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Ecotourism, is it just one more modern marketing ploy or a real workable strategy for conservation and sustainable nature tourism development? The term Ecotourism has been used and abused for the past
15 years but it endures and proliferates, becoming the subject of conferences, organizations, governmental plans, business endeavors and now workshops, university, and college courses across the globe. Ecotourism has
become a recognized, though still evolving, force on an international scale in the world of business and conservation. The global tourism industry is beginning to recognize that the commodity it sells is the
environment, both human and natural and that sustainability in development and operations is the only way to ensure that profits will continue. Until now, most publications throughout the world on ecotourism or
sustainable tourism have taken one of two basic approaches: the academic approach, focusing on philosophy and theoretical concepts, or the missionary approach, preaching with zeal the benefits of ecotourism to local
peoples and the environment. This book takes a hands-on practical approach to understanding the business of ecotourism and how it can benefit conservation in the real world, not just in theory. The unembroidered
realities of sustainable tourism efforts, the failures, fallacies, and the real successes are explored. The Ashtons examine ecotourism as it currently exists worldwide and explore how it is evolving within the U.S. and
global tourism destinations. This book takes a cookbook approach to the processes involved in implementing ecotourism making it a must read for those interested or intimately involved in the tourism industry as well as
for consultants, teachers, students, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and conservation organizations. |
