“Eco-tourism – generally defined as ‘responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the welfare of local people’ – is booming. The International Eco-tourism Society (TIES) estimates that eco-tourism is growing globally three times faster than the tourism industry as a whole. But the term is often misunderstood, shorthand for any trip that’s off the beaten track.
What’s more, eco-tourism is increasingly coming under fire, blamed for everything from stressed-out penguins to eco-tour operators battling over the Costa Rican rain forest. And though three- quarters of travellers, according to National Geographic Traveler magazine, are concerned about the environment of the places they visit, it’s less clear whether this translates into action.” Read more here
