Is Ecotourism Really Economic Development?

An editorial on the Environmental News Network charges that ecotourism is a myth.

1 minute read

September 12, 2001, 6:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


The International Ecotourism Society defines ecotourism as, "responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and sustains the well being of local people... The tourist industry netted nearly $500 billion in 1999, but to whom did the money go? Certainly not to local craftspeople and merchants, who sell their wares, often hand crafted over many weeks, for a fraction of what their time would be worth in a tourist's home country. Certainly not to the thousands of native guides who have given farming for their families to take a few paltry dollars from stingy tourists."

Thanks to Design Architecture

Tuesday, September 11, 2001 in Environmental News Network

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I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

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