While the concepts of environmentalism and resource preservation have a history spanning several decades, the ecotourism philosophy is comparatively young. Most of those seriously involved in the field could provide a good definition of what ecotourism is, though the definitions would certainly vary.



Most of those who follow this growing industry know that there is no generally accepted definition of ecotourism. However, a universally accepted definition may be much closer, thanks to a recent global conference and its report.

With the firm foundation of environmentalism established formally nearly 40 years ago, and the more recent attention to the environment generated by the documentary "An Inconvenient Truth," ecotourism has a real chance to become an industry. The number of people who are seriously considering an ecotourism trip is growing rapidly. Dozens are now giving more thought to how they travel and how they spend their time after arriving at their chosen destination.

But perhaps the most important development in ecotourism is the emergence of tourism locations that were not given consideration a few years ago. Many are now finding that ecotourism sites thought too remote or undeveloped before are actually great places to relax, while also being an environmentally sensitive vacationer.

It may be too early to say that ecotourists can find a "deal" on a great trip to some remote and beautiful location. In fact, those who choose an ecotourism destination will probably have to allow a fairly long period of time for the holiday, because of the scant number of locations and the remote locations. In simple terms, short breaks of two or three days may not be realistic for the serious ecotourist.

At the heart of the philosophy is the question of whether ecotourism is a concept, pure and simple. Some have doubts about just what the definition of ecotourism is. Some continue believing that the term works well enough for public relations and marketing, but not so well for really defining the activity.

One theory proposes that ecotourism is tourism in its truest sense because people travel to new and unfamiliar locations to experience the culture and atmosphere. But the added factor of preserving and protecting natural resources and local culture separate ecotourism from what has been called mass tourism or recreational tourism. Supporters of the ecotourism philosophy emphasize that the local population and economy must benefit from the tourism for the activity to actually fit under the ecotourism umbrella.

Some fear that travel companies and tour operators soak up the energy surrounding this new idea by marketing travel packages as ecotourism simply because the brochure mentions nature and natural resources. This fact alone makes it critical that ecotourism proponents and environmentalists find the proper definition for the term, then use it to narrow the field to true .

The completion of a global conference and the existence of numerous regional/local working groups signal that the principles of ecotourism are being put into practice. Much of this effort has taken the industry beyond the idea stage, allowing ecotourism to emerge as a real field of work and study. For example, The Nature Conservancy is developing a definition of ecotourism, along with those proposed by others. Working definitions might include such words as: travel, undisturbed, study, scenery, wild, conserve, culture etc. But a traveler who reviews his or her trip to a remote spot, with an emphasis on nature and scenery, is not necessarily an ecotourist.