The evolution of ecotourism and where it's headed today

We all know that ecotourism involves a focus on nature conservation. But there's actually quite a bit more to it than that ...

Definitions of ecotourism have always been fluid and varying.

Today, we'd say that ecotourism is about visiting unique, special or endangered natural spaces, but with a handful of important caveats, namely that the travel experience must:

In other words, when ecotourism works as it should, the natural environment is safeguarded for the future, the local economy receives a boost, and both visitors and hosts are enriched (metaphorically speaking).

Ecotourism goes further than just nature conservation

Ecotourism has come a long way since its introduction in the 1980s, and undergone a handful of phases during its short lifetime.

Ecotourism was conceived as a type of travel for folks who wanted to visit and learn about unusual places but not do any harm to them while there. Hopes were high that a new type of travel was being born that would solve the myriad problems associated with traditional travel, such as environmental degradation.

Unfortunately, the outcomes of ecotourism endeavours didn't live up to the idealistic hopes of its early advocates. The concept was also fairly quickly adopted by some astute marketers who used it to 'greenwash' their run-of-the-mill travel offerings.

Both of these developments led to some understandable disillusionment with the idea. Hong Kong-based hotel and tourism professor Bob Mckercher refers to this stage of the ecotourism evolution story as its "crisis of legitimacy".

Ecotourism is a rethinking tourism but it does have limitations

The third phase of ecotourism is where we are now, where we see the industry being reevaluated. Travel operators and travellers alike are wrestling with the limitations of ecotourism – what it can actually offer, and which of the burdens of travel it can realistically redress. Consequently, tour companies are being more measured and specific in terms of what they promise clients.

Mckercher refers to this as ecotourism's "maturity" phase. The term "impactful travel" is also gaining traction and could perhaps become the new moniker for this phase of the ecotourism evolution.

It's a hopeful time within ecotourism, even if tentatively so. The determination and follow-through of tour operators will decide the next chapter in the story.