Ecotourism Principles

One of the travel industry’s strongest trends continues to be ecotourism, which has been growing by 20 to 30 percent a year. Ecotourism combines specialized leisure travel with a focus on environmental protection and visitor education and generally takes place in environmentally distinctive destinations. These properties often include an on-site hotel or resort, with an unspoiled or reclaimed environment of indigenous flora and fauna, and usually are protected by a local or national government. These destinations vary from wildlife parks and nature preserves to jungle hideaways like the Coconut Beach Rainforest Resort in Queensland, Australia; guest (dude) ranches like Hidden Creek Ranch near Harrison, Idaho; beachfront properties like Wilderness Safaris’s North Island Camp in the Seychelles off the coast of South Africa; and small hotels that celebrate the local culture like Lisu Lodge on the edge of a village in northern Thailand’s mountains.

Thanks to Urban Land Magazine Editor