Marine Ecotourism

1 Ecotourism is reputed to attract high-spending tourists and estimates suggest it to be ‘worth’

2 between US$10 and US$17.5 billion worldwide (Fennell, 1999). As a subset of ecotourism, marine
3 ecotourism is becoming increasingly significant and its economic potential is being increasingly
4 recognised. Beyond the dimension of economic returns, however, it is generally agreed that marine
5 ecotourism has considerable potential to generate a range of wider benefits. Marine ecotourism can, for
6 example, help generate funds for research on marine species and habitats, help fund conservation
7 programmes, assist in raising the profile of marine resources in the planning process, provide an
8 economic rationale for environmental stewardship and provide a focus for the social and cultural
9 regeneration of coastal communities. This having been said, there have been very few proper empirical
10 studies of the actual social and economic impacts of ecotourism in the marine environment (whale-
11 based ecotourism being the principal exception) and even fewer studies of the environmental impacts
12 of marine ecotourism.

13 The first characteristic of ecotourism is that it should be nature-based, i.e., the activities
14 involved should focus predominantly on the natural environment. This is the fundamental ‘eco’
15 element of the term ‘ecotourism’ and it can potentially relate to the fauna of a destination area, the flora
16 or, in many practical situations, both. This much is agreed. However, there are a number of more
17 contentious issues involved in the requirement for ecotourism to be fundamentally nature-based. One
18 is whether cultural or heritage-based attractions associated with natural areas should be included
19 within the overall remit of the term ‘ecotourism’. While some of the earliest and more famous
20 definitions of the term (such as that of Cellabos-Lascuraín, in 1987) made an explicit attempt to include
21 such activities, later definitions have elected not do so and there are clearly mixed opinions among
22 ecotourism experts on this issue. Meanwhile there is also an ongoing debate as to whether ecotourism
23 can take place in highly modified environments such as plantation forests, farmland and urban
24 environments.

25 Second, ecotourism should have a learning orientation, achieved through the processes of
26 education and interpretation. This needs to be oriented towards changing visitors’ behaviour in at least
27 three different contexts: while undertaking the experience itself; while residing in the ecotourism
28 destination area; and in the course of their daily life once they have returned back home. Furthermore,
29 it needs to reflect not only learning about the local ecosystem, target species, culture, heritage and so
30 forth but also about the global context within which these are set. Ecotourism is fundamentally about
31 achieving change in the way people conceive of, contextualise and behave in natural environments, so
32 that more sustainable relationships between humans and their environments may emerge. Education
33 and interpretation are important mechanisms through which such change can be achieved.

34 Finally, and perhaps most importantly, ecotourism should be fundamentally underpinned by

35 sustainability, through the application of principles of sustainable development. According to Beeton
36 (1998), this should involve managing the physical stresses on the environment, including energy and
37 waste minimisation, and wider environmental impacts. It should also look to manage the number of
38 the people involved and the way they behave, including ecotourists’ accommodation preferences,
39 destination purchase decisions, the way they conduct themselves in the field and their spatial behaviour
40 within fragile environments. Sustainability is not just about protecting the natural environment: it also
41 extends to sustaining local livelihoods and ways of life for local communities. Sustainability is, of
42 course, an essential concern for all kinds of tourism, not just ecotourism. The difference with ecotourism
43 is that it takes its fundamental orientation from the principles of sustainability.

This file has been prepared by @aslanesia.id from a book entitled Marine Ecotourism-Issues and
Experiences