Ecotourism is responsible travel to natural areas that conserves the environment and improves the well-being for local people. Those who participate in ecotourism activities should follow the following ecotourism principle :
- minimize impact
- build environmental and culture awareness and respect
- provide positive experiences for both visitors and hosts
- provide financial benefits and empowerment for local people
Ideally, ecotourism should satisfy several criteria, such as:
- conservation of biological diversity and cultural diversity through ecosystem protection
- promotion of sustainable use of biodiversity by providing jobs to local populations
- minimization of tourism's own environmental impact
- local culture, flora and fauna being the main attractions
For many countries ecotourism is not simply a marginal activity to finance protection of the environment but is a major industry of the national economy. For example, in Costa Rica, Ecuador, Kenya, Madagascar, ecotourism represents a significant portion of the gross domestic product.
The concept of ecotourism is widely misunderstood, and in practice is often used as a marketing tool to promote tourism which is related to nature. This is an especially frequent malpractice in the realm of Jungle tourism. Critics claim that these greenwashing practices carried out in the name of ecotourism often consist of placing a hotel in a splendid landscape, to the detriment of the ecosystem. According to them, ecotourism must above all sensitize people to the beauty and the fragility of nature. They condemn some operators as greenwashing their operations: using the labels of "green" and "eco-friendly", while behaving in environmentally irresponsible ways.
