32 │ │ July 2019
tourism
U
ntil the 1970s, concerns
about tourism’s
environmental impact and
the impact on local communities
and their economies were rare.
The industry’s focus on tourist
needs, interests and desires meant
there was little attempt to balance
this against the concerns of those
most impacted by tourism. Local
communities were disrupted
and citizens were rendered little
more than second-class citizens in
their own regions, in addition to
creating profound stress on local
ecologies.
Born from the recognition
of this problem, ecotourism
aimed to mitigate the worst ofRanjit BarthakurEcotourism faces accusations of greenwashing and exploitation of
both communities and the natural world globally. Tourism in the Eastern
Himalayas is at a pivotal stage and must be shaped deliberately
to avoid its pitfalls.FROM GREENWASHING TO
MINDFUL NATURAL TOURISM
tourism’s effects on both natural
ecology and local communities,
while creating meaningful and
individualized travel experiences
that connected people with nature.
Currently estimated to be one of
the fastest growing sectors of the
travel industry, ecotourism now
accounts for 6% of the world’s total
GDP.
However, with this boom,
commentators have begun raising
questions about its effectiveness –
particularly in conservation and
environmental preservation. Can
ecotourism truly help preserve
biodiversity in fragile biomes
around the world by drawing
tourists in? More to the point, is
ecotourism what it says it is, or is it
mere greenwashing – and is it time
for a new green-driven tourism?Ecotourism: The Good, the
Bad and the Ugly
The absence of a single
definition governing ecotourism
has, in some places, turned it into
a marketing buzzword. But at its
best, ecotourism has proved to
be a meaningful way of engaging
public interest in conservation and
in highlighting issues that need
active intervention in the present.
As tourists broaden the horizons oftheir experiences and knowledge,
their growing awareness pushes
them towards involvement in
conservation initiatives – or else,
in supporting this work on a
long-term basis. Multiple studies
indicate that nature-centred
tourism is most impactful where
conservation efforts are otherwise
severely underfunded. Ecotourism
currently funds conservation
efforts for more than 200 species
globally and 84% of all funding for
national park agencies globally.
In the case of species such as
the Eastern Himalayas’ hoolock
gibbon, growing ecotourism has
led to improvement in species
levels.
Many of these initiatives also
provide a source of income for
local communities that do not
rely on ecological destruction. In
countries such as Costa Rica and
the Maldives, ecotourism forms
an integral part of the economy,
such that preservation of the local
biodiversity – such as sharks in the
Maldives – outweigh the economic
benefits of trade that undermines
this biodiversity, such as shark
fishing in the Maldives.
However, in many cases
ecotourism is little more than
an exercise in reputational