The Ecotourism - a Strategic Alternative for Contemporany Tourism

This paper argues that ecotourism should strive to achieve objectives which result in “better” ecotourists and a better natural environment. It is recognized that what is seen as better, or a more desirable form of ecotourism, is very subjective and possibly contentious. Nevertheless, the wide variety of definitions of the term ecotourism implies that the debate over what ecotourism is, and what it should be, continues. An analysis and presentation of these diverse definitions as a continuum allows the development of an argument that ecotourists should be encouraged, through the management strategy of the ecotourism operation, to become active contributors to the health and viability of the natural environment. This argument is not a new one; however, the means by which one can measure the desirability of an ecotourism operation in achieving this more desirable state will assist in the comparison of one ecotourism operation against another. Additionally it can provide a basis whereby the success of a new management strategy can be tested.