University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...
University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...
University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...
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Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature<br />
Indirectly, tourists can infect animals, as the example with the gorilla<br />
shows, and they can introduce alien species. Alien species can be regulated by a<br />
quarantine system, eradication and inspection <strong>of</strong> ships, vehicles and tourists, as<br />
they do on the Galapagos Islands. These regulations demand a good capital and<br />
a well managed national park, and this is <strong>of</strong>ten not the situation in developing<br />
countries.<br />
The footprint also depends on the number <strong>of</strong> tourists and how the tourists<br />
are distributed in an area. It is important to distribute the tourist to minimise the<br />
impact on nature or else the most visited places will get depleted. It is also<br />
important that the tourists get “educated” by guides. They will then get an<br />
ecological background, and they will be told how to behave and the<br />
consequences and impact on nature by avoiding certain behaviours, such as<br />
throwing garbage, feeding, touching or disturbing animals or plants.<br />
It can be difficult to educate tourists if the guides or working staff<br />
themselves do not respect the rules, as for instance on Galapagos Islands where<br />
tour boats dump organic and inorganic waste in the marine reserve, and floating<br />
hotels discharge their sewage and organic kitchen wastes in the ocean.<br />
There is a tendency that accommodations become more and more<br />
luxurious. Is that the idea <strong>of</strong> ecotourism If accommodations become more<br />
luxurious it will mean a higher consumption <strong>of</strong> resources such as food, water<br />
and energy. This is not environmental friendly. It will also attract another kind<br />
<strong>of</strong> clientele, which may search for other adventure, such as “sea, sun and sand”.<br />
From this point <strong>of</strong> view, ecotourism should focus on environmentally<br />
sustainable ways to build the accommodations.<br />
You can call ecotourism in question if you look at how tourists are<br />
transported from destination to destination. Tourists travel overseas more than<br />
ever and huge amounts <strong>of</strong> fuel are consumed. This contributes to an increasing<br />
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