Ecotourism

Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and supports local communities. It combines nature-based experiences with conservation and community benefits.

Sustainable tourism: Tourism that considers its environmental, economic, and social effects over time. Ecotourism is a nature-focused approach within this broader framework.
Protected area: A geographically defined area managed for long-term conservation of nature and associated values. Many ecotourism activities take place in areas with explicit conservation goals.
Gorilla tourism: Visitor experiences centered on observing wild gorillas under regulated conditions. Permit revenue and visitor controls connect wildlife viewing with conservation funding.
Wildlife tourism: Tourism involving encounters with wild animals or their habitats. Ecotourism’s wildlife encounters can finance protection or disrupt animal behavior.
Responsible tourism: Tourism that minimizes harm and creates benefits for destinations and their residents. Its emphasis on accountability overlaps with ecotourism’s community and conservation commitments.
Carrying capacity: The level of use an environment or destination can sustain without unacceptable change. Visitor limits can reduce ecological damage at ecotourism destinations.
Galápagos Islands: An Ecuadorian archipelago known for endemic species and protected ecosystems. Tourism there illustrates the challenge of balancing visitor access with fragile island ecology.
Human–wildlife conflict: Interactions between people and wildlife that cause harm to either or both. Tourism can alter wildlife behavior and intensify conflicts around destinations.
Nature-based tourism: Tourism in which natural settings are a central attraction or activity. Ecotourism is distinguished from this broader category by conservation and community aims.
Tourism leakage: Tourism revenue that leaves a destination rather than benefiting its local economy. Leakage can undermine ecotourism’s promise of local economic benefit.

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