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Hi! Yes, the time has come for me to talk about ecotourism and sustainable tourism.

Does this topic interest you? Then read on so that in the end you will know how to recognise one or the other immediately!

My name is Sara, I am a tourism consultant, and on this website, I talk about tourism, sustainability, theory and concrete practices to become a more sustainable operator.

Today we talk about:

‘Tourism that takes place in natural areas, that conserves the environment (through specific conservation projects for example) supports the local population’s well-being and creates knowledge and understanding through interpretation and education of all those involved: visitors, staff and guests or residents’.

*Small side note on the importance of the sources.

THE ENTIRE Advisory Board of TIES (The International Ecotourism Society) resigned in 2014 due to what they believed to be very serious and severe financial anomalies at TIES. “As a result,” reads GEN’s manifesto, “we subsequently formed GEN in 2015 because we felt that we could not continue to support TIES either ethically or legally”.

I have personally known some members of this original board during my experience of working in Australia. Such a choice, leaving and founding a new group, must have been painful for them, so I believe there can be no better source of information on the subject.

What are the most important characteristics to define an ECOTOURISM activity:

Understanding this difference is important above all to not give our guests wrong indications (who might look for the natural area where the proposed activities take place as ecotourism). Still, also when thinking about some formal project or context (e.g. having to apply for funds) for one or the other, we should know the difference well.

How to communicate sustainability in tourism
In short, if we want to talk about ecotourism, we should always do so about the natural area where the activity takes place and all the time links the action to the conservation purpose we wish to promote. On the other hand, if we want to communicate how sustainable our activity is, we should first specify which area we consider in terms of the environment, society and the economy. We should indicate what steps we want to take, have taken, or achieve our objective.

I hope you enjoyed this article! Are you interested in this topic?
Please share your opinion in the comments. I always enjoy reading your comments!

Sara – tourism sector consultant