ECO TOURISM: WHAT IS IT ?

Ecotourism primarily means marketing the serene natural habitats as tourism 'product' with an inherent element of nature education. It is aimed at making the visitor aware of the protective, productive and regulatory functions of the forests."It is a purposeful travel to natural areas to understand the cultural and natural history of environment, taking care not to alter the integrity of the ecosystem, while producing economic opportunities that make conservation of natural resources beneficial to local people. Within international tourism, it is a fast growing segment ".

For ecotourism to be truly a form of environmentally conscious tourism and not just pursuit of remote pristine locations, it has to be sustainable with the continuous capacity to:

- safeguard natural environment, the very basis of tourist attraction.

- provide and maintain the quality of tourist experience and satisfaction, and

- benefit the local people in the area.

Any number of definitions are available for ecotourism, each focusing on a different aspect. An analysis of the developments in this sphere over a period of past one and a half decade helps to discern certain important parameters emerged in common to all eco tourism developmental initiatives. This understanding leads to conceptualise ecotourism as:

Any tourism programme that is:
nature based ,
ecologically sustainable,
where education and interpretation are major components and
where local people are benefited,
can be called ecotourism.

If it does not satisfy any one of these components then it cannot be called a real ecotourism venture.