s largest growth industry with no signs of slowing
down in the 21st century (UNEP, 2002). (The peak was in the year 2000 - In the
year 2001 there was a significant decline because of the terrorist attack on
September 11).
Proceeds from international tourism have increased by an average of 9 per
cent annually for the past 16 years to reach US$476 billion in 2000. During the
same period, international arrivals rose by a yearly average of 4.6 per cent to
reach 698 million in 2000. WTO forecasts that international arrivals will top one
billion by 2010. The WTO figures indicate that all the tourism activities account
for over 4% of the Global GDP and that their combined direct or indirect
contribution to global GDP are over 11%. Tourism-related activities provide
200 million jobs (World Travel and Tourism Council, 2000).
The WTO has estimated that "alternative" (nature based) (7) travels - of
which ecotourism is one of the forms - generated about 7% of all international
travel expenditures in 1997. At the beginning of the 1990s the "alternative"
(nature based) travel was growing at the rate of 10-30% per year (World
Resources Institute/WRI, 1997). Others authors are approximately at the same
level as Frangalli (1997), who proposes a rate of 20% per year. In 1995, the
global value of ecotourism was estimated between US$ 17,5 millions (Fennell,
1999) and US$ 25 millions and they expected the value to reach US$ 50
millions by the year 2000 (Fennell, 1999).
This increase in alternative tourism has been promoted by a broadening of
the clientele for ecotours and by an increase in independent non-group travel.
These new clients are also more aware of the environmental and socio-
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Alternative/nature-based tourism: in some literature the name "nature-based" tourism is used
for tourism branches such as adventure, wildlife, ecotourism and so on. We prefer instead to
use the name "alternative". This is because "nature-based" includes almost all kinds of
tourism, despite its mass, unsustainable, etc.
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